As France makes abortion a constitutional right, UK women see sharp rise in abortion convictions

A law dating from 1861 is being used to prosecute women in England and Wales, in at least one case leading to incarceration.

March 4, 2024
By: Lara BULLENS

France has become the only country in the world to protect the right to terminate a pregnancy in its constitution after abortion access was officially added to the freedoms guaranteed in the French constitution on Monday. The move was a direct reaction to the rollback of abortion rights in the United States and elsewhere.

But across the English Channel, women are still at risk of prosecution for having the procedure because abortion in the UK has not been decriminalised. Britain is facing a sharp rise in abortion convictions, with a law dating from 1861 being used to prosecute women and in at least one case leading to incarceration.

Continued: https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240304-france-abortion-constitution-right-uk-woman-sharp-rise-abortion-convictions-england

French lawmakers approve a bill that makes abortion a constitutional right

French lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved a bill to enshrine abortion rights in France’s constitution, making it the only country to explicitly guarantee a woman’s right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy

By BARBARA SURK and NICOLAS GARRIGA, Associated Press
March 4, 2024

PARIS -- French lawmakers on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill to enshrine abortion rights in France's constitution, making it the only country to explicitly guarantee a woman’s right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy.

The historic move was proposed by President Emmanuel Macron as a way to prevent the kind of rollback of abortion rights seen in the United States in recent years, and the vote during a special joint session of France's parliament drew a long standing ovation among lawmakers.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-lawmakers-gather-historic-vote-make-abortion-constitutional-107766852

04.03.2024

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abortion law reform

constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights

Emmanual Macron

enshrining abortion rights in constitution

Ex-PM says he and “many PiS colleagues” favour overturning abortion ban introduced under their rule

FEB 29, 2024
Notes from Poland

Mateusz Morawiecki, who led the former Law and Justice (PiS) government that oversaw the introduction of Poland’s near-total abortion ban, now says he and “many PiS colleagues” would vote in favour of a proposal by one of the country’s new ruling groups to overturn that ban.

In December, the national-conservative PiS party was replaced in power by a more liberal coalition led by Donald Tusk. Two of the groups in that coalition – Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition (KO) and The Left (Lewica) – want to not only end the near-total abortion ban but also introduce abortion on demand.

Continued: https://notesfrompoland.com/2024/02/29/ex-pm-says-he-and-many-pis-colleagues-favour-overturning-abortion-ban-introduced-under-their-rule/

Center-right group in Polish ruling coalition submits “compromise” abortion bill to return to pre-2021 law

FEB 24, 2024
Notes from Poland

A bill that would liberalise Poland’s abortion law has been submitted by the centre-right Third Way (Trzecia Droga), which is the more conservative wing of the ruling coalition that took power in December.

The group wants to restore the right to terminate pregnancies in cases where a birth defect is diagnosed in the foetus. Such abortions were banned under the former conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government.

Continued: https://notesfrompoland.com/2024/02/24/center-right-group-in-polish-ruling-coalition-submits-compromise-abortion-bill-to-return-to-pre-2021-law/

24.02.2024

Law and Justice partyp

Change in UAE law on abortion eases consent rules, protects pregnant woman’s life

According to the law, consent shall not be a condition in emergency cases that require immediate surgical intervention

by Sahim Salim / Nasreen Abdulla
Mon 19 Feb 2024

An amendment to an existing UAE law has made it easier for medical professionals to conduct an abortion if the mother’s life is in grave danger. According to lawyers in the country, this significant change puts the pregnant woman in charge of her health.

“The amendments to the law updated the previous provisions to assert that only the consent of the pregnant woman, and not her husband, is required to commence an abortion operation (among other conditions),” said Hadiel Hussein, senior associate at BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates LLP.

Continued: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/change-in-uae-law-on-abortion-eases-consent-rules-protects-pregnant-womans-life#google_vignette

19.02.2024

Half of public support Tusk’s aim to introduce abortion on demand in Poland, find polls

FEB 2, 2024
Notes from Poland

Two new polls have found that around half of the public support the proposals recently put forward by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition (KO) and one of its coalition partners, The Left (Lewica), to introduce abortion on demand.

A poll by the IBRiS agency for broadcaster Radio Zet published on Wednesday asked respondents whether abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy should be allowed in any circumstances and without providing a reason.

Continued: https://notesfrompoland.com/2024/02/02/half-of-public-support-tusks-aim-to-introduce-abortion-on-demand-in-poland-find-polls/

02.02.2024

Law and Justice party

Mateusz Morawiecki

Poland Constitutional Tribunal

public support for abortion

Poland: is abortion law reform imminent?

Last October’s defeat ended the nationalist Law and Justice Party’s eight years in power and makes it possible to restore the right to abortion that Polish women have long campaigned for.

by Malgo Nieziolek, Le Monde diplomatique
February 1, 2024

Donald Tusk told a campaign rally in Gliwice (Silesia) last September, ‘Restoring Polish women’s dignity and guaranteeing their safety are at the heart of our programme.’ At the time, abortion remained almost completely banned in Poland. Tusk, who became prime minister in December, promised to establish free access to voluntary terminations of pregnancy up to the 12th week and to do away with the conscience clause for doctors in the public health system, meaning they will no longer be able to refuse to perform this procedure.

Tusk, also prime minister from 2007 to 2014, had nonetheless told the 2013 Women’s Congress in Warsaw he opposed the liberalisation of the ‘compromise’, one of Europe’s most restrictive pieces of abortion legislation, introduced in 1993 to satisfy the all-powerful Catholic Church and further toughened by the ultraconservative Law and Justice Party (PiS), which ran the country from 2015. Since then, feminist protests had shaken the country, but failed to bring legislative progress.

Continued: https://mondediplo.com/2024/02/10poland

01.02.2024

Law and Justice party

France on-track to constitutionalize abortion rights

By Claudia Colliva and Maya Szaniecki, CNN
Tue January 30, 2024

The French National Assembly has passed a historic bill that moves the country one step closer to enshrining the right to abortion in its constitution.

In a vote in the lower house of the French parliament on Tuesday, 493 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, 30 against. The bill will now move to the Senate for debate and a vote and, if approved, a special body composed of both chambers of the parliament will meet again for its adoption.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/30/europe/france-abortion-rights-vote-intl/index.html

Polish ruling parties divided over abortion law

By Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | EURACTIV.pl
Jan 25, 2024

Poland’s ruling parties have presented separate bills to liberalise the country’s abortion laws, proposing to make abortion legal up to the 12th week of pregnancy, but some MPs remain sceptical.

Liberalising the abortion law was a promise made by some opposition parties during last year’s election campaign. However, once the parties were united in Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government, they found it difficult to forge a common position.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/polish-ruling-parties-divided-over-abortion-law/

25.01.2024

Bill to introduce abortion on demand in Poland submitted by PM Tusk’s political group

JAN 25, 2024
Notes from Poland

Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition (KO) group has submitted a bill to parliament that would introduce abortion on demand up to the 12th week of pregnancy.

If passed, the legislation would not only reverse the near-total abortion ban introduced under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government but would create a more liberal abortion law than existed previously.

However, Tusk has admitted that his more conservative junior coalition partners are not supportive of the bill.

Continued: https://notesfrompoland.com/2024/01/25/bill-to-introduce-abortion-on-demand-in-poland-submitted-by-pm-tusks-political-group/

25.01.2024