Netherlands – There Are No Stigma-Free Abortions, Even in ‘Progressive’ Countries

There are so many things you’d never know about abortions unless you go through one.

By Maud Droste, Illustrated By Djanlissa Pringels
December 8, 2023

I’m in utter disbelief, staring down at a positive result on a drugstore pregnancy test. It’s March 2020. My relationship had just ended two days before, I’d just found out my roommate and I would be evicted and, thanks to a massive bout of procrastination, I had about a month left to finish my bachelor’s thesis.

Getting pregnant was the last of a long list of life-changing events I hadn’t seen coming. My roommate, however, had. I’d been tired for weeks, the only food I craved was mango – which I inevitably threw up after eating – and I felt ambivalent about absolutely everything. “I think you should probably take a test,” she said.

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5gay7/no-stigma-free-abortions

08.12.2023

Opinion

Abortion Buddies programme

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European Abortion Policies Atlas

Eva de Goeij

five-day reflection period

Humanistisch Verbond

mandatory waiting period

Russia Edges Closer to Abortion Ban in Quest to Preserve ‘Traditional Values’

By Leyla Latypova
July 27, 2023

The Russian government could be moving closer toward outlawing abortion, experts and activists have told The Moscow Times, as its wartime stifling of freedoms spreads to sexual and reproductive health rights.

While Russia has historically had a liberal abortion policy — with the exception of the Stalin-era ban — the conservative turn among the country's leadership, combined with a push from the Russian Orthodox Church, have put a target on the issue.

Continued: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/07/27/russia-edges-closer-to-abortion-ban-in-quest-to-preserve-traditional-values-a81977

27.07.2023

mandatory waiting period

Marianna Muravyeva

Mikhail Murashko

outlawing abortion

Russian Orthodox Church

The Pain and Promise of Europe’s Abortion Laws

The continent’s abortion laws are a patchwork of progress and setbacks. And for many, accessing the right care at the right time is still a lottery.

BY GRACE BROWNE
JUN 22, 2023

ON MAY 26, 2018, Irish women spilled onto the streets to celebrate a historic win for reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. The staunchly Catholic country had overwhelmingly voted to scrap the Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution, under which abortion was essentially illegal—one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world.

Five years on, the mood has sobered. Under the new laws, those seeking an abortion have to undergo a mandatory waiting period, adhere to strict time limits, and contend with a lack of providers. From 2019 to 2021, 775 people made use of their right to travel freely between the United Kingdom and Ireland to head to Britain to access abortion services. In 2020, despite the pandemic, nearly 200 people still traveled across the Irish Sea to get abortion care in the UK. The Abortion Support Network (ASN), a charity that helps people in Europe access abortion through telemedicine or by supporting travel, says every three days they hear from someone in Ireland looking for help.

Continued: https://www.wired.com/story/europe-abortion-laws/

France Expands Abortion Access in Two Key Moves

Positive Steps Advance Reproductive Rights

March 1, 2022
Hillary Margolis, Senior Researcher, Women's Rights Division, Human Rights Watch

Over the past 10 days, France made two notable advances for reproductive rights. On February 23, parliament voted to extend the legal timeframe for abortion under any circumstances from the twelfth to the fourteenth week of pregnancy. On February 19, the government eased access to medication abortion as an alternative to more invasive surgical procedures.

France’s 12-week time limit for abortion on request had forced thousands of women annually to travel outside of France to procure legal abortions. Its new 14-week limit mirrors that of Spain, while other European Union countries go further: abortion for any reason is legal in Sweden up to 18 weeks and in the Netherlands up to 24 weeks.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/01/france-expands-abortion-access-two-key-moves

‘Paternalistic’ compulsory pre-abortion wait will be scrapped

January 26, 2022

The compulsory five day pre-abortion wait will very likely be abolished as MPs debate a draft bill initiated by D66 on Thursday.

The wait currently applies to all women who are more than 16 days pregnant and want an abortion. It was included in Dutch abortion law when the practice became legal in early 1980s and has been controversial ever since.

