The new President of the United States is now unveiling his plan to dismantle progress and implement a violent and discriminatory society, all of which have been designed to reverse human rights wins. Between 20 and 29 January, 2025, Donald Trump announced a series of presidential actions, aimed at scaling up attacks toward every individual's right to decide over their own body, identity, and life. The plan of the Trump administration was detailed in the "Project 2025": A society where women lose their rights and freedoms and are reduced to reproductive and domestic labour; A society where the existence of trans and intersex individuals is denied, and their rights are trampled upon; A society where lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals are forbidden from the choice to have a family - or not - and live freely in their emotional, sexual and relational lives. We have learnt from years of denouncing and refusing the conditions of the Global Gag Rule, that executive orders expand over political cycles, and we can’t rely on a change in government to wind back the clock. The introduction of the Foreign Aid Executive Order, the Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government, and the Reevaluating And Realigning United States Foreign Aid reveal a new level of complexity designed to chill the funding landscape and promote violence against those most discriminated and marginalized. This vision, driven by far-right ideologies, will accelerate gender-based, sexual, and LGBTQI+phobic violence, result in more deaths and restrict long taken for granted human rights. This deadly project is not unique to the American far-right. We see it spreading across the world. We have seen both right-wing and left-wing governments gradually incorporating far-right narratives by denying the rights of trans individuals, migrants, and women. A culture of fear and silence has translated into collusion and complicity. We will stand up and speak out for sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice for ALL.  Trans people, women, refugees, and migrants are not the threat. Two consecutive administrations who militarised aid and development followed by the Trump Administrations attacks on identity make the US political establishment the real threat to global peace and progress.  Let’s cut through the rhetoric and name the Trump Administration's actions for what they are: Attacking the rights of trans and intersex individuals is attacking women’s rights. Deporting migrants leads to misery and death for at risk or targeted populations. Forcibly transferring incarcerated trans women to men’s prisons amounts to risking their lives Cutting funding to the World Health Organization, UNFPA and others makes us vulnerable to pandemics, and cuts off healthcare to everyone, including Americans. Blocking funding for sexual and reproductive health organizations increases the amount of abortions, but makes them less safe, resulting in pregnant people dying. Denying trans adolescents access to healthcare leaves children to suffer, more than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ young people (ages 13-24) seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S. — and at least one attempts suicide every 45 seconds. Increasing militarization and occupation results in more attacks against health care workers and the destruction of service sites makes progress impossible. Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement contributes to an increase in natural disasters and humanitarian crises, where most unsafe abortions happen.  The far-right’s program leads to the death of women, LGBTQI+ individuals, migrants, the poor, and other oppressed groups. To combat this destructive societal vision, our organizations call for the unity of progressive movements: We urge governments to stop enabling anti-rights narratives: let women, trans, intersex and non-binary individuals, and migrants live with dignity. Respect our human rights. Defend our human rights. Condemn governments that attack us. We welcome political and climate refugees. We call on feminist organizations, defenders of sexual rights, LGBTQI+ advocates, environmentalists, and ALL human rights defenders: build bridges between our struggles. Keep showing up as part of the wider liberation struggle. To organizations with privileged access to places of power like us: use this privilege to amplify the struggles of those absent from the negotiation table. Elevate the voice of the people who are directly targeted. To keep fighting for the end of colonisation and occupation. We speak out against the militarization of our health service scopes, and the killing of health care workers and patients.  Finally, to individuals and activists who follow us, who defend our causes, who demonstrate, share our messages on social media, and support us financially: thank you. You are not alone. Join us. Let’s come together and fight back and win.

