MSF statement on SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade

We know that unsafe abortion is a major cause of maternal mortality worldwide. Some seven million people around the world are hospitalized every year with complications from unsafe abortion. Some will be permanently disabled. Those numbers are horrific, but we do not even know the full scale of the problem because so many people cannot even access the medical care they need.

Criminalizing abortion only causes more deaths and harm

As medical providers with experience working in more than 70 countries, we want to remind policy makers that criminalizing abortion only causes more deaths and harm. Where abortion is most restricted, it is more likely to be unsafe. Where abortion is legal and safe services are available, deaths and disability from abortions are reduced. Restricted access to care often disproportionately affects people of color, people living in poverty, and people in remote or rural areas.

It is shocking to see the US moving backward just as many other countries are moving forward to expand access to safe abortion care. Safe abortion care should be accessible to everyone everywhere. 

Dr. Stewart has completed five surgical field assignments with MSF and served as a guide for the organizationʼs Forced From Home exhibition about the global refugee crisis. She was elected to the board of directors in 2017. She continues to support women's health care locally and abroad with an emphasis on education and prevention.