Abortion is healthcare

Access to safe, timely abortions is essential to the health of anyone who can become pregnant. Restrictive laws don’t stop abortions, instead they cause more people to seek out abortions that are unregulated and therefore unsafe.

Researchers have shown that the choice to have children, also called reproductive self-determination, vastly increases women’s health and quality of life. The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (1) states that reproductive choice, including access to safe abortion services, should be a basic and non-negotiable tool for ensuring the human rights of every woman around the world (1). This sentiment is echoed by leading US clinical organizations focusing on female reproductive health: the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Nurse Midwives, Planned Parenthood, the Society of Family Planning and the Power to Decide. 

Abortion can be a very complex decision. But it can be vital to maintaining someone’s health, both physical and mental, their path to education, their financial stability, their familial relationships and their ability to parent the children they already have. In short, it can be essential to the pursuit of a person’s life goals and happiness. It should be made without fear of judgment or legal repercussions. 

Globally, lack of access to safe abortion causes people to seek out other unsafe ways to end a pregnancy; 45% of all abortions are considered unsafe (2). Unsafe abortions are responsible for 13% of all maternal deaths worldwide (3). In the USA, where the right to abortion is extremely politicized, abortion is nonetheless common–almost half of pregnancies are unintended, and approximately 34% of all unintended pregnancies end in abortion (4, 5). It is therefore central to female reproductive health that there is access to safe, early options such as medical abortion (an abortion with medication) and surgical abortions with licensed, trained and accountable medical providers, without threat, fear, or political interference. 

Clue is here to break down barriers to health education, unfounded myths, and cultural taboos when it comes to reproductive health. We believe everyone deserves the right to make their own health decisions, free from judgment, misinformation, or shame. Our mission is to support all of our community throughout their entire reproductive journey, whatever their decisions along the way. We are therefore committed to continuing to provide accurate, evidence-based, non-judgmental information on all reproductive topics, including abortion.