#information package

ICMA is pleased to announce that the updated Information Package on Medical Abortion is now available for download and reading on www.medicalabortionconsortium.org 

This updated version of the ICMA Information Package on Medical Abortion has been revised in accordance with the WHO’s Safe abortion: Technical and policy guidance for health systems, second edition (2012) and other evidence-based technical guidances and recommendations. The ICMA Information Package on Medical Abortion contains comprehensive information on medical abortion, addressed to a broad range of audiences, including women who may be seeking an abortion, women's groups and organizations, health policymakers and health care providers.

ICMA Info Package contents:

Section 1: Information for women

Section 2: Information for women’s organizations and NGOs

Section 3: Information for health care providers

Section 4: Information for policymakers

Some of the sections of the info package are available in six additional languages: Russian (sections 1, 2, 3, 4), French (sections 1 and 3), Spanish (sections 1 and 3), Portuguese (sections 1 and 3), Hindi (sections 1 and 3) and Arabic (sections 1, 2, 3, 4).

ICMA would like to thank everyone who contributed and provided support and guidance in the process of updating, writing, review, editing, translating, formatting and design of the Information Package on Medical Abortion.

The 2013 theme is: 20 Years Working for Your Rights, marking the 20th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993

In the light of a comprehensive approach, the World Conference on Human Rights emphasizes the importance of giving special attention to …3. The equal status and human rights of women, specifically:

41. The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes the importance of the enjoyment by women of the highest standard of physical and mental health throughout their life span. In the context of the World Conference on Women and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as the Proclamation of Tehran of 1968, the World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms, on the basis of equality between women and men, a woman's right to accessible and adequate health care and the widest range of family planning services, as well as equal access to education at all levels.

Women’s sexual and reproductive rights ARE human rights and they include the right to safe abortion. Human rights standards support the reform of laws that criminalize abortion and encourage the lawfulness of abortion in circumstances such as the protection of a woman’s life and health, and in cases of rape. Even when abortion-related laws are restrictive, ensuring that they are interpreted and implemented in order to protect women’s health and rights is essential. >

Let us remember the Human rights relating to safe abortion:

Right to Life: Requires amendment of criminal laws to permit legal grounds for abortion

Right to Health: Requires that abortion facilities and trained providers are available in sufficient quantity and equitably distributed

Right to Equality and Non-Discrimination:

Requires amendment of laws that criminalize medical procedures only needed by women and that punish women who undergo those procedures

Requires women to be treated with respect and dignity, and that abortion services are sensitive to women’s needs and perspectives

Rights to Liberty, Security of Person and Privacy: Requires removal of third-party authorization requirements as inconsistent with the right of women to make decisions about reproduction and to exercise control over their bodies

To mark this day of crucial importance for women’s lives the International Consortium for Medical Abortion (ICMA) is pleased to announce that the updated Information Package on Medical Abortion is now available for download and reading on www.medicalabortionconsortium.org

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