Continued: https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2022/01/paternalistic-compulsory-pre-abortion-wait-will-be-scrapped/

26.01.2022

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Slovakia: Attempt to rollback access to abortion must be rejected

November 10, 2021
Amnesty International

Ahead of tomorrow’s expected parliamentary vote on a bill that would severely restrict access to abortion in Slovakia, Rado Sloboda, Director of Amnesty Slovakia said:

“Imposing unjustified and harmful hurdles to getting an abortion would endanger the health and even the lives of women and girls and pregnant people and violates their human rights.

Continued: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/11/slovakia-attempt-to-rollback-access-to-abortion-must-be-rejected/

10.11.2021

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Amnesty Slovakia

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Ireland – Permanent use of telemedicine in abortion care is a positive, patient-centred step

The Department of Health has said telemedicine abortion will 'lapse' once the pandemic ends - this would be a mistake, writes Alison Spillane of the Irish Family Planning Association.

MON, 24 MAY, 2021
ALISON SPILLANE

Abortion has been available in Ireland since January 2019. Telemedicine abortion has been an option for almost half of that time. It expands patient choices and supports reproductive autonomy. Yet, women and pregnant people might be summarily deprived of this critical innovation.

Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, the HSE revised the model of care for abortion services to allow doctors to provide care via phone or video consultations. “Telemedicine abortion”, both as a primary mode of care delivery and in combination with in-person care, has enabled community providers of early abortion care to maintain an essential health service, while minimising the risk of Covid-19 exposure for both patients and staff.

Continued: https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-40297127.html

Slovakia’s Parliament rejects harmful restrictions on safe abortion care

Slovakia’s Parliament rejects harmful restrictions on safe abortion care

Center for Reproductive Rights
Dec 5, 2019

Today the Slovak Parliament rejected draft legislation that would have severely restricted women’s access to abortion care and subjected women to a series of humiliating and medically inaccurate and unnecessary requirements prior to accessing abortion.

“Today’s result was critical for the protection of women’s health and wellbeing in Slovakia. The sole purpose of the proposed legislation was to harass and humiliate women seeking access to safe and legal abortion care in Slovakia. We applaud the Slovak Parliament’s rejection of these regressive legislative proposals. We call on them to refrain from imposing further restrictions on women’s access to safe abortion care,” said Leah Hoctor, Regional Director for Europe at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “We urge Slovakia to take steps to remove existing barriers to legal abortion and to ensure its laws are in line with World Health Organization standards and the recommendations of United Nations and other human rights mechanisms.”

Continued: https://reproductiverights.org/press-room/slovakias-parliament-rejects-harmful-restrictions-safe-abortion-care

USA – What June v. Gee Could Mean for Abortion Access Across the South

What June v. Gee Could Mean for Abortion Access Across the South

10/15/2019
by Mia Raven

The announcement that the Supreme Court is taking up June Medical Services v. Gee proves two things about the United State’s new ultra-conservative Court bench: that it has an utter disregard for any sort of standing legal precedent, and that it clearly views itself as yet another partisan body rather than an independent branch of the U.S. government.

While neither revelation is entirely shocking, both spell disaster for the future right to bodily autonomy of those who are able to get pregnant—especially in the South.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2019/10/15/what-june-v-gee-could-mean-for-abortion-access-across-the-south/

USA – What to Consider If You Have to Travel for an Abortion

What to Consider If You Have to Travel for an Abortion
It’s a lot to think about. Here’s where to start.

June 21, 2019
By Carolyn L. Todd

Getting an abortion is a safe and legal procedure in this country, but it’s becoming harder and harder to access one. If you’re reading this, you’re probably very aware of the many obstacles that can stand in the way of someone getting an abortion. And those barriers just keep piling up.

At least 378 abortion restrictions were introduced in the first half of 2019 alone, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The intention behind these restrictions is clear: to effectively ban abortion by outlawing the procedures after six weeks of gestation (the time since your last period), which is usually before most people even find out they’re pregnant. Lawmakers in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana, and Missouri voted in favor of such six-week bans. Alabama intends to outlaw abortion unless the life or health of the pregnant person is endangered.

Continued: https://www.self.com/story/travel-for-abortion-considerations