USA – The abortion battle has moved to your local court

BY JILL HABIG, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR
12/26/22

A federal judge in Florida is soon expected to rule on whether Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) violated the First Amendment and abused his power when he overruled the will of voters and suspended Andrew Warren — the twice-elected state prosecutor of Tampa — for vowing that neither he nor his office would prosecute abortion cases.

The case sets the stage for an epic battle between state and local power — with doctors, patients and criminal defendants caught in the crosshairs.

Continued: https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/3787043-the-abortion-battle-has-moved-to-your-local-court/


USA – Onslaught of new abortion restrictions looms in reddest of states

New state legislative sessions likely to bring fresh efforts to restrict, penalize or altogether ban the procedure

Poppy Noor
Tue 13 Dec 2022

In Nebraska, a total abortion ban could be on the horizon. In Florida, the gestational limit for abortions could drop from 15 weeks to 12. Elsewhere, lawmakers have abortion pills in their sights. When Roe v Wade fell, most states were no longer in legislative session, meaning the term during which they usually write and pass bills had ended. In January, state legislatures will reconvene in an entirely new reality, one where conservative lawmakers are no longer constrained by the constitutional right to abortion once assured by Roe.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/13/abortion-restrictions-us-state-legislatures


India – An Important First Step On The Road to Reproductive Justice, But Safe Abortion Remains Out Of Reach

The Supreme Court’s 29 September 2022 decision on abortion has provided legal armour for many pending cases on reproductive justice related to, among others, surrogacy, assisted reproduction and marital rape. But its impact on access to safe abortion will be limited.
APARNA CHANDRA
01 Oct 2022

Bengaluru: X* is a 25-year-old woman from Manipur, the eldest of five siblings and the daughter of farmers. She was living in Delhi with her unmarried partner. In June, 2022, X found out that she was pregnant and was set to marry her partner.

At the last minute, her partner refused to marry her.

Continued: https://article-14.com/post/an-important-first-step-on-the-road-to-reproductive-justice-but-safe-abortion-remains-out-of-reach-63383eddf1325


USA – The abortion emergency in the federal courts

BY ANDREW KOPPELMAN
08/28/22

It is now notorious that the criminalization of abortion, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe v. Wade, doesn’t do much to lower the abortion rate but has had devastating effects on the ability of doctors to treat pregnancies that go wrong.  Horror stories accumulate. Opponents of abortion have claimed that the press has exaggerated the danger. Yet two recent lawsuits have made clear that this harm is very real. Efforts to preserve women’s health are being resisted, with some success, even in cases where the fetus is doomed.

The Supreme Court indicated in Dobbs v. Women’s Health Center that it wanted to stay away from the abortion issue. Yet it is certainly coming back there, and soon, because of a new division between two lower federal courts.

Continued: https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/3617922-the-abortion-emergency-in-the-federal-courts/


New Texas trigger law makes abortion a felony

August 27, 2022
5-minute listen with transcript

Scott Simon talks with Elizabeth Sepper, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin about the legal landscape of abortion access in the state.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Laws restricting access to abortion went into effect in a number of states this week, including Texas, which already has some of the toughest restrictions in the country. Its new law goes even further. It makes it a felony to provide an abortion, and that is punishable by up to life in prison. We're joined now by Elizabeth Sepper, who is a professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin.

Continued: https://www.npr.org/2022/08/27/1119795665/new-texas-trigger-law-makes-abortion-a-felony


Dobbs v Jackson judgment in US may stifle women’s reproductive rights as far afield as Africa

Women have a right to an abortion in South Africa that is protected by the Constitution. Yet of the 3,880 health facilities in South Africa, less than 7% provide access to abortion services, and of the 505 medical facilities specifically designated to provide the service, an estimation of only 197 are currently operational.

By Sibusisiwe Ndlela, Charlemaine Husselmann and Primah Kwagala
21 Aug 2022

Recognition of a right to abortion is often the first step towards creating an enabling environment for women to access abortions but in some countries in east and southern Africa, argue the authors, the outcome of the US case may put brakes on little sparks of hope that emerged in recent years.

The right to abortion has been catapulted into the spotlight by Dobbs v Jackson, the landmark judgment of the United States (US) Supreme Court that overturned Roe v Wade — a 50-year-old precedent of that court that first recognised the constitutional right to abortion in the US.

Continued: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-08-21-dobbs-v-jackson-judgment-may-further-stifle-womens-reproductive-rights-as-far-afield-as-africa/


Fears for vulnerable women amid rise in Britons investigated over illegal abortions by police

‘Women face distress of investigation then often wait years to learn if they will be charged,’ leading gynaecologist says

Maya Oppenheim, Women’s Correspondent
Aug 19, 2022

Increasing numbers of Britons are being investigated by police over suspected illegal abortions, new figures show.

The latest Home Office data for England and Wales shows recorded crimes for abortions rose from 28 in 2020 to 40 in 2021 and were up from just eight cases in 2012.

Continued: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/abortion-women-police-investigation-rise-b2147009.html


How State Abortion Bans Could Create New Criminals

As more states introduce laws that restrict abortion rights and the future of “Roe v. Wade” remains uncertain, the threat of overcriminalization and mass incarceration looms.

BY BOBBIE STEIN
OCTOBER 22, 2021

The elimination of cash bail, the decriminalization of drugs and petty theft offenses, and sentencing reform have recently shifted the criminal justice landscape throughout the United States. Nonetheless, a new threat of over-prosecution and incarceration looms large in the, perhaps, unexpected realm of reproductive rights.

According to Planned Parenthood, nearly 600 abortion restrictions have been introduced in state legislatures this year alone—and more than ninety have become law. While some of these laws do include criminal penalties, all of them make getting an abortion nearly impossible for most people and they set the stage for broader, more restrictive laws in the future.

continued: https://progressive.org/latest/abortion-bans-create-new-criminals-stein-211022/


Bhutan – Demand for abortion pills— a legal dilemma

October 10, 2020

The news of “demand for abortion pills rise in Thimphu” in Kuensel this week deserves our attention. The horrifying stories of abandonment of human fetuses and informal reports of unsafe abortions taking place across the border are sadly not uncommon in Bhutan. The issue of abortion is sensitive and controversial because the very nature of abortion is emotional, often against one’s social values and spiritual beliefs. It is also of moral and ethical dilemma among physicians.

Section 146 of the Penal Code of Bhutan (PCB), 2004, criminalizes abortion except when the mother’s life is in danger or of unsound mental condition or when pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. This provision is discriminatory itself as abortion is a crime only if certain criteria are not met violating the rights of both the mother and fetus.

Continued : https://kuenselonline.com/demand-for-abortion-pills-a-legal-dilemma/