Some people who seek abortions can face prison time in more than 120 countries, analysis shows

In six countries, some abortion seekers can face life in prison, according to a global study of the penalization of abortion.

March 21, 2023
By Julianne McShane

Some people who seek or obtain abortions can face prison time in more than 120 countries, according to an analysis published Monday that sheds new light on international penalties for the procedure.

More than 90 countries have maximum penalties of up to five years of prison time for certain abortion-seekers, while 25 have sentences of between five and 10 years, according to the research, which relied on a World Health Organization database of abortion policies.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/abortion-penalties-prison-time-around-world-rcna75760

21.03.2023

Antonella Lavelanet

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Rebecca Cook

World Health Organization

Key Facts about Abortion

July 2, 2022
By INDIAN AWAAZ

Around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year. Six out of 10 (61%) of all unintended pregnancies, and 3 out of 10 (29%) of all pregnancies, end in induced abortion (1).

Comprehensive abortion care is included in the list of essential health care services published by WHO in 2020. Abortion is a simple health care intervention that can be effectively managed by a wide range of health workers using medication or a surgical procedure. In the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a medical abortion can also be safely self-managed by the pregnant person outside of a health care facility (e.g., at home), in whole or in part. This requires that the woman has access to accurate information, quality medicines and support from a trained health worker (if she needs or wants it during the process).

Continued: https://theindianawaaz.com/key-facts-about-abortion/

02.07.2022

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Uganda – When rural women seek crude abortions to end unwanted pregnancies

When rural women seek crude abortions to end unwanted pregnancies

By DAVID MAFABI | PML Daily Senior Staff Writer
Posted on March 2, 2019

MBALE – Hanna Namutosi, 19, was raped by a mentally ill man while walking alone in a bushy village path in Bududa district.

And when she missed her first period, she thought nothing of it. Her periods had always been irregular. But after some time, she started vomiting in the morning and got nauseous whenever she the smelt eggs or mandazi or anything being fried.

Continued: http://www.pmldaily.com/features/2019/03/when-rural-women-seek-crude-abortions-to-end-unwanted-pregnancies.html

Self-managed Abortion Highlights Need to Decriminalize Abortion Worldwide

Self-managed Abortion Highlights Need to Decriminalize Abortion Worldwide
Most of the world's decades-old abortion laws don't reflect the advent of the abortion pill, and they permit the punishment of people who end their own pregnancies and nonmedical providers.

Nov 12, 2018
Patty Skuster, Kinga Jelinska & Susan Yanow

In countries with a range of laws regulating abortion, there is growing evidence that people are safely self-managing their abortions outside a clinical context—sourcing and using misoprostol alone or in combination with mifepristone, on their own and with the help of family and friends, or with community-based support.

Recognizing the potential of abortion pills to expand access to safe abortion, feminist collectives across the world have mobilized to create reliable resources about self-managed abortion. Activists run telephone hotlines, email help desks, and groups to provide information about self-management. Women often obtain the medicines through online services, community distribution networks, or pharmacies.

Continued: https://rewire.news/article/2018/11/12/self-managed-abortion-decriminalize/

Let’s call ‘conscientious objection’ by its name: Obstruction of access to care and abortion in South Africa

Let’s call ‘conscientious objection’ by its name: Obstruction of access to care and abortion in South Africa

Satang Nabaneh, Marion Stevens and Lucia Berro Pizzarossa
24th October 2018

South Africa has one of the most liberal laws on abortion and constitutionally recognizes reproductive rights as human rights. However, data shows important difficulties translating the legal norms into effective access to services. One of the key challenges is physicians’ refusal to perform abortions invoking an “ad hoc, unregulated and at times incorrect” conscientious objection. The Department of Health is now spearheading a reform of the abortion guidelines aiming to bring them in line with human rights standards and reframing the refusal as “obstruction of access to care”.

Continued: http://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/lets-call-conscientious-objection-by-its-name-obstruction-of-access-to-care-and-abortion-in-south-africa/

FEATURE: New Global Abortion Policies Database

International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
4 July 2017

In 2002, the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) published an online database summarising the world's abortion laws and policies, which they had tracked since the mid-1990s. It was a fantastic achievement and has continued to be of great use, in spite of the absence of updates since it was published (You just needed to know from other sources that a specific country had changed its abortion law/policies after 2002 and you could supplement the information it gave you). As a narrative source of the history of abortion laws and policies in each country, it should remain a valuable link to consult for a very long time.

Now, since June 2017, a new database has been placed online, which is full of the most up-to-date information. We published a short announcement about this new database in last week's newsletter. Here are more details about it.

Continued at source: International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion: mailchi.mp/safeabortionwomensright/breaking-news-from-ireland-citizens-assembly-recommends-abortion-law-reform-feature-why-would-any-country-put-abortion-in-the-constitution-739677?e=3fa4c971b0

04.07.2017

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Global Abortion Policies Database

Global Abortion Policies Database
June 23, 2017

The World Health Organization, the Human Reproduction Programme, and the Population Division of the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs have launched the Global Abortion Policies Database to promote greater transparency of abortion laws and policies and State accountability for the protection of women and girls’ health and human rights.

The Global Abortion Policies Database is designed to strengthen global efforts to eliminate unsafe abortion by producing an interactive open-access database and repository of current abortion laws, policies, and national standards and guidelines. This tool builds upon the UNPD’s previous work in this area, resulting in a more comprehensive information resource on abortion policies in the 21st century. The database will facilitate analyses of countries’ abortion laws and policies when they are placed in the context of WHO guidelines and human rights norms and standards. It is intended to help states identify and eliminate the barriers that women encounter in accessing safe abortion services. It is also intended to increase both the transparency of abortion laws and policies and to ensure accountability for the protection of women’s health and their human rights.

Continued at source: WHO / HRP: http://www.srhr.org/abortion-policies.

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About the Global Abortion Policies Project

The Global Abortion Policies Project (GAPP) has been designed to strengthen global efforts to eliminate unsafe abortion by producing a global, open-access repository of current abortion laws, policies, and national standards and guidelines. The purpose of the Project is to increase both the transparency of abortion laws and policies and to foster accountability among governments as they adopt and implement such policies. The Project has been structured to facilitate comparative analyses of countries’ abortion laws and policies by placing them in the context of the WHO guidance on safe abortion. Current laws and policies on abortion can be used as benchmarks to monitor and evaluate national progress in creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment for eliminating unsafe abortion. The Project Database is a collaborative effort by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations and the Department of Reproductive Health and Research of the World Health Organization.

Continued at source: United Nations: https://esa.un.org/gapp.

23.06.2017