Relaxation of UK abortion rules welcomed by experts

Relaxation of UK abortion rules welcomed by experts
Rules eased during coronavirus crisis to allow women to be sent both sets of abortion pills

Aamna Mohdin
Mon 30 Mar 2020

Leading UK healthcare providers have welcomed the government’s decision to allow women to take abortion pills at home without travelling to a clinic.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed the government was updating its guidance to help women who need an abortion, but cannot access a clinic because of measures put in place to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/30/relaxation-of-uk-abortion-rules-welcomed-by-experts-coronavirus

UK – State control over women’s bodies is an unforeseen outcome of the coronavirus crisis

State control over women's bodies is an unforeseen outcome of the coronavirus crisis
A U-turn on women’s ability to access home abortions and the cancellation of IVF means they have less say over their fertility

Emma Barnett
Sun 29 Mar 2020

It’s been quite a week to have a womb in the UK.

First, pregnant women were suddenly categorised as vulnerable, and advised to stay home by the government. But then some of them were told to come back into work by their employers – including the riskiest of all, the NHS.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/29/state-control-womens-bodies-covid-19-crisis

USA – “Stay Home and Have the Baby”

“Stay Home and Have the Baby”
Texas and Ohio have ordered a stop to abortions, saying they’re not essential medical services. Other states will follow. Right-wing forces are using the pandemic as a pretext to crack down dramatically on abortion rights. We can’t let them.

03.28.2020
By Jenny Brown

Texas and Ohio have ordered a stop to abortions, saying they’re not essential medical services, while state officials in Mississippi and Maryland are edging that direction. Their coronavirus prevention program is “Stay home and have the baby.”

The states argued that equipment such as masks used for surgical abortions could be used for care of COVID-19 patients. And they claim if anything goes wrong emergency services would be needed, exaggerating the risk of a safe procedure.

Continued: https://jacobinmag.com/2020/03/coronavirus-abortions-health-care

Northern Ireland’s new abortion guidelines are welcome but should have gone further

Northern Ireland’s new abortion guidelines are welcome but should have gone further

Posted: Fri, 27 Mar 2020
by Dr Antony Lempert

As the government publishes a framework for the extension of abortion rights in NI, Dr Antony Lempert welcomes politicians' belated willingness to defend women's right to choose but laments several missed opportunities.

On 23 February 2018 the UN committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) issued a damning verdict on the state of abortion in Northern Ireland. It concluded that women were subject to violence by virtue of the fact that nearly every woman or child who became pregnant had to carry the pregnancy to term. This was the case even where there was evidence that the foetus would not be viable and even in cases of incest or rape.

Continued: https://www.secularism.org.uk/opinion/2020/03/northern-irelands-new-abortion-guidelines-are-welcome-but-should-have-gone-further

Coronavirus is making abortion access more difficult in the UK

Coronavirus is making abortion access more difficult in the UK

By Rachel Thompson
March 25, 2020

The UK is now under lockdown. Britons are only permitted to leave their homes for food, health reasons, or work (if it's not possible to be done from home) in a bid to slow the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

Abortion services in the UK are under considerable strain as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Women with severe health issues who've been advised to self-isolate say they're being forced to choose between risking their health by leaving their house and continuing with an unwanted pregnancy that could imperil their health, according to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS).

Continued: https://mashable.com/article/coronavirus-abortion-access-uk/

Self-managed abortions should be universally available

Self-managed abortions should be universally available

March 24, 2020
Sam Rowlands, Visiting Professor, Health and Social Science, Bournemouth University

A combination of feminist advocacy, new drugs and the internet is allowing people to safely end early pregnancies themselves when they choose to do so. People can manage abortions using medicines without face-to-face contact with doctors and nurses.

A service at a distance, supervised by a doctor, was first offered by Women on Web in 2005 for countries with no lawful access to medical abortion. Women Help Women offers similar help to women anywhere in the world. And in the US, Aid Access – a fairly new organisation – offers email support. (In the US, online help is increasingly used because access to abortion clinics has been reduced in the last few years.)

Continued: http://theconversation.com/self-managed-abortions-should-be-universally-available-132398

UK – Councillor calls for home abortions as appointments cancelled

Councillor calls for home abortions as appointments cancelled
A councillor is urging the NHS to allow women to access abortion services from home after appointments began to be cancelled in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.

By Tom Dare | Birmingham | News
Mar 23, 2020

Speaking on behalf of one woman who had her abortion cancelled without an alternative date arranged, Birmingham Councillor Nicky Brennan says that it is a ‘human right’ for women to have access to such services.

And she has been supported in her campaign by Labour MP Jess Philips, who says that she intends to take the issue up with the Health Secretary in the coming days.

Continued: https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/birmingham/2020/03/23/councillor-calls-for-home-abortions-as-appointments-cancelled/

23.03.2020

self-managed abortion

UK- Coronavirus: Department of Health says temporary changes to abortion law were ‘published in error’

Coronavirus: Department of Health says temporary changes to abortion law were ‘published in error’
'This was published in error,' a spokesperson told The Independent

Sophie Gallagher
Mar 23, 2020

The Department of Health says reported changes to the abortion law, that would allow women to take both pills at home during the coronavirus outbreak, are not going ahead.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told The Independent: “This was published in error. There will be no changes to abortion regulations.”

Continued: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/coronavirus-abortion-law-change-department-of-health-a9420116.html

23.03.2020

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USA – Coronavirus Is Endangering Abortion Access. Telemedicine Could Solve it.

Coronavirus Is Endangering Abortion Access. Telemedicine Could Solve it.
Almost 40% of abortions take place in the privacy of one's home. Why must pregnant women to go to the clinic at all?

By Melissa Jeltsen, HuffPost US
03/20/20

Imagine you take a cruise in late February. When you get back to the U.S., you start to self-quarantine out of concern that you were exposed to coronavirus on the ship. Then you find out you are pregnant. You do not want to be. What do you do?

If you were in Canada, you could get a doctor to prescribe you what is colloquially known as the “abortion pill,” which you could pick up from your local pharmacy. Using medication abortion, women end their pregnancies by taking a combination of two drugs, usually spaced 24 hours apart, which essentially cause a miscarriage.

Continued: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/medication-abortion-telemedicine_n_5e74ec23c5b6eab779472982?ri18n=true

USA – More People Are Starting to Prefer Managing Their Abortions on Their Own

More People Are Starting to Prefer Managing Their Abortions on Their Own
And it's not just because of restrictive state laws.

by Marie Solis
Oct 17 2019

People are turning to at-home abortion as state lawmakers attack reproductive rights and restrict clinic access across the United States, according to new research published in the American Journal of Public Health on Thursday.

The findings are the result of a 10-month study of Women on Web, a website that prescribes and sells abortion pills abroad — not in the United States. But despite that caveat, the Netherlands-based doctor who runs the site, Rebecca Gomperts, says she has received requests from American women since she began operations in 2006.

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43k5yb/buying-abortion-pills-online-is-becoming-more-widespread