An Alabama woman was imprisoned for ‘endangering’ her fetus. She gave birth in a jail shower

Exclusive: Ashley Caswell, one of a growing number of jailed pregnant women in Etowah county, is suing officials after she was denied care

Sam Levin in Los Angeles
Fri 13 Oct 2023

In March 2021, sheriffs in Etowah county, Alabama, arrested Ashley Caswell on accusations that she’d tested positive for methamphetamine while pregnant and was “endangering” her fetus.

Caswell, who was two months pregnant at the time, became one of a growing number of women imprisoned in the county in the name of protecting their “unborn children”.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/13/alabama-pregnant-woman-jail-lawsuit


USA – Domestic Abusers Are Using Abortion Bans to Control Their Victims

After Roe v. Wade fell, the National Domestic Violence Hotline saw a 99-percent increase in callers reporting that people were trying to control their reproductive choices.

By Carter Sherman
July 13, 2023

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, people warned abortion bans would become another tool for people to abuse their partners. A year later, early data indicates those warnings were right.

In the year before Roe fell, roughly 1,230 people told the National Domestic Violence Hotline that they had endured some kind of what anti-domestic abuse activists call “reproductive coercion,” including being denied an abortion or being forced into one. In the year since it was overturned, 2,442 people said the same. That’s a 99-percent increase.

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy3yny/abortion-bans-domestic-abusers


Punishment for Abortion in Nigeria

By Wildest_Imagination (self media writer)
July 8, 2023

Abortion is a highly controversial and sensitive topic that sparks debates and discussions worldwide. Nigeria, like many countries, has strict laws regarding abortion, considering it a criminal offense except in cases where the life of the mother is at risk. This article aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the punishment for abortion in Nigeria, exploring the legal framework, societal implications, and challenges faced by women seeking reproductive healthcare services. By shedding light on this subject, we hope to promote informed discussions and increase awareness of women's reproductive rights and healthcare needs.

The Legal Framework
The laws governing abortion in Nigeria are primarily derived from the Penal Code applicable in the northern states and the Criminal Code applicable in the southern states. These laws classify abortion as a criminal act, except when performed to save the life of the pregnant woman. In accordance with the Penal Code, anyone who causes an abortion, whether by providing the procedure or assisting in any way, is subject to imprisonment. The Criminal Code imposes similar penalties, effectively making abortion a punishable offense under Nigerian law.

Continued: https://ng.opera.news/ng/en/politics/62d27ff7c300f32a909aeecea6ae4bab


A 10-year-old Ohio rape victim got an abortion. Now her doctor is being punished.

Reprimanding Caitlin Bernard for speaking out could have far-reaching chilling effects.

By Nicole Narea
May 26, 2023

The case of a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim who sought an abortion in Indiana just after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year became a major flashpoint in the political debate. On Thursday, her doctor was reprimanded and fined for discussing the case — and physicians worry that it will have a chilling effect on any kind of patient advocacy that conflicts with the political agenda of state lawmakers.

The Indiana medical board found that Caitlin Bernard, an OB-GYN, violated patient privacy laws in publicly disclosing that she had performed the abortion without the consent of the patient or their parents, even though she never named the patient and only provided a general outline of the case, as doctors typically do when performing health advocacy. She will be fined $3,000 and issued a letter of reprimand, but will be allowed to keep her medical license.

Continued: https://www.vox.com/2023/5/26/23738974/indiana-abortion-doctor-caitlin-bernard-ohio


USA – The Long History of the Anti-Abortion Movement’s Links to White Supremacists

The Long History of the Anti-Abortion Movement’s Links to White Supremacists
Racism and xenophobia have been woven into the anti-abortion movement for decades, despite the careful curation of its public image.

By Alex DiBranco
Feb 3, 2020

The anti-abortion movement in the United States has long been complicit with white supremacy. In recent decades, the movement mainstream has been careful to protect its public image by distancing itself from overt white nationalists in its ranks. Last year, anti-abortion leader Kristen Hatten was ousted from her position as vice president of the anti-choice group New Wave Feminists after identifying as an “ethnonationalist” and sharing white supremacist alt-right content. In 2018, when neo-Nazis from the Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) sought to join the local March for Life rally organized by Tennessee Right to Life, the anti-abortion organization rejected TWP’s involvement. (The organization’s statement, however, engaged in the same false equivalency between left and right that Trump used in the wake of fatal white supremacist violence at Charlottesville. “Our organization’s march has a single agenda to support the rights of mothers and the unborn, and we don’t agree with the violent agenda of white supremacists or Antifa,” the group wrote on its Facebook page.)

Continued: https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/anti-abortion-white-supremacy/


USA – Misogyny Is At The Core Of The Anti-Abortion Movement

Misogyny Is At The Core Of The Anti-Abortion Movement

Ebony Tucker, Shaina Goodman
April 10, 2019

From the White House to the Senate, from courthouses to state legislatures, everywhere you look across the country, men in power are simultaneously dismissing women’s experiences of sexual assault and further restricting access to abortion care.

There’s the cruel irony of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, declaring in one of his first opinions from the bench that he would support upholding an anti-abortion law in Louisiana, only months after he was confirmed despite the protests of women bravely sharing their stories of sexual assault.

Continued: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/04/229437/abortion-rights-sexual-assault-misogyny