Giving Compass' Take:

• Maria Dieter explains how philanthropy is increasing access to safe and informed abortions to women in India through medicine and accompanying educational materials.  

• How can funders work together to help women access reproductive healthcare? 

• Learn about an education program for pregnant women and new mothers in India


Ritika Yadav* sat facing her husband, Pradip.

“I’m …” Ritika was interrupted by her children playing a game in the next room, screaming with glee. She waited until they were finished. “… pregnant,” she finished.

They just couldn’t afford another child.

“Your sister told me that she took some medicine once so that she didn’t have a baby,” Ritika explained. “Can you go to the pharmacy and buy it for me?” Pradip set off for the pharmacy.

The pills Ritika asked for are known as medical abortion (MA), a combination of the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol. This is the most common method of abortion in India. The Guttmacher Institute and others estimated that in 2015, 81 percent of the 15.6 million abortions in India were MAs. Although a doctor’s prescription is required for MA, pharmacists often sell it over the counter.

Pradip returned an hour later with a small box of pills.

She turned over the package of pills. On the front was a bright pink and purple label that read “Safe Abort.” She carefully opened its contents, and reached inside to find the medication enclosed with a small piece of paper. Next to a set of written instructions on using the medication was an option directing her to download an app on her phone for more information.

PSI India Private Limited (IPL), a for-profit social enterprise founded by PSI, has been selling MA kits like Ritika’s since 2016 using the brand Safe Abort. As of April 2019, PSI IPL had sold almost 1.8 million Safe Abort kits, which it estimates has saved the lives of 2,300 Indian women.

Read the full article about bringing safe abortions to women by Maria Dieter at PSI.