Women’s groups drop Guatemala abortion clause over church dissent

Women’s groups drop Guatemala abortion clause over church dissent

Published on Sept 5, 2018
AFP

Women’s rights activists were forced into a hasty retreat Tuesday in the face of fierce church-led opposition to proposed legislation to loosen strict abortion laws.

Sponsors of the bill aimed at protecting underage victims of sexual abuse opted to remove a controversial clause that would decriminalize abortion for girls aged 14 or under who have been abused.

The influential Catholic and Evangelical churches organized a massive rally on Sunday to protest against the bill and in support of “life and the family.”

Continued: https://www.journalducameroun.com/en/womens-groups-drop-guatemala-abortion-clause-over-church-dissent/

My Body, the Majority’s Choice? A Comparative Overview of Abortion Laws in Ireland and Argentina

My Body, the Majority’s Choice? A Comparative Overview of Abortion Laws in Ireland and Argentina

Helena Guimarães de Oliveira
Mon 3 Sep 2018

Women in Argentina celebrated a landmark achievement in June 2018 that they believed would pave the way for the legalization of abortion on request in the country. A majority of the Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that would permit abortions on request during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy and increase the scope for legal abortions after the 15th week.

However, on August 8th, the bill was rejected by the Senate. This was a great disappointment for Argentinian women – and those all around the world who had supported the movement – and represented an unfortunate backward step, since the current law, enacted in 1921, will be retained and abortion will remain a crime.

Continued: https://verfassungsblog.de/my-body-the-majoritys-choice-a-comparative-overview-of-abortion-laws-in-ireland-and-argentina/

Brazil’s Abortion Battle

Brazil’s Abortion Battle

By Sabrina Fernandes
Nov 29, 2017

The Brazilian right's efforts to destroy abortion rights are key to their broader crusade against the Left.

Brazil’s right wing has gotten ahead through a series of dirty tricks. The 2015 impeachment of Workers Party (PT) president Dilma Rousseff, pushed through despite the absence of any “crime of responsibility,” is the most notorious example. Now, through similarly slick manuevers, they’re seeking further restrictions on reproductive rights. This, in a country where already one woman dies from a clandestine abortion procedure every nine minutes.

Currently, abortion is legal only in particular cases, such as when there’s a direct threat to the life of the pregnant person, or when the pregnancy results from rape. It’s these exceptions that the conservative and Evangelical parliamentary front is seeking to destroy. Through a variety of proposed bills and amendments, they may eliminate the right to abortion completely.

Continued at source: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/11/brazil-abortion-rights-cunha-rousseff