Friend,

There are moments in this work that stay with you forever. 

A few years ago, while I was on assignment as an OB-GYN with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a woman came into our clinic late at night, bleeding heavily from a life-threatening pregnancy complication. We were in a country where abortion is restricted, but the only way to save her life was to safely end the pregnancy.

Not everyone on our team supported abortion. But despite our different values, we all agreed: We had to save her life. We provided a safe abortion, and she survived. Without it, she would have died.

At MSF, we don’t ask why someone seeks an abortion. We provide care with dignity, respect, and the best medical treatment available—because everyone deserves access to lifesaving health care, no matter who they are or where they live.

Learn more about MSF’s commitment to providing reproductive care without borders >>
 

Access to safe abortion saves lives. And yet, every day around the world, people are denied this essential care. Right now, harmful US policies are putting even more lives at risk.

The Trump Administration’s recent reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy, also known as the Global Gag Rule, bars organizations receiving US global health funds from using their own resources to provide, refer for, or even discuss abortion care. MSF has repeatedly spoken out about the harmful impacts of limiting access to safe abortion care and reproductive health services, and we will continue to bear witness in the communities in which we work, regardless of who is in office.

While MSF USA doesn’t accept any government funding, our teams have seen how these policies force providers into impossible situations: Comply and limit what they offer to patients or refuse and lose critical funding. Either way, people lose access to essential care—and there are deadly consequences when access to safe abortion care is restricted. People will suffer. People will die.

Because of our independent funding, MSF has not been directly impacted. However, our staff are witnessing the collapse of reproductive services in the communities we serve that once relied on US funding. We work alongside health care providers who are now essentially banned from doing their jobs, leaving more people in need of safe reproductive care.

Everyone who seeks an abortion—no matter their reason, no matter where they live—deserves high-quality, compassionate care. See how this global movement of supporters is helping MSF provide safe abortion and reproductive care without borders.

Thank you for all you do to help MSF save lives.

Sincerely,