Since his inauguration, Donald Trump has conducted a vicious and calculated assault on trans and nonbinary people. Whilst not yet concluded, his attacks include a suite of executive actions designed to humiliate, demonise and erase trans and non-binary people from public life, and include the targeting of children and young people. Some of the actions include the denial of gender-affirming care for minors and the denial of comprehensive sex and relationships education for students. This will increase the rate of violence against, and suicide in young people, and is nothing short of an act of state violence. “Trans children and young people deserve safety, access to the same standard of care afforded to their peers, and adults around them who have their best interest at heart listening to their needs," said Micah Grzywnowicz, Regional Director, IPPF European Network. "No young person, regardless of who they are, should be used as a pawn in a political game. The consequences of this Executive Order will be devastating and long-lasting. For many, access to gender affirming care is a lifeline - we will soon see increasing risks of mental health struggles, including anxiety, depression, and in the worst-case scenario, suicidal tendencies. This must be taken off the books - immediately,” The attacks against children and young people are linked to a full-scale ideological war against all LGBTQI people denying them access to health care and meaningful employment. The anti-gender executive action positions women as needing protection - not from the Trump Administration - but from trans people; and the dog whistling against sexually and gender diverse military personnel is not only bizarre, but signals a new era of toxic masculinity in an increasingly militarised world. Shifting the narrative from marginalization to outright criminalization is dangerous. It is extremist. It is inhumane. The Trump administration’s rollback of HIV/AIDS funding and potential cuts to PEPFAR will have devastating consequences — especially for transgender people, some of whom are engaged in sex work due to systemic discrimination. These cuts will directly impact access to life-saving medication, prevention programs, and healthcare. LGBTQI+ people rely on access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, the reinstatement of the global gag rule and the new foreign aid executive action further denies health care to LGBTQI+ people. By stripping away these vital services, Trump is jeopardising years of global health progress. And it is not just happening in the United States. Across the world, IPPF and its Member Associations are mobilized to expose these strategies used by political parties and governments spreading trans and homophobic ideologies. Many far-right governments use the same playbook—using transphobia as a political weapon to divide the women’s movement, and putting at risk years of child protection efforts designed to safeguard children from harm: in the house, by the church and from the state. As part of the women’s movement we resist the patriarchy, we stand with lesbian, gay, queer, trans and non-binary people who are part of our movement.  We are family. We will fight for the rights of our children and young people in all their beautiful diversity. We stand with trans and non-binary people everywhere.   For more information on gender-affirming care, read our IMAP Statement here: IMAP Statement on Hormone Therapy for Transgender and Gender Diverse Persons | IPPF  You can also read our blog on Self-care tips for when you are receiving gender-affirming healthcare here: Self-care tips for when you are receiving gender-affirming healthcare | IPPF 

On this International Safe Abortion Day, we celebrate mifepristone and Misoprostol: the tiny tablets making abortion safer and more accessible to women around the world. In June of 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back the constitutional right to an abortion with the Dobbs decision, many people took to the streets in protest — and many of the signs they carried featured wire hangers.   Why wire hangers? It harkened back to the years before Roe v. Wade when abortion was illegal, and women seeking to end their pregnancies often risked unsafe procedures that threatened their health and lives. Fortunately, the wire hanger has less relevance today in the US than it did in 1973. And that’s because of a game-changing advancement in reproductive care that was first introduced about 30 years ago: medication abortion, also known as medical abortion or the “abortion pill.” Abortion using medication, also known as medical abortion, usually involves taking two different drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, which are taken in sequence. Mifepristone stops further development of the pregnancy, and misoprostol induces uterine contractions to expel the pregnancy tissue. The use of misoprostol alone has also proven an effective and safe way to end a pregnancy, which is especially important in extending access in countries where mifepristone is more difficult to obtain. Around the world, these tiny pills are revolutionizing abortion access for several reasons: They are generally less expensive than a procedure, putting abortion within financial reach for people and communities that otherwise couldn’t afford it. They require less medical training and equipment. They can be taken in the comfort and privacy of one’s home. They offer the pregnant person choice in abortion services options in instances where both procedural abortion and medical abortion are available.

Election season is heating up. As headlines in the U.S. swirl with updates about presidential campaigns, pop star endorsements, implications for our democracy, and of course, for abortion rights, it is easy to forget that the United States is not alone. Ours is but one of at least 64 national, presidential, or parliamentary elections that will take place this year, with half the world’s population heading to the polls. That makes 2024 the biggest and most consequential global election year in history.   A consequential global election year. From Taiwan to Russia and from Malawi to France, each election will have significant implications for human rights, including women’s rights. It is fair to say that around the world, bodies are on the ballot. When it comes to the global movement for bodily autonomy, progress can look very different around the world. In some countries it can take the form of pro-abortion legislation, while in others it can be as basic as acknowledging that women have a right to make decisions about their own bodies. Regression, on the other hand, looks the same in every country: it looks like the far right. The political climate leading up to elections in several countries, including the U.S., has demonstrated a troubling resurgence of support for far-right parties and other anti-rights groups. This was especially true of the parliamentary elections in Europe earlier this year. Far-right parties made huge gains across all 27 member states, including Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. In France, a stunning 38% of votes were cast for far-right parties. The U.S. is a bold participant, perhaps even an agitator, of this global far-right resurgence. We are all too familiar with the regressive, anti-immigrant, anti-trans, anti-reproductive-freedom, and anti-progress rhetoric that is characteristic of a far right campaign. But one important thing sets our election apart from others experiencing similar stakes: The U.S. 2024 election has the power to impact the bodily autonomy of people around the world—not just those within our borders. And that’s because of a policy called the “Mexico City Policy,” also known as the Global Gag Rule.

