The Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health strongly supports the right to safe, legal abortion for all people no matter where they live.
Our vision is a world where everyone can make informed choices about sexual and reproductive health and has access to the health care needed to realize these choices, including the decision about when and whether to have a child.
The U.S. Supreme Court has now overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Roe v. Wade made abortion legal in every state. Twenty six U.S. states are now certain or likely to ban abortion.
These abortion restrictions are a grave threat to public health, gender equality, and human rights. For the young, poor, and marginalized, prior abortion restrictions already compromised rights and health. Now, these rights are even more compromised.
At a time when many other countries have removed legal and policy barriers to safe abortion, regressive policies in the United States are sure to erode progress in achieving universal sexual and reproductive health and rights. Today’s decision to further restrict access to abortion in the United States will only embolden those who seek to reverse gains made.
