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Spanish version now available also! Young people studying to be health professionals will become the leaders who shape women’s reproductive health policies and services in the years to come. The problem: Abortion is a critical but often neglected topic in health science education. Designed with and for health sciences students, Youth act for safe abortion: A […]

Abortion is legal in India yet despite that, one woman in India dies due to abortion-related complications every two hours. To raise awareness, the government of India has launched India’s first ever mass media campaign on making abortion safer; now live on close to 30 popular news and entertainment television channels and several radio stations […]

Mozambique has liberalized its abortion law with the goal of reducing maternal mortality by significantly broadening women’s access to safe abortion care. The groundbreaking legislation was approved by the Parliament in July as part of a new penal code and finalized on 18 December 2014, when President Armando Guebuza signed it into law. Women in […]

In 2006, in response to high maternal mortality and morbidity rates driven largely by unsafe abortion, the Ghanaian government implemented R3M, “Reducing Maternal Mortality and Morbidity,” a program to train providers in abortion care, meet women’s needs and increase access to family planning services. The program was launched by the Ministry of Health, in partnership […]

This week the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UN Women and the African Union together released the Addis Ababa Declaration on Accelerating the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, the outcome document from the recent Ninth African Conference on Women (Beijing+20) that took place in November. The Declaration issued by African government ministers […]

Musicians in two African nations are joining forces with Ipas and other reproductive rights advocates to raise awareness about the dangers of unsafe abortion. In Malawi, the Coalition for the Prevention of Unsafe Abortion (COPUA) collaborated with 11 Malawian musical artists to produce Amayi Akuferanji, an album of reggae, hip-hop and songs from other musical […]

In countries like Malawi, where safe abortion is restricted or not available, women often turn to clandestine and unsafe abortions when faced with an unintended pregnancy. However, abortion isn’t uncommon—roughly 67,300 induced abortions occur annually in Malawi. Unfortunately, neither are the injuries and even deaths that occur because of the law and other barriers—such as […]

Kristen Shellenberg, PhD, Ipas senior research advisor Dr. Shellenberg recently co-edited a special issue of Women and Health on abortion stigma. The special issue also features “Developing a Scale to Measure Stigmatizing Attitudes and Beliefs about Women Who Have Abortions: Results from Ghana and Zambia,” an article that she co-authored with Leila Hessini, Ipas director […]

In the “Helms Amendment hurts women” video, released on Nov. 11, leaders from Africa and Asia underscored the importance of U.S. leadership in addressing unsafe abortion, a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity in developing countries, and calling on the Obama Administration to ease restrictions on U.S. foreign aid for abortion. The statements were […]

More women in India may soon be able to access safe, legal abortion services if a proposed amendment to the country’s Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act becomes law. The government of India is currently reviewing an amendment that would make first-trimester abortion available upon a woman’s request; currently a woman’s health-care provider must determine if […]

How does quality improvement become part of the routine, ongoing process of providing abortion-related care? At Ipas-supported training and service delivery sites around the world, that question is getting special attention—and the effort already is translating into better care for women in some of the world’s most remote and impoverished areas. A recent example comes […]

Despite improvements in the last several years, Sierra Leone’s maternal mortality ratio is one of the worst in the world. Now, the outbreak of Ebola further threatens the health of women and their families in Sierra Leone—causing more than 20 deaths a day, according to some estimates. Women are disproportionately affected by the disease, and […]

Abortion stigma is under-researched and few conceptual and methodological tools exist to measure its effects. In an effort to broaden the discussion around abortion stigma and spark further research and critical thinking, Women and Health has published a special issue on abortion stigma compiling articles examining the topic. The special issue was conceptualized and co-edited by […]

Search begins for new Ipas CEO Ipas President and CEO, Liz Maguire, has announced her decision to step down in the summer of 2015, opening the way for the search to begin for a new President and CEO to be in place by that time.    According to Ms. Maguire, “My decision is part of a […]

At a Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the end of September, dozens of heads of state and other government leaders described their countries’ progress in advancing women’s reproductive health and rights, reaffirming the Programme of Action that came out of the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo in […]

In countries around the world, sexual violence against women and girls contributes to their higher risk of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. In Nigeria, a youth-led social media campaign is raising awareness of the link between sexual violence and reproductive health and adding a critical new voice to the national debate over reform of the […]

Diverse coalition of 80 groups calls on Obama Administration to allow U.S. foreign assistance for abortion care Washington, DC (September 8, 2014) – In a letter to President Obama, a broad-based coalition of leading domestic and global organizations spanning women’s rights, health, human rights, reproductive justice, young people, the LGBT community, faith, and development are […]

Ipas announces two small grant awards that are funding innovative research in South Africa attempting to better understand the safety and prevalence of women using medical abortion (abortion with pills) outside the formal health system. Women around the world who face barriers to abortion care—such as restrictive laws, abortion-related stigma, and limited financial resources—are increasingly […]

South Africa’s national abortion guidelines say women are entitled to accessible, equitable abortion care at state facilities. But many women aren’t able to get care because fewer than 50 percent of the public-health facilities licensed to provide abortion care are actually providing services. Against this backdrop, Ipas began working with South Africa’s National Department of […]

Aiming to inform and inspire organizations and advocates around the world, Mexican organization Las Libres has produced a short documentary film detailing its successful “accompaniment model” that pairs women seeking medical abortion with women committed to accompanying others on a volunteer basis throughout the process of a safe abortion.