In the Battle Over Abortion, Polish Feminists with Disabilities Are Claiming Their Rights

In a disturbing irony, Poland’s decision to remove the “fetal defect” grounds for abortion will have a disproportionately negative impact on the lives and well-being of women with disabilities.

12/15/2020
by MAGDA SZAROTA and SUZANNAH PHILLIPS

On Oct. 22, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that Poland’s law permitting abortion on grounds of “a severe and irreversible fetal defect or incurable illness that threatens the fetus’s life” was unconstitutional. The decision triggered mass protests across Poland and uniting hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life in their concern over the increasing restrictions on women’s rights.

This decision effectively bans access to safe and legal abortion for all pregnant persons, including women with disabilities. The Tribunal asserted that removing the “fetal defect” grounds for abortion would protect the rights of persons with disabilities.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2020/12/15/abortion-poland-polish-feminists-women-with-disabilities-fetal-defect/

The Worrying Disappearance of Medical Abortion Drugs in India

The Worrying Disappearance of Medical Abortion Drugs in India

SAAKHI CHADHA
Aug 29, 2019

India legalized abortions in 1971 with the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act — becoming one of the first few countries to give women the option to abort even in situations that are not life-threatening.

Undoubtedly, the law is among the more progressive abortion laws that exist in the world. Advances in medicine and technology have opened doors to safer and more convenient options, such as medical abortion drugs (mifepristone and misoprostol) that can be used within ten weeks of pregnancy.

Continued: https://fit.thequint.com/her-health/medical-abortion-pills-drugs-disappearing-from-indian-retail-chemists

Mexico’s Exciting Supreme Court Win for Women and Girls’ Access to Abortion

Mexico’s Exciting Supreme Court Win for Women and Girls’ Access to Abortion
“This sets a precedent for the whole country. This gives us hope and empowers victims of rape because they know now that the court is on their side.”

Amie Newman
May 14, 2018

Marimar* was 17 years old when she was raped and impregnated by her attacker. She reported the crime to the authorities in Morelos, Mexico where she lived and requested an abortion. The prosecutor’s office sent her to the hospital. Although abortion is legal in the case of rape in Mexico, the bioethics committee at Cuernavaca General Hospital where she sought help kept her in the hospital for two weeks, eventually denying her an abortion.

In 2016 Fernanda* was raped by an acquaintance and became pregnant. She requested access to an abortion, several times, from the health services of Oaxaca. The hospital was on strike and did not do anything but acknowledge receipt of her requests. Fernanda, like Marimar, was denied access to abortion care.

Continued: https://medium.com/@amienewman/mexicos-exciting-supreme-court-win-for-women-and-girls-access-to-abortion-9bab0d905c41

India: Attitudes to abortion putting women at risk of exploitation

Attitudes to abortion putting women at risk of exploitation
Though abortions are legal in India, lack of transparency, social taboos and limited awareness are big hurdles for women with unwanted pregnancies

Soumya Gupta and Isha Trivedi
Nov 18, 2017

Mumbai: “Doctor? I never went to a doctor for an abortion,” says the 29-year-old, an advertising industry executive based in New Delhi, who discovered in 2009 that she was pregnant.

Her landlady had told her that pills are available in the market for inducing an abortion and she headed to Delhi’s government-run Safdarjung Hospital and asked for help at the pharmacy.

Continued at source: http://www.livemint.com/Science/Ug7l9ukXqIYZwgWcvhpTQJ/Attitudes-to-abortion-putting-women-at-risk-of-exploitation.html