I am very young or older

There is no age limit to having an abortion. The medicines will work exactly the same for a pregnant person of any age.

Only you have the right to decide on issues affecting your body, and we support whatever decision you make.

For young people:

Every person has the right to abortion care, regardless of their age. However, young people experience specific challenges to accessing abortion care. The taboos and stigma that exist around sex and abortion can make it particularly hard for young people to talk about their decision and seek abortion care. We recognize that young people face specific barriers to accessing abortion care. These include, but are not limited to:

• Parents, guardians, or service providers may assume that young people are incapable of making informed decisions about pregnancy due to their age. This lack of recognition of young people’s capacity may lead to healthcare providers refusing to provide young people abortion care; young people feeling judged or uncomfortable accessing abortion care; or the requirement of parental or spousal consent to access abortion care.

• Laws and policies that restrict sexual and reproductive health services (such as contraception and abortion) can often be more restrictive for young people. Examples of such policies include age limits, and the requirement of parental or spousal consent.

• Many health systems and facilities lack youth-friendly health care. Young people may not have access to health care because of various factors, including: payment of fees, not being able to go to the clinic during opening hours, judgmental or non-friendly attitude from healthcare providers, not having access to transportation to access a health care facility.

• Many young people around the world do not receive adequate information on sexuality and reproduction.

• Stigma around young people and sexuality is common. The negative ideas that exist around young people and sex make it difficult for some young people to talk to people about their decision to have an abortion. Not being able to find someone they trust to talk about having an abortion can result in young people feeling isolated and scared.

We at WHW aim to provide the best possible care to young people. Feel free to write to us if you have any questions or concerns.