AMSA Reproductive Health Project eNews #55 – September 27, 2025
Greetings from the AMSA Reproductive Health Project!
Tomorrow – Sunday, September 28 – is the annual observation of International Safe Abortion Day, which began as a day of action observed in Latin America in the early 1990s, in support of the human right to access safe abortion, and established as a global event in 2011.
We know that abortion care, when provided in accordance with the current globally-accepted evidence-base, is safe. In fact, here in the US, data show that abortion care is 14 times safer than childbirth, when comparing maternal mortality rates. And yet, globally, almost half of abortions are unsafe, leading to increases in preventable harm, illness, and death.
International Safe Abortion Day is an opportunity to take action to increase people’s access to safe, legal, and person-centered abortion care; it is also an opportunity to reflect on how inequitable and unjust social structures and policies are the cause of unsafe abortions and the harm that results. In a significant way, the prevalence of unsafe abortions in 2025 tells the larger story of how inequitable and unjust sociopolitical structures impose an egregiously elevated morbidity and mortality upon vulnerabilized people who are deemed expendable.
Physicians and future physicians can do our part by ensuring that we are comprehensively trained and prepared to provide safe abortion care wherever and whenever such care is sought and needed. And we also have important roles in the work of transforming bad policy into good; remaking unjust social structures into justice; and rooting out the misogyny that resides in the heart of so many societies, and even at the core of modern medicine – for it is these factors, not abortion itself, that cause harm to people who seek and receive abortion care.
In this week’s Repro eNewsletter, there is much more information about International Safe Abortion Day and how you can get involved. And be sure to check out our social media series about safe and unsafe abortions posted this week on @AMSANational Instagram and Facebook pages.
This week, AMSA is joining the global call to affirm that safe abortion care is essential healthcare leading up to
September 28 — International Safe Abortion Day — it’s a matter of survival, and a matter of justice!
On September 28—International Safe Abortion Day, the unstoppable abortion rights movement unites
in unwavering solidarity to reclaim the narrative and champion this year’s theme:
Safe Abortion is Life-saving Healthcare!
We invite you to explore and share resources below and @AMSAnational that highlight safe abortion care.
What is International Safe Abortion Day?
Born in Latin America and the Caribbean, it’s now recognized in more than 80 countries as a day to mobilize, demand change, and amplify the call for safe and legal abortion everywhere.
For AMSA, this day is about connecting global struggles to our work as medical students: reclaiming the narrative, confronting disinformation, and standing with those denied essential care. Our voices, combined, shape the future of reproductive justice.
The Roots of September 28th
International Safe Abortion Day traces back to Latin America and the Caribbean. In the 1990s, women’s groups launched the Campaña 28 de Septiembre por la Despenalización del Aborto to demand:
The date first marked Brazil’s abolition of slavery for children born to enslaved women, the “Day of the Free Womb.” Today, it represents freedom: the right to make decisions about our own bodies. Now, September 28 is a symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. This movement is built on solidarity across borders. Our voices, combined, shape the future of reproductive justice.
In 2011, September 28 was carried to the global stage by the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)
Learn More at
Deeper Dive Resources
Safe abortion care is not abstract. It’s concrete, evidence-based, and lifesaving.
Abortion Training is Essential
Every safe abortion begins with accurate assessment by a trained abortion care provider
Trained providers confirm gestational age with a pelvic exam (or ultrasound), review medical history to catch bleeding disorders, allergies, or drug interactions, and are prepared to deal with rare complications.
Gestational age determines the safest approach to care.
Patients deserve clear, compassionate guidance.
Safe abortion doesn’t end when the procedure is over.
Safe abortion Care is more than a procedure.
Deeper Dive Resources
Abortion is essential healthcare.
Safe abortion care matters because it is essential healthcare.
It is safer than childbirth itself¹,² and it is a fundamental right to decide if, when, and how to parent.³
When abortion is restricted, harm rises. Globally, 25 million unsafe abortions occur each year, causing tens of thousands of preventable deaths.⁴ In the United States, the Dobbs decision has left millions without care where they live: 21 states have banned or severely restricted abortion,⁵ and in 2024, 155,000 patients had to cross state lines to access basic healthcare.⁶
Abortion is not unsafe.
What’s unsafe are the laws, bans, and barriers that deny people care.
When care is denied, unsafe abortions rise.
Worldwide: 25 million unsafe abortions each year, causing tens of thousands of deaths.⁴
Sources:
Deeper Dive Resources
Step into her shoes.
This isn’t fiction. Globally, over 22 countries completely ban abortion. Today, in the U.S. 12 states have total abortion bans and 29 states have abortion bans based on gestational duration (Guttmacher Institute).
Millions are unable to get safe care:
Speak up!
September 28 is International Safe Abortion Day
Let’s start the conversation today. Join us to raise awareness and advocate for reproductive justice!
Learn more at September28.org
Deeper Dive Resources
Lack of Safe, Legal, Stigma-Free Abortion Care Is:
Across the Globe Abortion Rights are Under Attack
This Sept 28, Join Us in Demanding:
Attacks on abortion care punish the poor, target the marginalized, and strip people of dignity and bodily autonomy.
But we are unstoppable. From Nigeria to Chile, Britain to Armenia, victories remind us: solidarity works.
Learn More
Deeper Dive Resources
“Abortion opponents often use misinformation and outright lies to support their political agenda.”
Know Your Facts: Common Abortion Myths to Watch Out For, ACLU NC – Link
