Ireland: Abortion limit of 22 weeks is not enough, says doctor

Abortion limit of 22 weeks is not enough, says doctor

Ellen Coyne
November 30 2017

Women would be rushed into deciding to terminate a pregnancy because of a foetal abnormality if doctors were working under term limits, a medical expert has said.

Peter Thompson, a consultant in foetal medicine at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s hospital, told the Oireachtas abortion committee that a woman would feel they had only one week to decide if terminations for foetal anomalies were limited to 22 weeks.

Continued at source: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/abortion-limit-of-22-weeks-is-not-enough-says-doctor-fl8wh2fvj


How Poland’s far-right government is pushing abortion underground

How Poland’s far-right government is pushing abortion underground
A year ago, mass protests in Poland defeated a new abortion ban. But the ruling party, supported by the church, continues to cut reproductive rights – leaving people at the mercy of the black market.

By Alex Cocotas
Thursday 30 November 2017

Barbara Nowacka first had an inkling that something exceptional was happening on the morning of the protests. It was October 2016, and a journalist she knew, a conservative, called to ask how it was looking. She told him she had no idea what was going to happen. The journalist told her that his two daughters had gone to school that morning dressed in black. Perhaps, Nowacka thought, this could be big.

A ban on abortion in Poland had been put forward in parliament six months earlier, and Nowacka, a leftwing politician and long-time social activist, was a leading figure in the movement to oppose it. Nationwide protests had been scheduled for 3 October, but like most people, she had little hope that they would succeed. Perhaps they would get a nice crowd, a little media coverage; but it would ultimately be a gesture. The law would pass.

continued at source: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/30/how-polands-far-right-government-is-pushing-abortion-underground


USA: Roe’s Unfinished Promise

ROE'S UNFINISHED PROMISE
Nov 29, 2017

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade set powerful precedent affirming that the Constitution protects the right to abortion. By striking down criminal abortion laws, Roe created the promise of a future in which anyone who decides to end a pregnancy is able to do so safely, with dignity, and free from arrest. From this case emerged a promise of greater reproductive freedom and an end to the fear and secrecy that had plagued many people’s experiences of ending pregnancies where abortion had been a crime.

Roe's Unfinished Promise: Decriminalizing Abortion Once and For All is the first comprehensive paper about the criminalization of non-clinical abortion in the U.S. and efforts to eliminate threats, while increasing protections, for people who end pregnancies outside the formal healthcare system. It includes a chart listing problematic laws state by state, maps highlighting the places where people who self-induce abortion are most at risk of an unjustified arrest, excerpts from relevant statutes, and case summaries. The report concludes with recommendations for efforts to liberate non-clinical abortion from the constraints of misunderstanding and the restraints of criminalization.

Continued at source: https://www.sialegalteam.org/roes-unfinished-promise


Brazil’s Abortion Battle

Brazil’s Abortion Battle

By Sabrina Fernandes
Nov 29, 2017

The Brazilian right's efforts to destroy abortion rights are key to their broader crusade against the Left.

Brazil’s right wing has gotten ahead through a series of dirty tricks. The 2015 impeachment of Workers Party (PT) president Dilma Rousseff, pushed through despite the absence of any “crime of responsibility,” is the most notorious example. Now, through similarly slick manuevers, they’re seeking further restrictions on reproductive rights. This, in a country where already one woman dies from a clandestine abortion procedure every nine minutes.

Currently, abortion is legal only in particular cases, such as when there’s a direct threat to the life of the pregnant person, or when the pregnancy results from rape. It’s these exceptions that the conservative and Evangelical parliamentary front is seeking to destroy. Through a variety of proposed bills and amendments, they may eliminate the right to abortion completely.

Continued at source: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/11/brazil-abortion-rights-cunha-rousseff


Ireland: GPs may be free to issue abortion pills

GPs may be free to issue abortion pills
Ellen Coyne, Senior Ireland Reporter

November 29 2017
The Times

The government will review the possibility of GPs offering abortion pills in the event of the law changing next year.

