Global Trajectories of Abortion Access

Our 2024 fall Buffett Symposium, Abortion Access Today: Global Insights and Comparisons, convened leading strategists, researchers, medical practitioners, and human rights advocates from Colombia, Ireland, Kenya, Poland, and the U.S. to discuss abortion access around the world.

The third and final panel of this daylong program focused on global trajectories of abortion access. Panelists discussed the political, geopolitical, cultural, and legal factors shaping divergent paths in abortion access and what they reveal about the underlying forces at play and future trajectories worldwide.

Panelists included:

• Caitlin Bernard, Assistant Professor of Clinical Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Indiana University School of Medicine and one of only two physicians still performing abortions in Indiana

• Camilla Fitzsimons, Associate Professor of Adult and Community Education at Maynooth University in Ireland and author of Repealed: Ireland's Unfinished Fight for Reproductive Rights

• Krystyna Kacpura, President of the Foundation for Women and Family Planning (FEDERA) in Poland

• Catalina Martinez, Vice President of the Latin America & the Caribbean unit of the Center for Reproductive Rights

• Katherine Mayall, Director of Strategic Initiatives within the Legal Strategies, Innovation & Research unit of the Center for Reproductive Rights

• Evelyne Opondo, Director of the International Center for Research on Women's Africa offices

• Moderated by Deborah Cohen, Director of Northwestern University's Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Richard W. Leopold Professor of History at the Northwestern University Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences

Key Takeaways

• Transnational anti-abortion groups have become increasingly sophisticated in their tactics to influence government policy. Panelists highlighted tactics such as blackmailing key government leaders and orchestrating the demotion of officials supporting abortion access. They stressed the need to “demystify their narratives,” increase understanding of the groups’ operations, and recognize that their influence extends beyond religious arguments to issues of power and governance.

• Misinformation campaigns continue to spread in the digital realm, creating risks for abortion care advocates and providers while impeding global abortion access. Although governments are often scrutinized for their abortion policies, the role of technology companies in controlling abortion-related information also warrants attention. Stakeholders should hold technology companies accountable for their part in global abortion disinformation campaigns. At the same time, organizations need to actively pursue public education initiatives to combat false narratives and destigmatize abortion discussions.

• Creative strategies to expand abortion access vary by context but share themes of solidarity, information sharing, and targeted messaging. These strategies range from solidarity campaigns, such as Polish women declaring on social media their willingness to be jailed alongside an activist prosecuted for sending abortion pills to a sexual violence survivor, to legal actions such as filing lawsuits in the U.S. on behalf of women affected by abortion restrictions. Campaigns such as sending cushions to a politician in Ireland or wearing green bandannas in Colombia gave high public visibility to the cause.

• Health care providers can help in expanding abortion access, not only through providing services but also as trusted sources of information. Medical professionals need support to effectively frame issues in ways that the public can understand. Moreover, the rise of telemedicine and medicated abortions is reshaping abortion access globally, making it essential to understand how to safely and equitably integrate them into health care systems.

⁠Read the symposium synthesis report produced by Foreign Policy >>⁠