A roadmap for research on self-managed abortion in the United States

A roadmap for research on self-managed abortion in the United States
(Posted August 29 2018)

Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), Gynuity Health Projects, and Ibis Reproductive Health. A roadmap for research on self-managed abortion in the United States. August 2018.

Media coverage and research data show a growing awareness of the option to self-manage (or self-induce or self-source) abortion outside of the formal health care system; we are learning more about people’s experiences with self-managed abortion, and how often people choose this option in the United States. Recent evidence indicates between one and seven percent of abortion patients (see below) have taken or done something to try to end their current pregnancy. In addition, in 2015, there were more than 700,000 Google searches using terms related to self-induced abortion in the United States. The reasons women attempt to self-manage an abortion are varied, but they are often related to barriers accessing clinic-based care, as well as a preference for self-care.

Continued: https://ibisreproductivehealth.org/publications/roadmap-research-self-managed-abortion-united-states


Allowing English women to take the abortion pill at home is good news – and now we’re coming for you, Northern Ireland

Allowing English women to take the abortion pill at home is good news – and now we're coming for you, Northern Ireland

Harriet Marsden
25 August 2018

As landmark women’s health text Our Bodies, Ourselves put it in 1970, abortion is “our right ... as women to control our own bodies. The existence of any abortion laws (however ‘liberal’) denies this right.”

Those rights are advancing in some parts of the UK, and stalling in others. The latest development is that women in England will soon be able to take an abortion pill at home: a small but significant step forward that many welcome. Yet in Northern Ireland, women still face draconian laws and life in prison for daring to access their reproductive rights.

Continued: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/abortion-pill-at-home-northern-ireland-pregnancy-a8507811.html


Argentina Approves Abortion Drug After Rejecting Abortion Bill

Argentina Approves Abortion Drug After Rejecting Abortion Bill

Published 16 August 2018

Argentina's National Authority of Medicine, Food and Technology (ANMAT) has authorized Laboratorio Dominguez to produce the drug under the name MISOP 200 (200µg).

Argentina has green-lighted production of an abortion drug for institutional and hospital use, despite the government's recent rejection of a bill that would have legalized abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.

The drug, known as Misoprostol, is currently available by prescription in pharmacies and hospitals mixed with diclofenac and used for gastric purposes. Imported and pricey, it's beyond the reach of much of the population, even on the black market.

Continued: https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Argentina-Approves-Abortion-Drug-Despite-Rejection-of-Bill-20180816-0023.html


USA – With Reproductive Rights in Great Jeopardy, ‘Plan C’ Is More Important Than Ever

With Reproductive Rights in Great Jeopardy, ‘Plan C’ Is More Important Than Ever
Plan C—making "missed period pills" widely available—would give users the power to decide whether or not they wished to test for or confirm pregnancy before taking pills to bring on their period.

Jul 6, 2018
Francine Coeytaux, Victoria Nichols & Elisa Wells

Four years ago, we argued for an important new family planning option. We envisioned a method that could be used at home when a period was late to induce menstruation and thus reassure individuals that they were not pregnant. Plan C, we posited, was not only possible—the technology already existed in the form of mifepristone and misoprostol—but could be the answer to the age-old question asked by women around the world, “What do I do if my period is late and I don’t want to be pregnant?” With the recent news of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s resignation and the rising concern about a likely shift in the balance of the U.S. Supreme Court, the need to ensure timely and affordable access to innovative reproductive health options like Plan C is even more urgent.

Continued: https://rewire.news/article/2018/07/06/reproductive-rights-plan-c/


USA – Anthony Kennedy’s retirement puts abortion rights at risk

Anthony Kennedy’s retirement puts abortion rights at risk
The departure of Kennedy, long a swing vote on the Supreme Court, is an opening for the anti-abortion movement.

By Dylan Matthews
Jun 27, 2018

Anthony Kennedy, the longest-serving member of the Supreme Court, is retiring.

Within minutes of his announcement, CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin tweeted this: “Anthony Kennedy is retiring. Abortion will be illegal in twenty states in 18 months. #SCOTUS.”

Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but Kennedy has, since at least 2005, been the swing vote on many of the Court’s most ideologically charged decisions — including preserving Roe v. Wade.

