Advocates Launch Global Selfie Campaign for Abortion Rights

PRESS RELEASE 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MANILA,PHILIPPINES-It’s taking selfies to a whole new level.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights organizations and activists from 50 countries contributed photos and messages on why abortion should be safe and legal in their country.

This selfie campaign culminated in a virtual mural that was launched today- a collage of photos and messages from all over the world that expresses peoples’ demands, thoughts and feelings on abortion in a visual manner. The virtual mural is part of the September 28 Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, a global campaign to end abortion stigma, hold governments accountable to uphold women’s right to access safe and legal abortion and push for the recognition of this right within the Post2014/2015 development agenda.

The virtual mural and the gallery of photos are up on the http://www.september28.org/mural/ website and will be used in the various mobilizations in over 50 countries on September 28-from a flash mob in Nepal, to a conference for Pro-Choice doctors in Ireland, to street demonstrations in Brazil. Photos can still be submitted up to September 28, to be uploaded on the website gallery.

According to statistics, 47,000 women die every year, as a result of unsafe abortion, accounting to 13% of maternal deaths worldwide. Nearly half of all abortions are unsafe, 98% of which occurs in developing countries where poor women have the least resources and access to family planning, including safe abortion. Studies have also showed that prohibiting or criminalizing abortion will not stop it, but will force women to resort to back-alley procedures. Unsafe abortion is defined by the World Health Organization as the “procedure for terminating a pregnancy that is performed by an individual lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both”.

The September 28 Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion is spearheaded by the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights, Campagna 28 de Setiembre, the International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion, Asia Safe Abortion Partnership, ASTRA, Ipas and other global and regional partners.

To view the September 28 Manifesto and Call to Action- Our Bodies, Our Future- check outhttp://www.september28.org/manifesto/