International Safe Abortion Day
About International Safe Abortion Day
International Safe Abortion Day is marked every year on 28 September. International Safe Abortion Day was first celebrated in 1990, by abortion activists campaigning for decriminalisation in Latin America and the Caribbean. 28 September commemorates the abolition of slavery in Brazil.
By the 2010s the day was adopted by the Women’s Global Network of Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), to bring global attention to the lack of access to safe abortions worldwide.
Why International Safe Abortion Day is important
Even though abortion is globally recognised by health organisations as essential healthcare, the fight for our abortion rights is happening right now. Well-funded, coordinated anti-abortion movements seek to criminalise abortion, and restrict access around the world.
Lack of access to safe, legal, timely, affordable, and stigma-free abortion care is a public health crisis and a human rights violation of all persons who can get pregnant. Every day, women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals are forced to resort to unsafe procedures—a preventable cause of maternal death and morbidity. – September 28 campaign
Despite abortion being a safe and simple procedure when properly carried out, 45% of global abortions are considered to be ‘unsafe’.
Abortion with pills / medical abortion
Abortion with pills, or medical abortion, uses two medicines called mifepristone and misoprostol. Both appear on the WHO’s 2025 list of essential medicines.
The WHO considers these medicines essential for ‘induced abortion, intrauterine fetal demise, and the management of incomplete abortion and miscarriage’, and as of 2025 the WHO has removed a caveat to say these medicines should only be used ‘where legally permitted or culturally acceptable’.
Self-managed abortion, or SMA, is when someone takes abortion pills at home. This is perfectly safe, and in Britain can be accessed up to 10 weeks’ gestation – but abortion pills are safe and effective even after 12 weeks.
Abortion pills are vital for safe abortion access, and can be a lifeline for people who can’t, or don’t want to, access a surgical abortion.
Safe Abortion is a Life-saving Healthcare!
The theme of International Safe Abortion Day in 2025 is ‘Safe Abortion is a Life-saving Healthcare!’.
Right now, it’s more important than ever to speak up about the importance of abortion as part of reproductive healthcare.We are facing unprecedented threats to abortion access and other areas of reproductive health.
Abortion pills are facing attacks from senior American politicians, including US Health Secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr. Earlier this month, RFK Jnr suggested that access to mifepristone could be rolled back – but failed to present any evidence for his claim that the pills could be unsafe. In fact, three decades of research has proven that mifepristone and misoprostol are a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy. And this week, the US government announced its own review of mifepristone, which pro-abortion groups say ‘could lead to significant restrictions on the most common abortion method nationwide’.
Anti-abortion campaigners rely on misinformation to create confusion and fear about a normal, safe medical procedure. The same tactic was seen this week when Trump falsely suggested paracetamol was unsafe to take during pregnancy. These attacks on women’s and reproductive health are happening every day, and with a normalisation of far right governance we can only expect them to increase.
Take action for International Safe Abortion Day
- Share information and social media posts about the international campaign for safe abortion over the weekend
- Share our post about pregnancy criminalisation and anti-abortion campaigning
- Fundraise by running 5k this weekend! Your race will directly support someone to travel for a safe abortion.
- Look out for our matched fund appeal next week – when abortion access is restricted, abortion funds are the most direct method we have to ensure that whatever barriers are in place, people can still access care.