Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to highlight and address how best to (1) prevent unsafe abortion, and (2) make safe abortion accessible for all, as part of their commitment to end preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children in the developing world.

DFID’s policy on safe abortion takes an evidence-based, public health approach that aims to reduce death and disability caused by unsafe abortions. Between 2018 and 2019, we supported 23.5 million women to use modern methods of family planning, averting 2 million unsafe abortions and saving 8,300 lives.

Unsafe abortion continues to be a major cause of preventable maternal mortality in developing countries. Sexual and reproductive health and rights will therefore be at the heart of our commitment to ending preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children. We will continue to empower women and girls to choose whether, when and how many children to have. In countries where abortion is permitted, this means supporting programmes that make safe abortion more accessible in order to save the lives of women who would otherwise resort to backstreet abortions. In countries where abortion is highly restricted, we help make the consequences of unsafe abortion more widely understood and support those fighting to access safe abortion. We do this through supporting dedicated programmes such as the Safe Abortion Action Fund, which improves access to safe abortion for some of the world’s most vulnerable women and girls, and an integrated approach to sexual and reproductive health and rights, which includes safe abortion care where legal.