Colombia – Unsafe abortion: women at risk

Unsafe abortion: women at risk

Report 25, September 2019
Women's health, Colombia

Colombia decriminalised abortion in some circumstances in 2006 yet only around 10 per cent of terminations of pregnancies are safely performed in health structures. Unsafe abortions are responsible for some 10 per cent of Colombia's maternal deaths. MSF has published a report in Spanish Aborto no seguro, mujeres en riesgo (Unsafe abortion, women at risk), highlighting the barriers women encounter when seeking to terminate their pregnancies. It is based on information collection during the implementation of our safe abortion service in Colombia in 2017 and 2018.

Executive summary

Unsafe abortion is one of the five leading causes of maternal mortality worldwide, along with postpartum haemorrhage, sepsis, birth complications and hypertensive disorders. Of all these, unsafe abortion is the only one that is completely avoidable.

Continued: https://www.msf.org/unsafe-abortion-women-risk-colombia-msf-report

Podcast: Abortion Wars (Europe)

Abortion Wars

Why are more women from Poland and Croatia seeking pregnancy terminations abroad? (Photo: EU Scream)

By EU Scream
BRUSSELS, July 21, 2019

33-minute podcast on the topic of abortion under attack: "Why are more women from Poland and Croatia seeking pregnancy terminations abroad?" Discusses refusal to treat under “conscientious objection”, the anti-choice movement, how the LGBT community faces the same enemy as the pro-choice movement, also Romania.

Continued: https://euobserver.com/eu-scream/145486

Over 30 percent of hospitals in Romania are refusing legal abortions

Over 30 percent of hospitals in Romania are refusing legal abortions
Doctors invoke conscience clause to avoid performing abortions. An investigation by The Black Sea.

By Lina Vdovîi, Michael Bird
11 July 2019

Romanian medical student Bianca was in South Korea in March this year when she discovered she was pregnant.

At the time she was taking part in a short work placement in Daegu in the south-east of the country, and was soon to return to Germany to resume her Erasmus programme.

“The news freaked me out,” she told The Black Sea. “I knew a baby would complicate my career and I was not ready for it.”

Continued: https://theblacksea.eu/stories/quarter-hospitals-romania-are-refusing-legal-abortions/

Developments on abortion and conscientious objection in Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina

CROATIA / BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA – Developments on abortion and conscientious objection in Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina

by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
Feb 15, 2019

The cost of an abortion in Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) is two times lower than in Croatia. More women from Croatia are consequently deciding to have an abortion in BiH. Even though doctors can claim conscientious objection in both countries, the situation in Croatia is worse as public pressure to refrain from abortion is higher there. The problem in Croatia is worst for women from smaller towns and villages who may find that no one will provide an abortion, forcing them to go to clinics in Sarajevo. Recently, one woman confided in Dr Emina Sarajlija Pavlović that the doctor from the previous clinic she visited attacked her and said “No abortion, you should give birth to that child.”

The 1977 Law on Abortion in BiH is one of the most liberal in Europe, but abortion is still not available to everyone under good conditions in BiH either, leading to the practice of illegal abortions.

Continued: http://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/croatia-bosnia-herzegovina-developments-on-abortion-and-conscientious-objection-in-croatia-and-bosnia-herzegovina/

Victorian doctors who object to abortion ‘attempting to delay or deny access’

Victorian doctors who object to abortion 'attempting to delay or deny access'
Study reveals failure of legal protections to ensure women’s access to terminations

Melissa Davey
Thu 31 Jan 2019

Victorian doctors who conscientiously object to abortion are breaking the law by failing to refer women on to practitioners who will perform the procedure, leading to some women having abortions later than necessary or having the baby despite wanting a termination.

This was the finding from a study led by associate professor Louise Keogh at the University of Melbourne, who examined whether mandatory referral, introduced in Victoria during abortion law reforms in 2008, was making healthcare more accessible to women.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/31/victorian-doctors-who-object-to-abortion-attempting-to-delay-or-deny-access

South Africa – Illegal abortion clinics on the increase in both townships and suburbs

Illegal abortion clinics on the increase in both townships and suburbs

19 January 2019

It is a constitutional right in South Africa for women to demand for an abortion to be performed on them should they chose to, from as early as the age of twelve years. They can present themselves to a public facility, demanding for one, and it will be conducted without having to get consent from a parent.

However we have health practitioners who will refuse to perform abortion on the basis of their conscious, which is unacceptable. This results in people opting for a backyard abortion which places one's health at high risk.

Continued: http://www.capetalk.co.za/articles/334561/listen-illegal-abortion-clinics-on-the-increase-in-both-townships-and-suburbs

Chilean court: Private health facilities can’t be forced to do abortions

Chilean court: Private health facilities can’t be forced to do abortions

December 17, 2018 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

Santiago, Chile, Dec 17, 2018 / 10:53 am (ACI Prensa).- A Chilean court has ruled that private healthcare facilities may conscientiously object to abortions, declaring unconstitutional a law that had gone into effect in October.

By a vote of 8-2, the nation’s Constitutional Court struck down a portion of the Regulation on Conscientious Objection of the Law on Abortion. The court accepted a Dec. 6 appeal filed by senators of the Chile Vamos coalition which sought to annul part of the Department of Health regulation.

Continued: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2018/12/17/chilean-court-private-health-facilities-cant-be-forced-to-do-abortions/

17.12.2018

News

Chilean Constitutional Court

conscientious objection

Michelle Bachelet

private abortion facilities

refusal to treat

Regulation on Conscientious Objection of the Law on Abortion

Italy’s politics gives new life to anti-abortion campaign

Italy’s politics gives new life to anti-abortion campaign
Italian cities and government ministers are taking aim at a 40-year-old law on reproductive rights.

By Giada Zampano
11/18/18

ROME — It is 40 years since Italy passed a law that legalized abortion, but activists fear a woman’s right to choose is again under attack — this time from the country’s politicians.

Thousands of women have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest against a rise in anti-abortion initiatives in Italian cities — but the same measures enjoy widespread backing among supporters of the country’s most powerful party, the far-right League, as well as the Catholic Church.

Continued: https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-abortion-divide-politics-gives-new-life-to-anti-abortion-campaign/

Ireland – Abortion: Wait rather than risk a tragedy

Abortion: Wait rather than risk a tragedy

Saturday, November 17, 2018

The Government hopes to pass abortion legislation before Christmas and Taoiseach Leo Varadakar has said he is confident the Government’s timeline to have pregnancy termination services available in January 2019 can be met.

Those are both big asks as the process of setting up the service has already met a number of hurdles. In the first instance, there remains a cohort of TDs and senators opposed to introducing abortion services here and they will do anything they can to stop or delay it.

Continued: https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/views/ourview/abortion-wait-rather-than-risk-a-tragedy-885875.html

Ireland – 25% of GPs won’t provide abortion service, finds poll

25% of GPs won’t provide abortion service, finds poll

Friday, November 9, 2018
By Stephen Rogers, Irish Examiner Reporter

A quarter of GPs will not provide an abortion service and would be reluctant to refer a pregnant woman to a colleague, a survey by the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) found.

The ICGP’s online consultation process noted only a third (32%) of the 3,500 GPs surveyed are currently willing and able to provide termination of pregnancy services.

Continued: https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/25-of-gps-wont-provide-abortion-service-finds-poll-884224.html