Abstract Unsafe abortion remains a major public health and human rights challenge in Latin America, despite recent reforms that have expanded the legal grounds for abortion in several countries. A central reason for the persistent gap between law and access is the region's widespread reliance on physician‐exclusive provider models, which structurally limit the availability of services, particularly in rural, Indigenous, and primary‐care settings where specialists are scarce. Task sharing in abortion care should be understood not as a discretionary efficiency strategy, but as an essential component of States' obligations under legal rights to health care, equality, life, and scientific progress. A review of global evidence, a comparative analysis of legal and regulatory frameworks in 14 countries, and an in‐depth examination of emerging reforms in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Ecuador show that expanding provider eligibility is both clinically safe and normatively required. The conclusion outlines a regional reform agenda for aligning domestic regulations with World Health Organization standards.
Dana Repka (Mon,) studied this question.