Lack of access to safe abortion care is further exacerbated in many settings by stigma, a lack of knowledge on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR),3 and what the Guttmacher‑Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights calls “a persistent discrimination against women and girls, and an unwillingness to address issues related to sexuality openly and comprehensively.”4 Particularly vulnerable groups within this context are adolescents; women with disabilities; sex workers; women who are subjected to forced marriage, domestic violence, abuse or rape, or female genital mutilation; and women subjected to human trafficking.

Medical abortion has the potential to increase access to safe abortion care and to increase women’s autonomy and decision‑making with regards to their reproductive choices and rights. It is time to implement evidence‑based abortion services that promote, protect and fulfil the sexual and reproductive rights of all individuals everywhere.