Design files

Abortion is a common experience—people of all ages, ethnicities, nationalities, and religions decide to end their pregnancies for various reasons. Yet in many places across the globe, people who have abortions face harmful stereotypes, blame, and social stigma. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides safe abortion care and also treats people for the consequences of unsafe abortion, a leading cause of maternal mortality. When our teams talk to people who are deciding to have an abortion, we often hear their personal stories. To mark International Safe Abortion Day, September 28, we want to help break abortion stigma by sharing some first-person stories from women in the places where MSF works. We hear from people all over the world—from Colombia to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Greece to India, people of many religions, students, midwives, people with children, and some without children. MSF is committed to using our voice to ensure that people everywhere have access to safe abortion care. Safe abortion care is essential health care.