November 20, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the State Innovation Exchange (SiX) and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health, released Beyond Borders, a groundbreaking report series that examines how countries around the world have successfully expanded abortion access and protected reproductive rights. The reports offer U.S.-based policymakers proven strategies to counter restrictions and treat abortion as essential health care.
Designed as a catalyst for state-level policy innovation, each Beyond Borders report synthesizes international human rights norms, public health standards, and real-world legislation, with evidence-based approaches that can be implemented in U.S policy. Additionally, Beyond Borders situates the United States within the broader global context, revealing how far the country has fallen behind international standards and the pathways available to catch up.
“As our state lawmakers are confronting an unprecedented abortion access crisis, Beyond Borders shows that the United States doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. Their counterparts across the globe have faced similar dilemmas and developed thoughtful, rights-affirming approaches to protect and expand critical care,” said Jennifer Driver, Senior Director of Reproductive Rights at the State Innovation Exchange (SiX). “With the federal government relentlessly rolling back reproductive freedom, our champions are seeking bold, innovative ways to counter the onslaught and build a world where human rights are inalienable, not disposable. State legislators are holding the line, and we have their backs.”
“Transnational solidarity has inspired transformative changes to national and subnational abortion laws and policies in recent years. In the face of sweeping bans and a unified global anti-rights movement, advocates and decision-makers worldwide have come together to achieve groundbreaking wins, even in restrictive contexts. Creativity, pragmatism, and persistence made these advancements possible,” said Rebecca Reingold, Associate Director at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. “We hope that these reports serve as valuable resources for state decision-makers, advocates, researchers, and affected communities working to protect and advance abortion access in the United States.”
Beyond Borders is a five-report series with three released today (and two additional forthcoming). The reports and executive summary are available at the SiX Reproductive Freedom Leadership Council website .
Available Now:
- Abortion as Health Care – Highlights policy models that integrate abortion into standard medical practice, improving outcomes and reducing stigma.
- Critiques of Abortion Criminalization – Documents global trends toward removing criminal law from the regulation of abortion as the United States regresses in this area.
- Regulation of Religious Refusals for Abortion Care – Explores how democracies worldwide have addressed conscience-based objections while ensuring patients can access comprehensive reproductive health care.
Coming Soon:
- Regulation of Abortion Decision-Making Among Young People (expected early December 2025) – Will analyze how countries address parental involvement in abortion care while not compromising young people’s privacy, safety, and reproductive autonomy.
- Countering Legal Personhood for Prenatal Life (expected Q1 2026) – Will examine how countries have rejected fetal personhood frameworks that undermine pregnant people’s rights and autonomy.
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State Innovation Exchange (SiX) empowers, emboldens and equips state legislators to build and wield progressive governing power by/with/for the people they represent. SiX does this by providing legislators with the tools needed to shape impactful public policy and building their capacity to lead with their constituents. SiX fosters long-term collaboration between legislators – across chambers, across regions, and across state lines – and with grassroots movements.
The O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, housed at Georgetown University Law Center, is a leading health policy think tank dedicated to using law to address pressing health challenges and shape a healthier, more just world. Established in 2007, the O’Neill Institute partners with governments, international organizations, civil society groups, and academic institutions to end pandemics, ensure human rights, and build the right to health around the world.
Beyond Borders was supported in part by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.