Continued: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/6/27/17510896/anthony-kennedys-retirement-puts-abortion-rights-at-risk


Need to pay attention to India’s illegal abortions

Need to pay attention to India’s illegal abortions

Over 75 per cent abortions estimated to occur in India annually are done bereft of health facilities and around 5-7 per cent abortions that are done outside licensed facilities use other methods that are possibly dangerous. The figure may be higher as non-institutionalised abortions cannot be recorded. The situation is even worse for single and divorced women and those living in rural regions, reports Subhangi Singh

By Tehelka
June 18, 2018

A dozen women are sitting around a lavish living room in Chandigarh, full of bubbling chatter and cocktail flutes. A gripping game called ‘Never Have I Ever’ is in full swing. Nina (name changed) raises her glass and declares, “Never have I ever had an abortion!” The room suddenly falls silent and everybody, except Nina, takes a sip from their respective glasses. It is a kitty party. Most of the women are married. The conversation invariably veers towards recurrent abortions in married and divorced women. Nina whispers that Shehnaz (name changed) tops the list as “she keeps having these abortions now and then.”

Continued: http://www.tehelka.com/need-to-pay-attention-to-indias-illegal-abortions/


‘My body, my choice’: Argentina moves closer to legal abortion with key vote

‘My body, my choice’: Argentina moves closer to legal abortion with key vote
The chamber of deputies is voting on a crucial bill that would legalise abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy

Elizabeth Sulis Kim
Wed 13 Jun 2018

Even as calls for women in Argentina to be given the legal right to abortion have grown louder on its cities’ streets, a change in the law had seemed unlikely – until now.

But a vote on abortion on Wednesday could transform Pope Francis’s homeland from a country where women can go to jail for having an unlawful termination to one of Latin America’s most progressive countries on reproductive rights.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jun/13/my-body-my-choice-argentina-moves-closer-to-legal-abortion-with-key-vote


What Happens When Abortion Is Banned?

What Happens When Abortion Is Banned?

By Michelle Oberman
May 31, 2018

The world of illegal abortion today looks nothing like it did 45 years ago.

When I first visited Chile, in 2008, it was one of only a handful of countries in the world that banned abortion in all cases, without exception. Given that hundreds of women a year died from botched illegal abortions in the United States before Roe v. Wade, which legalized the procedure in 1973, I expected to find hospitals in Chile overflowing with dying women. Instead, I found that abortion drugs have dramatically altered the situation.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/31/opinion/sunday/abortion-banned-latin-america.html


This Is Why Women In England Can’t Take Abortion Pills At Home

This Is Why Women In England Can't Take Abortion Pills At Home
In England it is illegal to take abortion pills at home. This has nothing to do with clinical advice and everything to do with politics, say experts.

by Vicky Spratt
18 04 2018

Across the United Kingdom (with the exception of Northern Ireland) abortion has been legal since the 1967 Abortion Act came into force. However, many experts argue that it’s still not as accessible as it could be.

When Sarah (not her real name) was 16 she accidentally became pregnant and decided to have an abortion. At the time, she was living in a commuter belt town where South London meets the Surrey Hills. She recalls how her GP referred her to a London clinic for a medical abortion (which involves taking pills as opposed to undergoing a surgical procedure).

continued: https://thedebrief.co.uk/news/politics/buy-abortion-pills-abortion-at-home/


Peru: New study on abortion pill shows high success, low rate of complications

New study on abortion pill shows high success, low rate of complications
by Ariana Eunjung Cha
January 11, 2018

Abortion is legally restricted in Peru, forcing women who want to end their pregnancies to seek other means. (Mariana Bazo/Reuters)

Ever since the abortion pill RU-486 began to hit the market in the 1980s, questions have lingered about its safety, especially for women who take it in countries where terminating an unwanted pregnancy is restricted and they cannot openly seek help from a medical professional if something goes wrong.

As reports of deaths and injuries grew in the early 2000s and the pill became a big political issue, studies were launched to try to get more data on the safety question. The results are starting to come out.

Continued at source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/01/11/new-study-on-abortion-pill-shows-high-success-low-rate-of-complications/