The Department of Health has also confirmed that anti-abortion agencies that refuse to be regulated under new laws could be banned from giving crisis pregnancy advice.

Continued at source: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/gps-may-be-free-to-issue-abortion-pills-mwmbmsq7t


Advocates make progress on access to safe abortion in humanitarian crises

Advocates make progress on access to safe abortion in humanitarian crises

By Sophie Edwards
29 November 2017

LONDON — Advocates campaigning for refugees to have access to safe abortion in humanitarian settings say they have made major progress at a recent high-level meeting — but they added that “political sensitivities” among countries and some United Nations agencies are holding back efforts to get the full spectrum of sexual and reproductive health services to those who need them.

Some experts also warned that pushing the abortion agenda could derail efforts to reach refugees in some settings and distract from more immediately urgent obstetric needs.

Continued at source: https://www.devex.com/news/advocates-make-progress-on-access-to-safe-abortion-in-humanitarian-crises-91554


Ecuador: Congress Boosts Women’s Protection Against Violence

Ecuador: Congress Boosts Women's Protection Against Violence

Published 29 November 2017

According to the National Institute of Statistics, 244 women have been murdered in Ecuador since 2014.

Ecuadorean lawmakers have approved a bill better protecting women against domestic violence and femicide while guaranteeing free access to public healthcare for those suffering complications during an abortion, a procedure still banned in the Andean country.

The bill was unanimously approved November 25, on the evening of the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women, and dispatched to the government waiting for approval. However, Monica Aleman, a lawmaker from the center-left governing party, then made a request to modify the bill.

Continued at source: https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Ecuadors-Congress-Approves-Bill-on-Gender-Violence-20171129-0043.html


Even sex is in crisis in Venezuela, where contraceptives are growing scarce

Even sex is in crisis in Venezuela, where contraceptives are growing scarce
By Mariana Zuñiga and Anthony Faiola
November 28, 2017

CARACAS, Venezuela — Yorlenis Gutierrez, a 28-year-old mother, spent months vainly scouring pharmacies for a drug whose scarcity is complicating her sex life and those of countless other Venezuelans. In a country beset by shortages, this is one of the most difficult: the disappearance of contraceptives.

When she couldn’t renew her supply of birth-control pills, Gutierrez and her husband made a choice. Long-term abstinence was not an option, they agreed.

Continued at source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/even-sex-is-in-crisis-in-venezuela-where-contraceptives-are-growing-scarce/2017/11/27/5d970d86-b452-11e7-9b93-b97043e57a22_story.html?undefined=&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1


USA: The long five minutes: Abortion doulas bring comfort during a complicated time

The long five minutes: Abortion doulas bring comfort during a complicated time
By Monica Hesse
November 28, 2017

“Do you support reproductive choices of all shapes and sizes?” the flier had read, posted online in early April. “Become an abortion doula.”

More than 50 women had seen the flier on Facebook or Twitter and responded to the email address at the bottom, not entirely sure what an abortion doula was. Twenty-five had been selected for a weekend-long training at a Virginia abortion clinic, and now, one Saturday morning in May, they’d arrived to see whether they were right for the work.

Continued at source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-long-five-minutes-abortion-doulas-bring-comfort-during-a-complicated-time/2017/11/27/c63f179c-9f04-11e7-8ea1-ed975285475e_story.html


N.Ireland: DUP councillor supports gay marriage and abortion law reform

DUP councillor supports gay marriage and abortion law reform
John Scott with Arlene Foster, pictured in Co Fermanagh during the Westminster election campaign when unionist parties backed the UUP's Tom Elliott

Brendan Hughes
28 November, 2017

Former Alliance councillor Vasundhara Kamble declined to give her personal view on same-sex marriage

A NEW DUP councillor has voiced his support for same-sex marriage and reforming Northern Ireland's abortion laws.

John Scott, who sits on Antrim and Newtownabbey council, said the law on abortion "should be relaxed".

Continued at source: https://www.irishnews.com/news/2017/11/28/news/dup-councillor-supports-gay-marriage-and-abortion-law-reform-1198415/