Men’s Catholic order gave secret millions to ‘deceptive’ anti-abortion centres

Revealed: Tax filings show Knights of Columbus ploughed at least $10.8m into ‘crisis pregnancy centres’ in six years

Open Democracy – by Diana Cariboni, Angelina De Los Santos, Mónica Cordero
14 February 2024

A multi-billion-dollar all-male Catholic order in the US has handed at least $10.8m to hundreds of anti-abortion centres in six years, openDemocracy can reveal – several times what was previously known.

Founded in the 19th century to assist Irish widows and orphans in the US, the Knights of Columbus – named after Christopher Columbus – funded at least 485 of the 2,500 so-called ‘crisis pregnancy centres’ in America between 2017 and 2022, our analysis of hundreds of documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) found. The order claims to have two million members.

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/knights-of-columbus-crisis-pregnancy-centres-anti-abortion-us-daf/


Will Poland’s New Government Legalize Abortion?

Despite campaign promises, the fight for abortion rights seems far from over.

FEBRUARY 12, 2024
Foreign Policy

After Poland’s parliamentary election in October, many voters were hopeful that the new government would finally scrap the country’s strict abortion law. The law, which had been in place for three decades, was tightened further in 2020, leading to a near-total ban on abortion.

The election ended the eight-year rule of Poland’s right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS), with the opposition winning enough seats to form a coalition government. In the lead-up to the vote, two of the three groups that made up the opposition—the centrist Civic Coalition and the Left—pledged to legalize abortion up to or through 12 weeks of pregnancy; the former promised to do so within the first 100 days in office.

Continued: https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/02/12/poland-abortion-rights-pro-choice-election-coalition-pis-law-ban/


Poland appears torn by abortion. Research hints divide isn’t so deep.

By Lenora Chu, Christian Science Monitor
February 9, 2024

Teresa Barszczowska is a proud Polish conservative, and typically votes her Law and Justice party’s line. But when it comes to a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy, she wishes her conservative leaders would have had more empathy.

That ability to put oneself in another’s shoes was missing, she says, when her party’s leader, Jarosław Kaczyński, imposed a near-total abortion ban in 2020. “He doesn’t have his family of his own; he’s a bachelor. He doesn’t know how it is,” says Ms. Barszczowska, a pensioner. “He really shouldn’t be meddling in these things.”

Continued: https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2024/0209/Poland-appears-torn-by-abortion.-Research-hints-divide-isn-t-so-deep


Tusk faces a big fight overturning Poland’s abortion ban

The prime minister says easing Poland’s near-total abortion ban is a priority, but he’s facing stiff opposition from within.

FEBRUARY 9, 2024
BY WOJCIECH KOŚĆ

WARSAW — Poland’s new government won power thanks to the votes of millions of women, but it's now split over an issue that garnered their support — easing abortion rules.

The far-right nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government ruled from 2015 until last October and, in alliance with the Roman Catholic Church, espoused toughening Poland's already very restrictive abortion rules.

Continued: https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-tusk-faces-big-fight-overturning-abortion-ban/


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


Poland shows the difficulties of trying to reverse an abortion ban

By Kate Brady and Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post
January 27, 2024

PRENZLAU, Germany — Only 30 miles separate the two clinics where gynecologist Maria Kubisa works, but what’s legal at her clinic on this side of the border would be criminal at the clinic back in Poland.

So women have been crossing over to seek help from Kubisa on this side, especially in the past three years, since a Polish court backed by a ring-wing government imposed a near-ban on abortion.

Unlocked: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/27/poland-abortion-12-weeks-donald-tusk/


Malta – Forty, pregnant, and seeking an abortion

A trend is emerging in Malta among women aged 40 and over, who already have children and who experience unintended pregnancies despite using contraception. The Journal catches up with Doctors for Choice - Malta’s Dr Natalie Psaila.

The Journal
Jan 16, 2024

If you think that unwanted pregnancies are exclusive to teenagers, think again.
“An emerging trend that we’re observing is among individuals aged 40 and over, who already have children, who say that they have used contraception, but still experience unintended pregnancies,” reveals Dr Natalie Psaila, a Maltese doctor who make it to the BBC’s top 100 inspirational women in 2023. 

These women confirm using CE certified condoms but, despite these precautions, they still get pregnant, she pointed out. “These condoms shouldn’t fail easily but no contraceptive is fail-proof. This is why these couples are getting pregnant. Condoms have about 10% failure rate. Something like the pull-out method – a favourite with the Maltese – has a 40% failure rate.”

Continued: https://thejournal.mt/forty-pregnant-and-seeking-an-abortion/


What does a total abortion ban look like in Dominican Republic?

BY MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ
January 2, 2024

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Dominican Republic is one of four Latin American nations that criminalizes abortion without exceptions. Women face up to 2 years in prison for having an abortion, while the penalties for doctors or midwives range from 5 to 20 years. Abortion rights activists argue that the country’s total abortion ban not only restricts women’s reproductive choices but also puts their lives in danger.

Here’s a look at the country’s ban.

Continued: https://apnews.com/article/dominican-republic-abortion-ban-women-catholic-church-5890252153c3b451b16b62b4aa3fe26d


Catholic activists in Mexico help women reconcile their faith with abortion rights

By María Teresa Hernández, The Associated Press
Saturday, December 16, 2023

MEXICO CITY (AP) — In a corner of their Mexico City office, activists from Catholics for the Right to Decide keep an image of the Virgin Mary close to a green scarf that reads: “Mary was consulted to be mother of God.”

For these Catholic women, prayer does not conflict with their fight for abortion access nor does their devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe prevent them from supporting LGBTQ+ rights.

Continued: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/catholic-activists-in-mexico-help-women-reconcile-their-faith-with-abortion-rights/article_412ee0ae-cd6b-5406-8579-1e40297674d1.html


Poland’s radical antiabortion law didn’t have the intended effect

By Lee Hockstader, Washington Post
November 29, 2023

WARSAW — A right-wing government in Poland, in league with the Catholic Church and legitimately worried about plummeting birthrates, pushed for the toughest abortion law of any major European country three years ago. The results are now in, providing a telling lesson in unintended consequences.

Across broad swaths of Europe that are graying, antiabortion politicians should think twice if they believe tighter abortion restrictions will help reverse population decline.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/29/poland-abortion-ban-birth-fertility/ (Or https://wapo.st/3Gjq7fU)