September 28 Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion

September 28 Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion has its origin in Latin America and the Caribbean where women’s groups have been mobilizing around September 28 the last two decades to demand their governments to decriminalize abortion, to provide access to safe and affordable abortion services and to end stigma and discrimination towards women who choose to have an abortion. The original name of the campaign in Latin America and the Caribbean is Campaña 28 de Septiember por la Despenalización del Aborto, which continues up to this day growing in force and commitment on the part of women’s rights activists in the region. The date – September 28 – was chosen in commemoration of the abolition of slavery in Brazil which is now remembered as the day of the “free womb” demanding for safe and legal abortion for all women.

In 2011 Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) took September 28 to the global level in solidarity with the women’s movement in Latin America and in recognition of the fact that that access to safe and legal abortion continues being denied for too many women in too many countries. In most of the African countries abortion is either prohibited altogether or only allowed to save the life of the mother. In some Asian countries abortion is permitted by law, in the majority, however, still severely restricted, and even when legal, women have to grapple with heavy costs and inaccessibility of appropriate abortion care. Several European countries and increasingly the United States face fierce attacks by the opposition groups that wish to curtail women’s reproductive freedom by imposing legal and financial restrictions, projecting greater stigma and discrimination and further obstructing access to abortion care. All factors mentioned above constitute severe obstacles for women to fully exercise their Human Rights.

Time has come for the global movement for sexual and reproductive rights of all women to stand together and make one clear demand – access to affordable, safe and legal abortion now! With the growing momentum and with the greater consolidation of our efforts globally it is in our power to make the change happen. In year 2012 September 28 – the Global Day of Action for Safe and Legal Abortion –receives a global recognition and is being collectively taken forward by WGNRR together with the International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion joined by major regional and global SRHR networks, numerous national partners and grassroots activists.