The Fight for Safe and Legal Abortion

The decision to bring a pregnancy to term or to end it means having the power to decide over one’s own future. Protests on the issue of abortion continue to take place all over the world, because when conservative and far-right governments restrict rights, reproductive rights and the right to abortion are always the first under threat.

Here, we cast light on three current situations that depict how the fight for abortion rights can vastly differ from one context to the next.

Essential Information About the Struggle So Far

Banning and criminalizing abortion violates not only the right to reproductive autonomy and freedom of conscience, but also endangers people’s health. Those most affected are women, and/or people who are lesbian, intersex, non-binary, trans, and agender, who have a uterus and can give birth too.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), six out of ten unintended pregnancies end in abortion, and 45 percent of these abortions are unsafe. This preventable problem is the main cause of maternal mortality today, and can also cause serious health complications, both psychologically and physically. Unsafe abortions can also result in death. They also place heavy social and economic burdens on communities and health systems, among others. For this reason, in 2020 abortion was added to the WHO list of essential health services.

Most people who do not have access to safe abortions are poor, live in remote rural regions, or are teenagers, migrants, or members of ethnic or sexual and gender minorities. These groups of people frequently cannot afford to travel to large cities or other countries where they might access safe abortion services. In addition, a report by Amnesty International has found that 97 percent of all unsafe abortions worldwide take place in the Global South.

Colombia: The most recent Victory!

Currently celebrating its latest achievement, Columbia is a reference point for the fight for both regional and global abortion rights. In February 2022, abortion until the 24th week of pregnancy was decriminalized in full. Abortion is still possible after the 24th week in three case scenarios already defined by law in 2006.

We talked to Ana Cristina González Vélez, spokesperson for the movement "Causa Justa por el Aborto”, which was behind the legal action that led to the historic decision of 2022 to decriminalize abortion up until the 24^th week. Causa Justa is a large coalition focused on decriminalizing abortion and comprises many women’s organizations, feminists, human rights organizations, activists, health service providers, academics, and research centres from across the country. We spoke with Ana Cristina about this fight, the challenges, the wins, and the work that they continue to do.

While fellow campaigners in Columbia have succeeded in liberalizing abortion laws, people in Poland are fighting against one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. Abortion was effectively outlawed in Poland in 2020. A judgement by the constitutional court ruled that abortions in cases of severe foetal defects were unconstitutional. Consequently, there are only two instances in which abortion is legal in Poland: if the life of the pregnant person is at risk due to pregnancy, or if the pregnancy is the result of sexual assault or incest.

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets since this ruling, demanding the right to reproductive autonomy. With slogans such as “This is war” and “We’ve had enough”, they criticize the right-wing conservative Polish government and the Catholic church, which has significant influence in Polish society.

An important aspect of this struggle is to continue to ensure access to safe abortions. For this reason, activists often organize to offer advice, inform, and provide access to alternative options for abortion. Thousands have travelled across the border in order to have a safe abortion in Germany.

We talked to Iza from Berlin-based collective “Ciocia Basia”. The collective, whose name translates as “Aunt Barbara”, helps people to organize an abortion in Germany. Since 2015, activists in the collective have been working closely with partner organizations. Iza tells us about the political work involved, its obstacles and difficulties, and international cooperation with other campaigners.

A further example shows just how much situations can vary in the fight to legalize abortion. In the United States, abortion was legal for several decades—until now.

An information leak revealed an alarming Supreme Court draft: Five right-wing justices voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that protected abortion rights on a national level and thus represented a milestone in the advancement of feminist rights. The court removed this protection, paving the way for at least 26 of 50 US federal states to prohibit abortion—a ban that affects millions of people.

All these examples show that the fight for reproductive justice is more urgent than ever before. In Germany, too, huge alliances of feminist groups, doctors, trade unions, health clinics, and political parties have taken to the streets in recent years to fight for the right to reproductive autonomy. With some success, too: March 2022 saw the abolishment of Paragraph 219a, which prohibited the advertising of abortion services. This meant that doctors that provided information about abortions rendered themselves liable to prosecution and risked heavy fines.

Despite this, abortion remains illegal under Section 218 of the German criminal code and is punishable by up to three years in prison. However, there are exceptions that allow people to have abortions without risking punishment. An abortion may be carried out within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy (14 weeks since the last period) if the person attends mandatory counselling at a state-approved advisory centre three days beforehand. After the first trimester, abortion is only allowed on medical grounds, for instance if the physical or mental health of the pregnant person is at risk.

Struggles for reproductive justice all over the world show that people’s rights to make decisions about their own body are still under constant threat. Regardless of whether abortion is prohibited or allowed, the states insists on being involved in decisions that solely concern us and our bodies. The right to reproductive autonomy therefore cannot be taken for granted, but must be defended and fought for on a daily basis.

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