The human right of abortion

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Mr. Abdul Moiz, a fourth-year medical student at Bangladesh’s Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College in Dhaka. He is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writers and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

Simply put, “abortion” refers to a medical operation to end a pregnancy. Abortions are among the safest medical procedures that may be performed when done by a qualified healthcare professional in hygienic settings; they are even safer than childbirth.

Each year, there are around 73 million induced abortions performed globally. According to the WHO, three out of ten (29%) of all unwanted pregnancies, and six out of ten (61%) of all unintended pregnancies result in an induced abortion, making it a crucial component of healthcare form millions of women, girls, and other people of reproductive age.

Recent efforts to outlaw this straightforward practice, regardless of any consideration for the health and life of the woman, constitute a clear violation of human rights. Since no contraceptive technique is 100% successful or because of rape or incest, pregnancy may be induced and accessing contraceptive information and services may be difficult. People are forced to turn to illegal, hazardous abortions when governments restrict access to safe procedures, especially those who cannot afford to fly or obtain private treatment.

Unsafe abortions are blamed for 4.7 to 13.2 percent of maternal fatalities yearly. According to estimates, 30 women in developed nations pass away for every 100,000 unsafe abortions. This figure increases to 220 deaths per 100 000 unsafe abortions in growing regions. According to estimates from 2012, 7 million women in underdeveloped nations were treated in hospitals for the consequences of unsafe abortion annually.

What can we do?

Safe Abortion Advocacy

• Utilize society’s crucial role in engaging with the government and achieving advocacy goals as part of the national SRHR networks.
• Work with healthcare professionals to improve their awareness of legal (national and international) requirements and standards for providing safe and high-quality abortion treatment and challenges related to safe abortion care.
• Utilize the instruments for values, clarification, and attitude change, as well as the publication and discussion of scientifically based data to combat the stigma associated with abortion among decision-makers and healthcare providers.

Talk to People & Listen to others’ stories.

Use storytelling, community organizing, leadership training, and policy lobbying to change public perceptions about abortion and build support for young people’s access to the procedure.

Stay connected with social movements.

To increase young people’s access to abortion services, participate in community abortion speak-outs, organize public education campaigns, and collaborate with campus and local authorities.

Institutional Strengthening

Support societies in strengthening their organizational frameworks to accomplish their goals more successfully; areas covered include office administration and human resources, leadership and governance, project and financial management, advocacy and communications, and collaborations and persuasion.

Volunteer or donate to a global organization.

Sources

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abortion

https://www.rescue.org/article/four-reasons-safe-abortion-critical-health-care

https://www.figo.org/what-we-do/figo-projects/advocating-safe-abortion-project

About the author

Abdul Moiz is a fourth-year medical student at Bangladesh’s Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College in Dhaka. He works tirelessly in his NMO BMSS-Bangladesh to make an impact and is a proud member of IFMSA. He is very eager and competitive. His attendance at prestigious conferences and webinars has been extensive. He’s never before written for The Sting.