--- description: Find out why Rebecca Gomperts is one of the 100 most influential people of 2020. title: Rebecca Gomperts: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte46fb918004f01a3/698a124f4ee2620717317eec/time-100-Rebecca-Gompers.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 22, 2020 # Rebecca Gomperts by Cecile Richards  Dr. Rebecca Gomperts (REF FOR ILLO) Dr. Rebecca Gomperts (REF FOR ILLO)Jitske Schols It seems logical, during a [pandemic](https://time.com/5800901/coronavirus-map/ "undefined"), for elected officials to focus on [expanding access to health care](https://time.com/5825145/coronavirus-rationing-health-care/ "undefined"). Instead, some seized the opportunity to try to [ban abortion](https://time.com/5816530/coronavirus-abortion-clinics-access/ "undefined"), responding to one public-health emergency by creating another. Enter Dutch physician and activist Rebecca Gomperts, one of the bravest people I know. She’s spent her career expanding [abortion access](https://time.com/5861375/supreme-court-louisiana-abortion-decision/ "undefined") around the world, using everything from sea voyages to drones to the Internet to reach the people who count on her—­especially those in rural, restricted and dangerous areas. In 2019, Gomperts sued the FDA for the ability to continue providing early, safe [abortion remotely](https://time.com/5812433/abortion-coronavirus-outbreak-uk/ "undefined") in the form of pills through her organization, Aid Access, after the agency allegedly attempted to block her distribution. Now, with [barriers to abortion](https://time.com/5814028/abortion-clinics-during-coronavirus/ "undefined")—cost, risk of COVID-19, childcare and politics, to name a few—more daunting than ever, Gomperts’ work is especially urgent. This spring, Aid Access saw a spike in requests across the U.S. as demand for [remote medical care increased](https://time.com/5876549/telehealth-hospitals-covid/ "undefined"). In this moment of fear and uncertainty, Gomperts is a beacon of hope, standing up for the principle that safe abortion is a human right. _Richards is the co-founder of Supermajority and a former president of Planned Parenthood_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888177/rebecca-gomperts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888177/rebecca-gomperts/"},"headline":"Rebecca Gomperts","datePublished":"2020-09-22T21:18:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:17.418Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888177/rebecca-gomperts/","keywords":["TIME 100","T100 2020","T100 2020 Pioneers"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte46fb918004f01a3/698a124f4ee2620717317eec/time-100-Rebecca-Gompers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte46fb918004f01a3/698a124f4ee2620717317eec/time-100-Rebecca-Gompers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888177/rebecca-gomperts/","name":"Rebecca Gomperts"}}]}] ```