Over the past 30 years, more than 60 countries and territories have liberalized their abortion laws. Only four have regressed, including the United States. Abortion rights are increasingly becoming recognized as fundamental human rights for millions of people worldwide. The global landscape of abortion rights continues to evolve in 2024, with new legislation and feminist movements fighting for better access. Let's take a trip around the world to see the latest developments.

On 24 June 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade in a landmark ruling that removed the constitutional right to abortion. The repeal means the US joins just three other countries - Poland, Nicaragua and El Salvador - that have removed legal grounds for abortion since 1994. In contrast, 61 other countries have liberalized abortion laws - some of which came in direct response to the repeal of Roe v Wade. While we grapple with providing safe abortion care in these uncertain times, we are reminded that countries like the US, which have historically set the global abortion agenda, are no longer the right or the only leaders. In Africa, we find ourselves at a critical juncture. Amidst these challenges, there have been significant triumphs that inspire hope for a future where reproductive justice is upheld. For example, one month after the US ruling last year, Sierra Leone approved a draft law to decriminalize abortion, in a monumental step towards the repeal of its colonial-era laws. Benin has also enacted one of the most progressive abortion laws in Africa, demonstrating the potential for change even in the face of adversity. In Kenya, the High Court ruled that safe abortion is a fundamental right, and that arbitrary arrests and prosecution for seeking or offering such services are completely illegal.

Texas judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, has suspended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of the abortion pill Mifepristone in a horror move for abortion access across the United States. The decision will result in a nationwide ban on Mifepristone in seven days, with the FDA given one week to appeal the ruling. While the ban also affected access in states that have secured abortion post-Roe v Wade, a conflicting ruling from Judge Thomas O. Rice from a federal court in Washington state ordered the FDA to maintain access to Mifepristone in 17 democratic states and Colombia District – effectively putting access to the pill into limbo. Mifepristone, which has been FDA-approved for more than 22 years and has a safety record of over 99%[i], is taken alongside the drug Misoprostol during medical abortion procedures. Since then, it has been used by over 5 million[ii] Americans and was used in more than half of abortions nationwide last year. While Misoprostol can be used alone in medical abortion, people should have access to the full spectrum of abortion care options. Mifepristone is also used in the medical management of miscarriage and second and third-trimester pregnancies when the fetus has died before birth. While the ruling does not prohibit the FDA from making a new authorization for Mifepristone, this will likely take many months. Severe disruption to abortion care services, healthcare services and supply chain issues are expected as healthcare providers and pharmacies grapple with legality, stock, retraining and reeducation. Beth Schlachter, Director of Global Advocacy for the International Planned Parenthood Federation, said: "For 22 years, Mifepristone has been safely used in medical abortion care across the U.S., allowing healthcare providers to deliver safe, practical and discreet care to people who have chosen to end their pregnancies, regardless of their economic status or ability to travel. "In one fell swoop, anti-abortion extremists have once again stripped people of their rights in another blow to liberty. This horror ruling based on junk science, wilful distortion of fact and extreme political agendas will profoundly affect the lives of millions of people already struggling to access the care they need, especially in states where abortion is already banned." Anti-abortion extremists deliberately filed the case against the approval of Mifepristone in the Amarillo division of the Northern District of Texas — a single-judge division where cases are automatically assigned to Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a conservative judge appointed by former President Trump. The group claim that: "the statutory basis on which the FDA's approval of Mifepristone was issued 22 years ago is invalid" - an assertion both the Government Accountability Office and FDA have previously investigated and put to rest "an 1873 vice law that made it illegal to send "obscene, lewd or lascivious" material through the mail applies to abortion pills" - federal courts have consistently ruled it doesn't apply to lawful abortions "the drug's original approval wasn't supported by evidence of safety and efficacy" — a claim that medical and policy experts have continuously discredited Beth Schlachter, added: "The implementation of a national ban on Mifepristone via a state court debunks one of the principal anti-abortion arguments in the Roe v Wade case  - that the ruling curtailed state freedom and that abortion rights should be defined on a state-by-state basis. "This weaponization of federal courts by anti-abortion extremists proves just how dangerous the overturning of Roe v Wade is for everyday Americans, whose access to healthcare now lies in the hands of fanatical religious extremists determined to disrupt, harass and deceive until they end access to abortion care and long-held sexual and reproductive rights for good." The International Planned Parenthood Federation's local partner, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, will continue to provide abortion care where safe and legal to do so. Those seeking medical abortion can also access care via AidAccess and WomenonWeb. At least two abortion networks, Trust Women and Whole Womans Health, have also announced that they will not immediately stop prescribing Mifepristone and will await a directive from the FDA – a move known as a conscientious provision which refers to providers who continue to provide care despite the legal parameters.   Alongside its partner and other reproductive health organizations, IPPF will keep fighting for access to abortion care, freedom from stigma and freedom from criminalization until everyone, everywhere, is free to make choices about their sexuality and well-being. [i] https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/42/8a/428ab2ad-3798-4e3d-8a9f-213203f0af65/191011-the-facts-on-mifepristone-d01.pdf [ii] Ibid For media enquiries, please contact Karmen Ivey at [email protected] or [email protected]   About the International Planned Parenthood Federation The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global service provider and advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.  For 70 years, IPPF, through its 118 Member Associations and seven partners, has delivered high-quality sexual and reproductive healthcare and helped advance sexual rights, especially for people with intersectional and diverse needs that are currently unmet. Our Member Associations and partners are independent organizations that are locally owned, which means the support and care they provide is informed by local expertise and context. We advocate for a world where people have the information they need to make informed decisions about their sexual health and bodies. We stand up and fight for sexual and reproductive rights and against those who seek to deny people their human right to bodily autonomy and freedom. We deliver care that is rooted in rights, respect, and dignity - no matter what.  

