Mexico moves toward legal abortion, but women still face jail

Mexico moves toward legal abortion, but women still face jail

30 Nov 2019

GUANAJUATO, Mexico: Martha Mendez and Susana Duenas were both teenagers when they committed their "crime": suffering a miscarriage.

Accused of having an abortion - which is illegal in all but two states in Mexico - Mendez was forced to ask her fetus for forgiveness. Duenas was jailed for seven years.

Continued; https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/mexico-moves-toward-legal-abortion--but-women-still-face-jail-12140018


Slovakia may force women to get pre-abortion ultrasound

Slovakia may force women to get pre-abortion ultrasound

By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer
Nov. 29, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Lawmakers in Slovakia are scheduled to debate a proposed law Friday that would compel women seeking an abortion to first have an ultrasound and listen to the heartbeat of the embryo or fetus, a move many groups have decried as a backward step for women’s rights.

The bill was submitted by three members of the conservative Slovak National Party, who wrote that it is intended “to ensure that women are informed about the current stage of their pregnancy” before having an abortion.

Continued: https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/medical/article/Slovakia-may-force-women-to-get-pre-abortion-14870030.php


UK – Three cheers for Labour’s plan for abortion reform

Three cheers for Labour’s plan for abortion reform
Decriminalising abortion is essential for women’s freedom.

Ella Whelan, Columnist
29th November 2019

General Elections should be exciting. Political parties get to try out new policies, push their voters and attempt to gain a mandate for real change. And while it’s true that the key issue of our winter election is Brexit, from spending promises to immigration, there are many other issues at stake.

The Labour Party might be terrible when it comes to Brexit, but one policy in its manifesto is truly radical. In just nine words, Labour promises to change women’s lives dramatically: ‘We will uphold women’s reproductive rights and decriminalise abortions.’

Continued: https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/11/29/three-cheers-for-labours-plan-for-abortion-reform/


UK – RCOG launches “Better for Women” report

RCOG launches “Better for Women” report
UK women facing widespread barriers to essential healthcare services

RCOG News,
29 November 2019

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is calling for better joined up services, as part of its “Better for Women” report, published today. It emphasises the need for national strategies to meet the needs of girls and women across their life course – from adolescence, to the middle years and later life.

There should also be greater focus on moving the UK away from providing a disease intervention service towards a preventative health service, says the report.

Continued; https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/news/rcog-launches-better-for-women-report/


Ohio bill orders doctors to ‘reimplant ectopic pregnancy’ or face ‘abortion murder’ charges

Ohio bill orders doctors to ‘reimplant ectopic pregnancy’ or face 'abortion murder' charges
Ohio introduces one of the most extreme bills to date for a procedure that does not exist in medical science

Jessica Glenza
Fri 29 Nov 2019

A bill to ban abortion introduced in the Ohio state legislature requires doctors to “reimplant an ectopic pregnancy” into a woman’s uterus – a procedure that does not exist in medical science – or face charges of “abortion murder”.

This is the second time practising obstetricians and gynecologists have tried to tell the Ohio legislators that the idea is currently medically impossible.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/29/ohio-extreme-abortion-bill-reimplant-ectopic-pregnancy


Slovakia set to pass law forcing women to view images of embryo or foetus before abortion

Slovakia set to pass law forcing women to view images of embryo or foetus before abortion
The country's parliament will consider the law

Jon Stone, Europe Correspondent
Nov 28, 2019

Slovakian woman seeking an abortion would be forced to view pictures of their embryo or foetus under plans for a new law being considered by the country's parliament.

The draft law, to be voted on on Friday, would also require women to listen to the "foetal heartbeat" where technically possible before they could proceed with a termination.

Continued: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/slovakia-law-women-embryo-foetus-abortion-images-new-law-a9224976.html


Nigeria – How barriers to family planning trigger rise in maternal mortality

How barriers to family planning trigger rise in maternal mortality

By Adaku Onyenucheya
28 November 2019

Experts have emphasised on the need for Nigerians to embrace family planning fully as part of measures to curb maternal and infant mortality in the country.

They lamented that despite the drop in the fertility rate from 5.5 percent in 2013 to 5.3 percent in 2018, according to the Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), with a two-percent increase in the total contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) from 15 percent to 17 percent, the acceptance rate of family planning in some communities still remain low due to several barriers such as religion, culture and fear of the unknown among others. The implications, they said, remain multiple pregnancies and births, population explosion that puts pressure of the nation resources, as well as unsafe abortions, which increases the risk of maternal and infant mortality in Nigeria.

Continued; https://guardian.ng/features/health/how-barriers-to-family-planning-trigger-rise-in-maternal-mortality/


USA – Abortion Might Finally Be a Winning Issue for Democrats

Abortion Might Finally Be a Winning Issue for Democrats
As the Republicans’ long strategy to overturn Roe v. Wade edges closer to reality, voters are expressing their discontent.

By Christina Cauterucci
Nov 27, 2019

A recent New York Times survey of the Democratic field—taken before Michael Bloomberg and Deval Patrick entered the race—showed little variation in the presidential candidates’ support for abortion rights. Every candidate wants to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal Medicaid dollars from covering abortion care. They all said they’d use Roe v. Wade as a litmus test when selecting Supreme Court justices. Only Joe Sestak and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard were willing to outright state that they support restrictions on third-trimester abortions. (Sen. Amy Klobuchar, though, has previously called third-trimester restrictions “very important.”)

Continued: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/11/democrats-are-unabashedly-supporting-abortion-rights-voters-are-too.html


Center for Reproductive Rights Releases New Brief of European Abortion Laws

Center for Reproductive Rights Releases New Brief of European Abortion Laws
Europe leads the world with its number of liberalized laws on abortion, but many women still face access barriers due to regulatory restrictions or regressive threats

Nov 27, 2019

(PRESS RELEASE) --A new comparative overview of European abortion laws, released today by the Center for Reproductive Rights, reveals that more than 95% of women of reproductive age currently live in countries where laws allow abortion either on request or on broad social grounds.

This impressive statistic nevertheless masks the fact that some of these countries maintain restrictive pre-conditions, such as mandatory counselling or enforced waiting periods, that can impede or delay women accessing services. In addition, abortion is still outlawed or extremely restricted in six countries in the region.

Continued: https://reproductiverights.org/press-room/center-reproductive-rights-releases-new-brief-european-abortion-laws


Only 2 Political Parties Have Pledged To Decriminalise Abortion In England & Wales

Only 2 Political Parties Have Pledged To Decriminalise Abortion In England & Wales

By Lauren Sharkey
Nov 27, 2019

Manifestos have been released and election campaigns are well underway. But a closer look at each manifesto has revealed that only two major parties are promising to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales.

Although the 1967 Abortion Act permits abortions up to 24 weeks, the Victorian-era 1861 Offences Against The Person Act was never repealed. This means that abortions performed outside of the Abortion Act's parameters are technically punishable by a lengthy prison sentence. (Both the person having the abortion and the people assisting it are at risk of criminal prosecution.)

Continued: https://www.bustle.com/p/only-2-political-parties-have-pledged-to-decriminalise-abortion-in-england-wales-19407527