Lawyer unfazed by Poland abortion rights case defeat at ECHR

Polish women challenging Warsaw's abortion laws at the European Court of Human Rights had their cases dismissed, but many more are still to come.

Ella Joyner in Brussels
Jun 8, 2023

A Polish lawyer who oversaw the case of eight women challenging their country’s abortion laws at the European Court of Human Rights told DW she was undeterred after their complaints were deemed inadmissible on Thursday.

"We were quite aware that the court might not agree with us at this point," Kamila Ferenc, a lawyer and vice-president of the Polish Foundation for Women and Family Planning (FEDERA), told DW on the phone.

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/lawyer-unfazed-by-poland-abortion-rights-case-defeat-at-echr/a-65862834

European rights court rejects first case by Polish women claiming to be victims of abortion law

JUN 8, 2023
Notes from Poland

The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a complaint by eight Polish women who claimed to be victims of their country’s recently introduced near-total ban on abortion. Around 1,000 such cases have been submitted to the ECHR, and this is the first time it has ruled on one.

“The court found that the applicants had failed to provide any convincing medical evidence proving that they had been at real risk of being directly affected by [the abortion law],” said the ECHR in a statement announcing today’s decision.

Continued: https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/06/08/european-rights-court-rejects-first-case-by-polish-women-claiming-to-be-victims-of-abortion-law/

Ireland – Ivana Bacik: How abortion campaign went from ‘desperately lonely’ to ‘tremendously positive’

On a political level, there was very little to cling to as an abortion activist in the 80s and 90s, she says, and religion of course played a large part in that.

May 27, 2023

LABOUR LEADER IVANA Bacik spoke to The Journal about how the route to abortion rights went from being a “desperately lonely” movement on the periphery of society to becoming a mainstream political issue.

The subject of access to abortion stills holds the public’s attention today with a recent review finding that issues such as geographic location, the three-day waiting period and other obstacles still impede women’s access to abortion services.

Continued: https://www.thejournal.ie/ivana-bacik-interview-abortion-rights-ireland-6077186-May2023/

Serbian women face femicide, abortion ban

By Aleksandra Vrbica | EURACTIV.rs
May 14, 2023

Serbian women face a range of issues, including the narrative of an abortion ban which is gaining momentum and 18 femicides so far in 2023, the latest occurring after the victim acquired a restraining order against the perpetrator.

During 2022, the number of femicides (26) increased compared to 2021 (21) and the latest incident in Novi Sad shows that measures designed to protect women, such as protection orders, are not effective.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/serbian-women-face-femicide-abortion-ban/

Artist on trial in Poland for offending religious feelings with abortion protest painting

MAR 23, 2023
Notes from Poland

A Polish-Dutch artist is going on trial for a second time over a painting showing a crucifix entering a woman’s vagina. Its creator, Krzysztof Soroka, was already last year convicted of “offending religious feelings” – a crime in Poland that carries a prison sentence of up to two years – for the same image.

The painting is intended as criticism of the church’s support for a near-total abortion ban introduced in 2021. It was created in the context of the mass protests that erupted in Poland in 2020 after the constitutional court issued the ruling that led to that ban.

Continued: https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/03/23/artist-on-trial-in-poland-for-offending-religious-feelings-with-abortion-protest-painting/

23.03.2023

European Court of Human Rights

German abortion clinics targeted by US-style protests

Protests outside abortion clinics and family planning centers are underway in Germany. Reproductive rights advocates point to the influence of US money and tactics on the anti-abortion movement in Germany and Europe.

Helen Whittle
Mar 4, 2023

In the early afternoon on a gray and windy Friday in February, a dozen protesters from EuroProLife slowly began to appear opposite the Pro Familia family planning advice and counseling center in Frankfurt's Westend.

Clutching hymn sheets and rosaries, they chanted the Hail Mary prayer. Some held placards bearing images of smiling babies or a tiny clenched fist with the slogans "Unborn Lives Matter" and "Abortion Is Not a Solution."

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/german-abortion-clinics-targeted-by-us-style-protests/a-64877764

Is Europe next? Concerns over abortion rights rise after Supreme Court overturns Roe

“The fact it’s become a talking point is a massive step forward. Whatever anyone’s views are on abortion, it’s not helpful if we can’t talk about it,” one abortion rights opponent said.

Aug. 7, 2022
By Patrick Smith

LONDON — Abortion rights opponents have long been stuck on the fringes of politics in much of Western Europe. The Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has many in the movement hoping that is about to change.

That abortion was thrust into the headlines and onto the agenda has been a big step forward, said Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a co-director of March for Life U.K., an annual event in September in London.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/europe-concerns-abortion-rights-rise-supreme-court-overturns-roe-rcna38651

The plan to overturn abortion rights in Europe

The activists taking inspiration — and money — from US anti-abortion groups

BY CARLO MARTUSCELLI
June 28, 2022

When news broke that the U.S. Supreme Court had overturned decades of precedent and opened the door to abortion bans across the country, the reaction from opponents of the procedure in Europe was simple: We can do it too.

With support for legal abortion in Europe polling at the highest in the world, its opponents know they are rowing against the tide. But activists on the Continent got a practical demonstration of how a determined minority can make the impossible happen last weekend, when the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed a POLITICO scoop that it was repealing the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. The decision made, or will soon make, abortion illegal across 16 states.

https://www.politico.eu/article/roe-vs-wade-us-the-european-activists-taking-inspiration-and-money-from-us-anti-abortion-groups/

Malta activists protest, seek to decriminalize abortion

Abortion rights activists have filed a legal protest in Malta’s courts demanding the legalization of abortion

By Kevin Schembri Orland , Associated Press
June 15, 2022

VALLETTA, Malta -- Abortion rights activists filed a legal protest in Malta’s courts on Wednesday demanding the legalization of abortion in the only European Union member where the procedure is criminalized.

Toting banners reading “I decide,” “Abortion is a woman’s right” and “Abortion is health care, not a crime,” the activists protested on the steps of Valletta’s legal courts after filing the complaint.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/malta-activists-protest-seek-decriminalize-abortion-85416949

15.06.2022

European Court of Human Rights

Lara Dimitrijevic

Women's Rights Foundation

Ireland and Latin America Can Inspire the US Abortion Fight

Analysis by Clara Ferreira Marques | Bloomberg
May 30, 2022

For decades, activists across the world have looked to Roe v. Wade, the landmark US ruling on abortion, as a model worthy of emulation. With the Supreme Court now set to overturn that decision, roles need to reverse: US rights groups must now turn to successful campaigns in Latin America and in Ireland for inspiration and advice on mobilizing voters, galvanizing legislators and widening support.

The impact of these popular movements is hard to overestimate. The Latin American marea verde, or green wave, emerged in Argentina in response to high rates of violence against women with the Ni Una Menos campaign, or Not One Less, and mass street protests. It expanded to include a demand for legal and safe abortions, and took its name from the green scarves women began to wear …

Continued: (unblocked) https://wapo.st/3wYPzTZ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ireland-and-latin-america-can-inspire-theusabortion-fight/2022/05/30/500ffa4c-dfef-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html