For the first time, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has adopted Agreed Conclusions on the theme of Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. IPPF actively engaged in the process by providing technical input and raising awareness about the interlinkages between SRHR, digital technologies, gender equality, and the empowerment and human rights of all women and girls. IPPF was well represented at the Commission with the following member associations actively involved in advocacy efforts and included on national delegations: the Danish Family Planning Association (DFPA), Rutgers (Netherlands), Profamilia Colombia, and RFSU (the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education). This was the Commission’s first in-person convening since 2019. During the global Covid-19 pandemic, civil society space was limited at the CSW as the sessions were conducted entirely online or only open to a limited number of civil society organizations (CSOs). This year’s session therefore constituted the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that many CSOs could meet and mobilize in person; the session welcomed a record number of 8000 participants to CSW. The experience and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic highlights the importance of ensuring transparency and adequate access to civil society as well as the need to ensure that restrictions that were enforced under Covid-19 do not hamper access for CSOs going forward.   Geopolitical landscape The negotiations were led by the Ambassador of Argentina and culminated in over weeks of negotiations between Member States on this new and important theme. For the first time, the facilitator and the Bureau decided to launch negotiations with some paragraphs containing previously agreed language “closed” so delegates could instead focus on advancing language and normative standards that related to this new priority theme. The geopolitical backdrop to this year’s negotiations was, at times, extremely divided, with key issues such as the right to development, transfer of technology, sexual and reproductive health and rights, comprehensive sexuality education, multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, family-related language and the issue of foreign occupation causing political stalemate at times. Nonetheless, in the end, a consensus was reached, and strong Agreed Conclusions were adopted in the early morning hours on the last day of the Commission. Overall, gains were made on the important and ever-evolving area of technology, innovation, education and gender equality.  Sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights IPPF welcomes strong references to sexual and reproductive health (SRH), health care-services, and sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights: in particular, preambular paragraphs 67, 69 and operative paragraphs (0), (p), and (ll). IPPF welcomes the CSW’s recognition of the important role of digital health, including digital health technologies, digital tools, telemedicine, and mobile health, to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information, and education. We also welcome that CSW recognises the need to ensure that such technologies and tools are developed in consultation with women and, as appropriate, girls, and that these technologies are science and evidence-based while protecting personal information, including health information and doctor-patient confidentiality, and prioritize consent and informed decision-making (1). Member States were able to agree on a new operative paragraph on SRH-care services which constitutes a gain beyond what was achieved last year. Digital technologies and new innovations are already having an impact on SRHR and education, for example, by the provision of sexuality education, online information, and the use of telemedicine and apps to provide people with counselling and SRH-care. The consensus reached at this year’s Commission reflects the broad-based support of Member States to take steps to address the opportunities and challenges that arise in the context of SRH and innovation, technological change, and education. Adolescents  We also welcome the Agreed Conclusion’s strong references to adolescents, including preambular paragraph 19, which is a standalone paragraph that discusses the disproportionate discrimination and violence that adolescents face and that occur through or are amplified by the use of technology. We also welcome references to adolescents in PP53, PP66, (ll), (uu), and (ee), including pregnant adolescents, young mothers, and single mothers to enable them to continue and complete their education and provide catch-up and literacy, including digital literacy. Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination  We regret that references to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination were contested by some delegations, especially given the relevance to this year’s theme. It is well documented that women, adolescents, and girls facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination (MIFD) are more likely to face discrimination and violence through or amplified by technology. They also lack access to technological opportunities and advancements. We regret that the Agreed Conclusions do not have a standalone paragraph linking the priority theme to MIFD, which also constitutes a setback from last year’s agreement, where there were three references to MIFD, as opposed to this year’s text which only includes two.  Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) The text includes a standalone paragraph on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in operative paragraph (ll), which is language that has previously been adopted at the Commission. Though there were attempts to build on this language and advance on normative standards relating to CSE, these proposals were ultimately dropped at a late hour due to the inability to reach consensus on suggested new language. We regret that discussions stalled on CSE, as this is an area that has been well documented by UN agencies as an effective preventative and evidence-based intervention that can improve the health, well-being, and lives of young people, as well as prevent the incidence of gender-based violence and sexually transmitted infections. This is especially unfortunate, given this year’s priority theme and the focus on education.  Technology-facilitated gender-based violence The discussions on the phenomenon of technology-facilitated gender-based violence became politically contested, with some delegations insisting that this terminology constituted a new technical term, requiring a comprehensive definition were it to be referenced in the text. It was, therefore not possible to have a reference to the term in the text even though the phenomenon was well described and prioritized therein. In this regard, we welcome the numerous references to gender-based violence and particularly the recognition that girls are often at greater risk of being exposed to and experience various forms of discrimination and gender-based violence and harmful practices, including through the use of technology and social media (2). Furthermore, we welcome references to ‘non-consenual’ in preambular paragraph 56 and operative paragraph (uuu), as this concerns critical violations of rights and freedoms that women, adolescents, and girls are subject to. These well-documented abuses can be exacerbated by technology; in this regard, the principle of non-consensual is critical to acknowledging the autonomy of women, adolescents, and girls in decisions affecting their sexual, reproductive, and intimate lives.  Right to privacy and personal data Greater need for practices and laws that guarantee the protection of sensitive personal and health data has increased alongside the rise of digital technologies. We therefore welcome the Commission’s recognition that women - and particularly girls - often do not and/or cannot provide their free, explicit, and informed consent to the collection, processing, use, storage, or sale of their personal data (3). We also welcome the Commission’s emphasis on the need to address the digital divide for migrant women and girls and ensure their online connectivity and equitable access to services while upholding the protection of personal data and their right to privacy (4). Finally, we also welcome that the Commission underscores the importance of applying standards for the collection, use, and sharing of data, retention, archiving, and deletion to ensure the protection of women’s and girls’ personal data and to strengthen their ownership of their own personal data (5). Human rights references We welcome the strong references to the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all women and girls in the text. In particular, we welcome acknowledgement of the risks and opportunities that the evolving nature of technology brings in terms of realizing the human rights of women, adolescents, girls, and other marginalized groups and the action required by Member States and relevant stakeholders to mitigate against risks and protect, respect, and fulfil the human rights of all women and girls. This year’s Agreed Conclusions has almost double as many references relating to the human rights of women and girls. This constitutes a huge advancement and is testament to the resounding cross-regional support for upholding the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all women and girls.  Putting the Agreed Conclusions into practice Despite intensive and, at times, difficult political deliberations around key issues, the adoption of Agreed Conclusions signals the strong cross-regional support for the mandate of the Commission and its priority theme. It also reflects cross-regional support for key issues, including SRHR, human rights, preventing, addressing and eliminating gender-based violence, especially gender-based violence occurring and being amplified through technology. The importance and success of the Agreed Conclusions lie in its implementation at the national level. IPPF and its member associations are well placed as a locally owned, global Federation to work to ensure the implementation of the Agreed Conclusions at national, regional, and global levels. This will ultimately and most importantly benefit the lives of women, adolescents, girls and other marginalized groups in the communities where they live.  (1) PP69 (2) PP52 (3) PP39 (4) PP82 (5) OP qqq  Photo Credit: UN Women/Ryan Brown For media enquiries, please contact Karmen Ivey on [email protected] or [email protected]   About the International Planned Parenthood Federation The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global service provider and advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.   For 70 years, IPPF, through its 108 Member Associations and 7 partners, has delivered high-quality sexual and reproductive healthcare and helped advance sexual rights, especially for people with intersectional and diverse needs that are currently unmet. Our Member Associations and partners are independent organizations that are locally owned, which means the support and care they provide is informed by local expertise and context. We advocate for a world where people are provided with the information they need to make informed decisions about their sexual health and bodies. We stand up and fight for sexual and reproductive rights and against those who seek to deny people their human right to bodily autonomy and freedom. We deliver care that is rooted in rights, respect, and dignity - no matter what.