Other countries don’t have Roe v. Wade. Here’s how they handle abortion laws.

Other countries don’t have Roe v. Wade. Here’s how they handle abortion laws.

by Siobhán O'Grady
June 30, 2018

When Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced his retirement this week, one of the first questions that came to mind for abortion rights advocates was how a new makeup of the high court could affect American women.

President Trump has said since the beginning of his campaign that he is committed to appointing conservative justices to the court, who could overturn or cripple Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that ruled that state laws restricting or criminalizing abortions violated a woman's right to privacy under the 14th Amendment and thus were unconstitutional.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/06/30/other-countries-dont-have-roe-v-wade-heres-how-they-handle-abortion-laws/


USA – Let’s Talk About My Abortion (and Yours)

Let’s Talk About My Abortion (and Yours)

By Cindi Leive
Ms. Leive is a former editor in chief of Glamour and Self.
June 30, 2018

Several months ago, I appeared on a morning TV show alongside Cecile Richards, then the president of Planned Parenthood. Our topic had been women’s activism, and we’d both spoken in equal amounts. But when I checked Twitter later, the violent insults were flying only at Ms. Richards, with commenters calling her a “baby butcher” and “this puke bitch” for her support of abortion rights. None took aim at me — and as I read the stream, I felt more cowardly than I can ever remember, as if I were crouched in a foxhole while Ms. Richards took fire for the rest of us.

Why was I letting her take the heat? After all, I’d had an abortion myself.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/30/opinion/sunday/abortion-kennedy-supreme-court.html


No abortion providers on Guam

No abortion providers on Guam

Jasmine Stole Weiss, Pacific Daily News
Published June 30, 2018

For years there were two doctors who performed abortions on Guam. One retired in 2016; the second doctor retired last month, leaving the island without any physicians who will perform abortions.

The lack of abortion providers on island may force women to go to great lengths or go through great risk to terminate unwanted pregnancies, according to attorney Anita Arriola, a longtime advocate for abortion rights.

Continued: https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2018/06/30/no-abortion-providers-guam/744847002/


Nigeria: Minister urges stakeholders to reduce maternal mortality in the country

Mortality: Minister urges stakeholders to reduce maternal mortality in the country

By Regina Onyegbula
30 June 2018

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has stressed the need for all stakeholders to continuously work towards improving women's health, saying this will reduce the high maternal mortality rate in the country.

Adewole made the call on Friday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at the end of the project tagged: "Preventing Maternal Deaths from Unwanted Pregnancy" (PMDUP).

Continued: https://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news/267802/mortality-minister-urges-stakeholders-to-reduce-maternal-mo.html


USA: Banning abortion does not make abortion go away

Banning abortion does not make abortion go away

Robyn Pennacchia
June 30, 2018

Banning abortion does not make abortion go away. Women who have the means to travel, or the desperation to go underground, have always found a way, and their organizing power ultimately made abortion a constitutional right in the United States. Today, women should keep that history in mind as they prepare for the next chapter in this fight.

This week, US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his plans to retire. Kennedy has long been the Court’s swing vote on issues like abortion. If president Donald Trump is able to appoint an anti-choice judge (which he has vowed to do), the cases that established abortion rights, such as Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood vs. Casey will face immense challenges, and could potentially be overturned as soon as next year. It’s a terrifying and overwhelming prospect.

Continued: https://qz.com/1318779/abortion-activists-are-ready-for-justice-kennedys-retirement/


India – Why simply legalising abortion is not enough

Why simply legalising abortion is not enough
Governments need to pay equal attention to the safety of abortions, sex education and counselling, and varied problems faced by new borns of single mothers and the mothers

Jagriti Gangopadhyay
Saturday 30 June 2018

Recently, Ireland voted to legalise abortion after decades of debate and struggle. The law received international attention in the wake of the demise of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian dentist practising in Ireland, who was denied abortion while experiencing a septic miscarriage. Ireland’s victory is being celebrated all across the world, however, the question remains: is it enough to legalise abortion?

Though abortion has been legal in India for the last 47 years, about 10 women die every day due to unsafe abortions. Unsafe abortion is the third leading cause for maternal deaths in India. The law that governs abortion in the country is the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.

Continued: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/why-simply-legalising-abortion-is-not-enough-60866


Women allowed to take abortion pill at home in Wales

Women allowed to take abortion pill at home in Wales

29 June 2018

A decision to allow women to take abortion pills at home in Wales has been welcomed as a "significant" move.

Until now they have had to take two trips to clinics to take medication to terminate the pregnancy, sometimes miles from home.

A charity said women had experienced cramping and bleeding, at times on public transport, trying to get home after taking the pill.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-44643459


Guam – AG opinion: Recent abortion bill is unconstitutional

AG opinion: Recent abortion bill is unconstitutional

Jasmine Stole Weiss, Pacific Daily News
Published June 29, 2018

The Attorney General of Guam issued an opinion this week, informing lawmakers that an abortion bill introduced earlier this year, if enacted, would be unconstitutional.

Bill 232-34 proposes banning abortions after 20 weeks of fertilization.

The bill was introduced in January by Sens. Dennis Rodriguez, Jr., D-Dededo, Joe S. San Agustin, D-Yigo, Telena Nelson, D-Dededo, Frank Aguon, Jr., D-Yona, and Tommy Morrison, R-Umatac.

Continued: https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2018/06/29/ag-opinion-recent-guam-abortion-bill-unconstitutional/744792002/


USA – Abortion foes play down possibility of immediately overturning Roe v. Wade

Abortion foes play down possibility of immediately overturning Roe v. Wade

June 29, 2018
by Amy Gardner June 28

Leaders of the antiabortion movement said Thursday that they are in no hurry to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision, saying they plan to stick with their long-standing strategy of pushing for incremental restrictions despite the tantalizing prospect of a more conservative Supreme Court.

Even with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s announced retirement, these activists said they are not sure the time is ripe for a wholesale reconsideration of the 1973 ruling.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/abortion-foes-play-down-possibility-of-immediately-overturning-roe-v-wade/2018/06/28/d37fb2d8-7adf-11e8-93cc-6d3beccdd7a3_story.html?utm_term=.a17edd3e0c0d&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1


Poland – Barbarian anti-abortion bill back in the fundamentalists’ game

Barbarian anti-abortion bill back in the fundamentalists’ game
June 29, 2018

Fundamentalists led by activist Kaja Godek forced the Social Policy and Family Committee to debate the repressive “Stop abortion” bill on Monday (2.07.2018) at 4 pm. Let us recall that this draft law would penalize abortions in case of foetal impairment, which now make up 95% of all legal abortions performed in the Polish hospitals. This decision comes as a surprise, because the committee declared not to deal with this draft law in the foreseeable future. Even more disrupting is the fact that Godek informed about the Monday session before a) it was announced at the website of the Parliament b) MPs were informed about the bill having been added to the Committee’s agenda. Since March, the anti-choice groups has led an intensified lobbying on the streets, social media, accusing the ruling party (Law and Justice) of being treacherous and too reluctant to sanction the abortion ban. Godek participated in many Committee’s session to exert pressure on the chairperson so that she would include the draft law in the agenda. The Committee received many critical opinions about the bill from the parliamentary Bureau of Research, The Supreme Bar Council, The Amnesty International Poland, The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and The Federation for Women and Family Planning.

Continued: http://en.federa.org.pl/barbarian-anti-abortion-bill-back-in-the-game/