Ibis stands with our partners around the world in recognition of International Day for Maternal Health and Rights. We remain steadfast in our commitment to advance sexual and reproductive autonomy, choices, and health through bold, rigorous research and principled partnerships with advocates, service providers, and policymakers around the world.
As we celebrate International Day for Maternal Health and Rights, we must ensure that all maternal health policies and programs include comprehensive care, including access to safe, affordable, quality abortion services. Even as self-use of medication abortion outside of clinics has expanded abortion access in legally restricted settings, unsafe abortion continues to be a significant cause of mortality—and all people deserve access to safe, affordable, and high-quality care. In addition, it is critical to acknowledge that maternal health issues are not limited to cis women. Increasing recognition of gender identity and fluidity demands that our research and partnerships are inclusive of transgender, gender non-conforming, and gender-expansive individuals.
From our offices in Johannesburg, South Africa; Oakland, California; and Cambridge, Massachusetts, our team works to ensure all people have full knowledge of and autonomy in sexual and reproductive decision-making, including safe abortion—no matter where they live—through our mmoho campaign and support of the #MyBodyMyChoice campaign, among others. We also conduct research with our partners on issues including access to contraception and abortion among military servicewomen; the effect of accompaniment models to support people seeking medication abortion outside formal services; the development and validation of a common measure of abortion service quality; and improved access to safe, effective, and affordable birth control, including a pill available over-the-counter in the United States.
Particularly in the face of systemic racism, gender inequality, unconscionable abortion bans, the Global Gag Rule, and countless other policies and forces that deny people access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and care—we stand with our partners across the movement to fight for all people to have access to respectful and high-quality maternity care, the full spectrum of services, and the power to exercise their human right to live a pleasurable, safe, and healthy sexual and reproductive life.