The Netherlands ‘counters’ Trump with international abortion fund

profeminist:

“The Dutch Government is planning to launch an international fund to finance access to birth control and abortion in developing countries, in order to fill the gap left after the Trump administration announced it would no longer fund any overseas aid organisations which discussed abortion.

“Banning abortions does not result in fewer abortions,” Dutch Trade and Development Minister Lilianne Ploumen said, according to Dutch news website NOS. “It leads to more irresponsible practices in back rooms and more maternal deaths.”

The World Health Organisation estimates that 22 million women experience unsafe abortions every year, the vast majority of whom are in developing countries. A 2008 report from the organisation estimated that nearly 50,000 women die from complications in such procedures annually.

Minister Ploumen said that the Trump administration’s decision risked undermining recent advances in women’s health.

“We must not let this happen,” she said.

“We need to compensate for this financial blow as much as possible, with a broad-based fund, where governments, businesses and civil society organizations can donate to – so that women can remain in control of their own bodies.”

Read the full piece here