Spotlight
A selection of resources from across the Federation

Abortion Care and Costs in Europe and Central Asia
IPPF EN carried out research into the economic burden that women face in accessing abortion care in Europe and Central Asia. This factsheet provides a snapshot of the findings.
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| 26 June 2020
Access to abortion care underpins women and girls' reproductive health
Access to abortion care underpins women and girls’ reproductive health. And yet around Europe and Central Asia, they are faced with obstacles that threaten their safety, dignity and freedom. Governments and the international community should work to safeguard the right of women and girls to lead free and safe reproductive lives without discrimination and coercion.

| 09 January 2020
The IPPF EN partner survey: Abortion legislation and its implementation in Europe and Central Asia
The Survey looks at the relevant legislation on abortion care in 42 countries, but crucially it also explores how these laws are interpreted by providers and experienced by women and girls. It is designed to provide an overview of women’s and girls’ experience around accessing abortion care, to highlight current threats to their reproductive health and rights, to identify ‘best-fit’ practices and to stimulate further debate and research. The Survey is not a research paper, but rather a synthesis of the expertise and understanding of our Members and Partners working in the field and serving women every day. The report begins by situating abortion care as an essential component of women’s reproductive health, as defined within the broader framework of international human rights law, specifically the Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health. It then examines to what extent current provision within national borders aligns with or deviates from state obligations to care for and value equally women and girls. It covers four key areas: the criminalisation of abortion; the various grounds available to women and girls to access abortion care and the time limits imposed thereon; the additional institutional and procedural hurdles to abortion care; and finally, the significant financial burden inflicted on women and girls when accessing care across the region. For each section, the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ country scenarios have been referenced to highlight how differently a particular barrier to care might be implemented and then experienced by women and girls across Europe and Central Asia.

| 26 September 2018
Standing firm against reproductive coercion
Women’s sexual and reproductive rights are under threat in Europe, in a climate of growing attacks on human rights, democracy and civic space. Ultra-conservative forces are trying to stifle people’s reproductive freedom and impose a coercive worldview about gender roles in family and public lives. Their cruelest tactic is forcing women through pregnancy by promoting refusal of abortion care. IPPF European Network champions reproductive freedom and access to abortion care, adapting our approach to the reality and needs of women from Norway to Tajikistan. Our work ranges from ensuring women have a voice in decision-making spaces to supporting grassroot activists and civil society movements. From providing abortion care services, to supporting health care professionals to provide the safest, highest quality care. Our members and partners are campaigners, care providers and advocates. Read Keti's story and our latest blog series to find out how women in Georgia are being denied safe and dignified reproductive lives, and how IPPF's Georgian member, HERA XXI, is helping to tackle this.

| 28 September 2014
Women's Voices on 28 September - Global day of action for access to safe and legal abortion
Every day, everywhere women have abortions. In fact, one in three women will have an abortion in their lifetime. Your sister, mother, daughter, partner, friend. Yourself. However, many countries around the world continue to restrict access to safe and legal abortion. Globally, 66 countries either prohibit abortion entirely or permit it only to save a woman's life. Approximately one quarter of the world's population resides in these countries. Too many women still do not have autonomy over their reproductive lives, and are not able to choose to end an unwanted pregnancy under safe conditions with the support of a trained provider. That is why on September 28, the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, IPPF will join with partners across the world to call for universal access for safe and legal abortion. In our region, from Skopje to Stockholm, Tirana to Dublin, our Member Associations are marking the day with activities ranging from press conferences, advocacy workshops, public debates organised by youth activists and short movie launches to providing information and education materials to schools; dedicated social media campaigns; clinic open day with free sexual and reproductive health services, and appearing in newspapers and TV documentaries to make the case for safe and legal abortion. Criminalising abortion does not reduce the number of abortions, all it does is push abortion underground and rates of unsafe abortion increase. In fact, the lowest abortion rates in the world are in regions with some of the most liberal legal frameworks for the provision of abortion services. A woman’s right to safe, legal abortion is under threat in Europe too. The abandoning this week of a regressive anti-abortion bill in Spain is a step in the right direction and an illustration of what can be achieved through the joint action of civil society organisations. But the fact remains it should never have been on the legislature’s books in the first place. It shows that rights can be rolled back at anytime, anywhere. The women who suffer as a consequence of restrictive laws are not just numbers. Each woman who seeks an abortion does so under a unique set of circumstances. IPPF has produced a series of short films to tell the stories of some of these women. Women like Juliette from France, who just like millions of other women around the world, decided to have an abortion following an unintended pregnancy. In this video Juliette describes the challenges she faced in trying to find accurate and unbiased information about abortion, and she shares her thoughts on the role of men in the abortion process. You can watch the other videos in the series here. Unwanted pregnancies will always be a fact of life and abortions will continue. So, join us on September 28 in calling for governments to make abortion safe and legal abortion everywhere. Read a guest blog on the "state shambles" of abortion in Ireland by IFPA, IPPF's Irish Member Association here.

| 07 December 2012
Abortion legislation in Europe
An overview of abortion legislation across Europe and Central Asia in 2012, covering all countries where IPPF EN Member Associations are situated.