Thank you.
Yes, I mentioned that there have been 60 countries that have liberalized their laws to some extent or another since the ICBD conference in 1994.
To talk about the African context, there, the Maputo protocol was signed in 2003. Article 14(2)(c) lays out the legal grounds on which the African Union member states have agreed that they want abortion to be accessible within the African Union. We've seen 21 countries in the region liberalize their laws to some extent to meet the Maputo protocol, with seven of those countries going beyond the conditions outlined within that protocol.
There, we're looking at African country-led efforts to protect lives, expand rights and reduce the maternal mortality crisis that is happening across sub-Saharan Africa. Within the countries, those efforts often are being led by politicians, clinicians and bureaucrats who understand the health consequences of unsafe abortion. The latest law to pass was in Benin. There were two members of Parliament who were OB/GYNs and who saw first-hand the consequences of unsafe abortion.
Where we're seeing the laws change, it is from people who understand the reality on the ground. Sometimes it is against their own moral beliefs, but it is what they think should be policy and law because they understand what the implications are of limiting access to abortion.