Access to abortion is fundamental to the health of individuals, families, and communities and is a public health issue. Worldwide, over 7 million women are admitted to hospitals every year due to complications that arise from having unsafe and illegal abortions and up to 31,000 women die. In the United States, abortion is common and also extremely safe. Despite its demonstrated safety record, abortion is extensively regulated and restricted. Restrictions on access to abortion care cause significant harm, especially to marginalized and vulnerable populations.

Access to abortion remains a public health priority. Currently, laws and policy changes are rolling back reproductive rights, putting health and lives at risk. Abortion also is a key reproductive justice issue - a component of the complex, intersecting rights and conditions that allow people of color to regain and maintain autonomy over what happens to their own bodies and pregnancies, their ability to have or not have children, and to raise the children they have in safe and sustainable communities.

Office of Women's Health - Abortion is a Public Health Issue: Achieving Access and Equity Report Report

This infographic summarizes basic information about abortion in the United States and its impact on public health. Infographic References For more detailed information, see our abortion report (forthcoming).