Ecuador: Criminalizing Abortion Affects Rights, Health

Greatest Harm for Indigenous, Afro-Descendent People Living in Poverty

July 14, 2021
Human Rights Watch

(Washington, D.C.) – Ecuador’s laws
criminalizing abortion violate the rights and risk the lives and health of
women and girls, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

The 128-page report, “‘Why Do They Want to Make Me Suffer Again?’ The Impact of
Abortion Prosecutions in Ecuador” documents how these laws are having
widespread harmful consequences in Ecuador, costing lives through increased
maternal mortality and morbidity, cutting women and girls off from essential
services, and undermining broader efforts to promote sexual and reproductive
health. Women and girls charged with abortion often experience violations of
their rights to medical confidentiality and due process, and face significant
obstacles to accessing quality legal representation. The prosecutions affect
not only women who wish to end an unwanted pregnancy but also those who
experience miscarriages or obstetric emergencies, or urgently require
post-abortion care.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/07/14/ecuador-criminalizing-abortion-affects-rights-health


Poland: Reject New Curbs on Abortion, Sex Ed

Poland: Reject New Curbs on Abortion, Sex Ed
Don’t Manipulate Pandemic to Endanger Women, Adolescents

April 14, 2020
Human Rights Watch

(London) – Poland’s Parliament will consider regressive legislation this week that would restrict sexual and reproductive health and rights and put the lives and well-being of women and adolescents at risk, Human Rights Watch said today. The legislation is scheduled for reading on April 15 or 16, 2020 as the country remains under a COVID-19-related state of emergency that bans group gatherings.

The bills under consideration were originally introduced in March 2018 and October 2019, and have since been stalled or not moved forward under the Parliament elected in November 2019. Both were met by street protests.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/14/poland-reject-new-curbs-abortion-sex-ed


England Leads Way in UK after U-Turn on COVID-19 Abortion Access

England Leads Way in UK after U-Turn on COVID-19 Abortion Access
Rest of UK, Europe Should Follow

March 31, 2020
Hillary Margolis, Senior Researcher, Women's Rights Division

The UK’s Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed it will allow women in England temporarily to manage medical abortions at home in light of the lockdown imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Health authorities in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales – and governments across Europe – should swiftly follow suit.

The welcome decision follows outrage and confusion last week after the government announced the change only to reverse it hours later.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/31/england-leads-way-uk-after-u-turn-covid-19-abortion-access


Colombia: Uphold Women’s Rights in Abortion Case

Colombia: Uphold Women’s Rights in Abortion Case
Human Rights Watch Submits Brief to Constitutional Court

Jan 31, 2020

(Washington, DC) – Colombia’s Constitutional Court should uphold women’s rights in deciding a case regarding access to abortion, Human Rights Watch today. Human Rights Watch submitted an amicus brief in the case to the court on January 30, 2020.

In 2006, the Constitutional Court issued a landmark ruling that decriminalized abortion when the life or health of the pregnant woman is at risk, when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest, and when the fetus has a serious condition incompatible with life outside the womb. But today, access to legal abortion still faces many barriers. The case currently pending before the court seeks to prohibit abortion altogether.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/01/31/colombia-uphold-womens-rights-abortion-case


Honduras abortion misery a ‘frightening preview’ of America’s future – study

Honduras abortion misery a 'frightening preview' of America's future – study
Reproductive rights pushback could leave American women facing same life-or-death choices as Hondurans, say researchers

Karen McVeigh
Fri 7 Jun 2019

One woman handcuffed by police after suffering a miscarriage, another forced to bear her rapist’s child. A doctor who risks imprisonment to end pregnancies that threaten the lives of patients. The reality of healthcare in Honduras provides a “frightening preview” of what could happen in America if the pushback on reproductive rights continues, Human Rights Watch has warned.

Researchers from the organisation spoke of the “enormous suffering” of women and girls in Honduras, where there is a total ban on abortion in all circumstances.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jun/07/honduras-abortion-misery-frightening-preview-of-america-future-study


Honduras: Abortion Ban’s Dire Consequences

Honduras: Abortion Ban’s Dire Consequences
Arrests, Criminal Charges, Health Issues, Bearing Rapist’s Child

June 6, 2019

(New York) – Honduras’ total ban on abortion in all circumstances puts women and girls in danger and violates their rights, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a web feature on the topic. Abortion in Honduras is illegal in all circumstances, including rape and incest, when a woman’s life is in danger, and when the fetus will not survive outside the womb.

The web feature, “Life or Death Choices for Women Living Under Honduras’ Abortion Ban,” shares stories of Honduran women confronting the cruel effects of the abortion law. They include a woman forced to bear her rapist’s child; a woman facing jail after having a miscarriage; women who experienced complications from clandestine abortions; a pro-choice pastor who has faced death threats for her activism; a doctor who cannot always act in her patients’ best interests; and women who share information about safe abortion in secret through an anonymous phone line.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/06/06/honduras-abortion-bans-dire-consequences


Dominican Republic: Abortion Ban Endangers Health

Dominican Republic: Abortion Ban Endangers Health
Criminal Penalties Violate Rights

November 19, 2018

(Santo Domingo) – The Dominican Republic’s total ban on abortion threatens women's health and lives and violates their rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Abortion is illegal in the Dominican Republic in all circumstances, even when a pregnancy is life-threatening, unviable, or the result of rape.

The 78-page report, “‘It’s Your Decision, It’s Your Life’: The Total Criminalization of Abortion in the Dominican Republic,” documents that women and girls facing unwanted pregnancies have clandestine abortions, often at great risk to their health and lives. Many experience health complications from unsafe abortions, and some die. Some women and girls face abuse, neglect, or mistreatment by healthcare providers. The ban does not stop abortion but drives it underground and makes it less safe. As a starting place toward meeting the country’s human rights obligations, Congress should decriminalize abortion in three circumstances.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/11/19/dominican-republic-abortion-ban-endangers-health


New report explores what total abortion ban means in the Dominican Republic

New report explores what total abortion ban means in the Dominican Republic

By Jessica Ravitz, CNN
Mon November 19, 2018

(CNN) A woman spoke of her 16-year-old daughter who died after being denied chemotherapy for leukemia because she was in the early weeks of pregnancy. A nurse described how a woman who was experiencing heavy bleeding after self-inducing an abortion was forced by medical providers to wait for treatment as "punishment" -- only to lose too much blood to be saved. An outreach worker remembered the mentally disabled 14-year-old girl who became pregnant at 12, probably by her father, and received no care.

Stories like these are revealed in a new Human Rights Watch report, released Monday, that focuses on the effect of a total government ban on abortions in the Dominican Republic.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/19/health/dominican-republic-abortion-ban-report-intl/index.html