‘We will not go back’: thousands rally for abortion rights across the US

More than 300 pro-choice protests organized around US against expected reversal of 1973 landmark law that made abortion legal

Oliver Milman and Victoria Bekiempis in New York and Dani Anguiano in Los Angeles
Sat 14 May 2022

Thousands of people were taking part in protests across the US on Saturday to decry the supreme court’s expected reversal of the landmark 1973 law that made abortion legal in America.

Organizers said there were more than 380 protest events in cities including major ones in Washington DC, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago to demand that the right to an abortion is not stripped away by the court, which is dominated by rightwing justices.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/14/abortion-rights-protests-us-roe-v-wade

In Memoriam – Eddie Mhlanga: a doctor and a friend with the biggest smile and the warmest heart in the world

by Marge Berer
ICWRSA Newsletter
11 February 2022

It is with great sadness that we report that Eddie Mhlanga, professor, policymaker, obstetrician-gynaecologist, abortion provider, passionate advocate for public health and women’s health and rights, and much loved colleague, died on 5 February 2022 after a short illness. He was only age 68.

Here are some excerpts from published articles by and about him, about his professional life and his enormous contributions to women’s health care in South Africa.

Continued: https://mailchi.mp/safeabortionwomensright/11-feb-2022?e=372dd34034

‘Catastrophic implications’: UN health expert condemns US over threat to abortion rights

Special rapporteur Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng argues in brief filed in a US court that overturning abortion rights would violate international human rights treaties ratified by the US

Jessica Glenza
Mon 8 Nov 2021

The United Nations special rapporteur on the right to health has called on the US supreme court to uphold the right to abortion in America or risk undermining international human rights law and threatening that right elsewhere in the world.

The special rapporteur, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, is one of just a handful of global observers whose mandate is to travel the world defending human rights.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/08/catastrophic-implications-un-health-expert-condemns-us-over-threat-to-abortion-rights

UN Experts: Access to Contraception and Abortion Must Continue During COVID-19

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020
Health and Human Rights Journal

UN Experts joined together to remind states of their human rights duty to ensure access to contraception for anyone who wants it, including during COVID-19. On World Contraception Day (26 September), the experts, led by the new Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, states, “The right to sexual and reproductive health includes women’s freedom to decide whether to be pregnant, how many children to have, and to space pregnancies. It also imposes a core obligation on States to provide the essential medicines of the relevant WHO List which includes contraceptives.”

COVID-19 has made it more difficult for women to access family planning services with restrictions on freedom of movement, as well as production and supply chains being disrupted. However, the state obligations remain in place, and the experts said people are entitled to information and access to health care facilities irrespective of lockdown conditions.

Continued: https://www.hhrjournal.org/2020/09/un-experts-access-to-contraception-and-abortion-must-continue-during-covid-19/

Abortion, sexuality, global health and more: A chat with South Africa’s ‘Dr T’

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020 | NEWS

If you haven’t heard of Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng—known popularly as Dr T—you have somehow missed her ubiquitous presence on radio, TV, social media and numerous other platforms. She’s a medical doctor, sex expert and health activist. She’s a member of the South Africa Commission on Gender Equality and was recently appointed as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health. Dr. Mofokeng is also the author of A Guide to Sexual Health and Pleasure. She took time from her busy schedule to field some questions from Ipas.

Congratulations on your recent appointment as a UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health—and for being the first woman from Africa named to that post. What excites you most about this new role?

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/abortion-sexuality-global-health-and-more-a-chat-with-south-africas-dr-t/

Africa – Abortion is healthcare – and this makes it a human right

Reproductive justice is about much more than the freedom to choose to terminate a pregnancy or not – it challenges systems of oppression and discrimination and calls for a focused action plan for law reform.

By Tlaleng Mofokeng
14 August 2020

Dignity, bodily integrity, equality, safety and security, and health – including reproductive health – are human rights.

States must work to ensure that all people, regardless of gender, age, immigration or documentation status, geography or class, are able to access life-affirming and comprehensive healthcare. No circumstances or interventions should lead to discrimination, obstruction of access to abortion, or complications or death due to unsafe procedures.

Continued: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-08-14-abortion-is-healthcare-and-this-makes-it-a-human-right/

South Africa – No Strings Attached: The Only Kind Of Health Care Aid We Want From The U.S.

By Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng
July 14, 2020

Rose* traveled to three different health facilities in Gauteng province, in need of medical attention – she had already missed two periods, was uncertain if she was pregnant, and needed help right away. However, Rose left each clinic without a proper clinical examination, pregnancy confirmation, referral note, or even a proper medical history conversation. During one of these visits, she was sent away by a clerk, and during another, she was told the only nurse who performs abortions is on leave. But without access to proper care, Rose resorted to spending the little money she had on buying black market pills that promised a quick abortion, putting her at risk for hemorrhage, sepsis, and even death.

Continued: https://www.essence.com/op-ed/south-africa-health-care-during-trump-presidency/

14.07.2020

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South Africa – ‘Conscientious objection’: when doctors’ beliefs are a barrier to abortion

'Conscientious objection': when doctors' beliefs are a barrier to abortion
As a report highlights the ruinous impact of denying abortion, two medics offer opposing views on the role of personal belief

Hannah Summers
Fri 22 Jun 2018

A rise in the number of healthcare providers who refuse to provide abortion services based on their personal beliefs is having a devastating impact on women and girls around the world, a new study has claimed.

Over the past two decades, at least 30 countries – including, most recently, Ireland, Chile and Argentina – have taken steps to improve access to abortion through legislative changes.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jun/22/should-doctors-be-free-to-refuse-patients-an-abortion-on-personal-grounds

South Africa – It takes more than pro-choice laws to end deaths from unsafe abortions

It takes more than pro-choice laws to end deaths from unsafe abortions
South Africa legalised abortion in 1997. Yet so few clinics offer them that women still risk their lives by turning to illegal means

Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng
Wed 6 Jun 2018

I have been an abortion provider for as long as I have been a qualified doctor. In the past five years, I have been inundated with emails, social media requests and calls from women from all walks of life desperate for my help.

I will never forget one young woman who came to the public clinic in the West Rand township near Johannesburg, panicking about massive blood loss from her vagina. It was only after some prompting that she and a family member admitted to using abortion pills purchased outside a shopping centre. She bought the pills after being denied an abortion by the local clinic, where health workers told her “We don’t do those things here,” and shamed her for being young and sexually active.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jun/06/pro-choice-laws-deaths-unsafe-abortions-south-africa-dr-tlaleng-mofokeng

The Discussion on Conscientious Objection

The Discussion on Conscientious Objection

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Nomtika

All roads led to Uruguay last week, between July 31st and August 4th, as 5 SRJC members took to Montevideo for the International Convention on Conscientious Objection.

The meeting, co-hosted by Mujer y Salud en Uruguay (MYSU) and the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC), featured policymakers, academics, health professionals, legal experts, and feminist activists who collectively established that objecting to the provision of voluntary abortion services on religious or moral grounds, is a chief barrier to safe abortion and endangers the lives of women.

Continued at source: Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition: http://srjc.org.za/2017/08/10/the-discussion-on-conscientious-objection/