Latin Organizations unite creativity and innovation for health and reproductive rights in Latin America

Latin Organizations unite creativity and innovation for health and reproductive rights in Latin America

12th December, 2017

The digital gadgets such as social networks, applications and more have helped bring people to all kinds of information and helped communicate in various ways no matter the distance. However, bringing Women in Latin America closer to these technologies by talking about safe abortion and reproductive rights has been a challenge.

For this reason, safe2choose took part of the IDEA initiative, the first forum on Innovation for Reproductive Rights in Latin America. On November 2017, we embarked to Quito, Ecuador, where we met creative and innovative teams from all over the region. What united us was the use of the latest, most advanced technological gadgets for sexual and reproductive health.

Continued at source: https://safe2choose.org/innovation-reproductive-rights/


USA: Special Delivery: Abortion Pills By Mail

Special Delivery: Abortion Pills By Mail

BY Elisa Wells
Oct 10, 2017

When my mail carrier handed me the small brown envelope, I’m sure she had no idea she was handing me the means to have a safe, private abortion at home. I had ordered the pills a week and a half earlier off a somewhat sketchy website and, frankly, was wondering if they would ever appear. I say “sketchy” in that the offer seemed too good to be true — abortion pills for less than $200, no prescription needed. The “Whoa, trouble ahead!” warning from my McAfee security system certainly gave me pause, but by the time I received the fraud alert call from by credit card company (at the same time that Western Union was calling my other line to warn me) it was too late to turn back; I had already placed the order.

Continued at source: http://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a12785967/over-the-counter-abortion-pill/


Abortion in Johannesburg: Painting the town safe

Abortion in Johannesburg: Painting the town safe

6th October, 2017

From a young age, girls are exposed to posters on the side of the road reading “quick & painless abortion”. It doesn’t take long before this message is ingrained in their heads and such information is ready to be used in case they ever find themselves in this situation.

Abortion in South Africa is rarely spoken about. The spaces in which we find ourselves getting educated about it are specialized and hard to access. But abortion is legal and there are professional and registered providers all over the country that can offer the service in the safest way possible.

Continued at source: https://safe2choose.org/safe-providers-painting-town-sa/


Kenya: On International Safe Abortion Day, “we learned how to love ourselves”

On International Safe Abortion Day, “we learned how to love ourselves”

2nd October, 2017

On September 28th, 2017, many people around the world concerned with women’s rights attended events for the International Safe Abortion Day. Besides participating in a global campaign articulated by respected international and local organizations, safe2choose also decided to join a smaller discussion group in Mathare, an informal settlement of Nairobi, Kenya, to understand the daily struggles faced by local women.

The event was held in a simple school hall that was decorated with posters and signs displaying slogans such as “Stop rollbacks on our SRHR, funding saves lives“, that carried the #IResistWePersist hashtag, promoted by the Women’s Global Campaign for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR). It was an opportunity to witness first hand the incredible achievements of a local NGO, Fortress of Hope Africa (FOHA), which has also joined safe2choose’s call to action to say why safe abortion must be available to all women worldwide.

Continued: https://safe2choose.org/safe-abortion-day-love/


Fem Advocates Safe Abortion in Gauteng


Fem Advocates Safe Abortion in Gauteng
Posted on September 11, 2017 by Terri Chowles

Fem's art competition gave artists a chance to openly discuss and spread a positive message of support towards women who have opted for an abortion.

mHealth initiative Fem launched an art competition, in June 2017, to give South African artists a chance to use their social voice to openly discuss and spread a positive message of support and respect towards women who have opted for an abortion.

Fem is an SMS platform that refers women to safe and legal abortion service providers in their area, quickly and privately. The user simply sends the trigger word ‘Fem’ to 30816 via SMS, and receive a referral SMS to a legal and safe health facility in their area.

Continued at source: http://ehealthnews.co.za/fem-advocates-safe-abortion-gauteng/


U.S.: In today’s movement toward home abortions, echoes of past cultural battles

In today's movement toward home abortions, echoes of past cultural battles

'The cultural atmosphere [today is] way worse than the atmosphere that the underground service worked in during the ‘68 to ‘73 period,' says a former 'Jane,' who helped women obtain abortions before Roe v. Wade legalized abortion.

Jessica Mendoza, Staff writer
July 5, 2017

Los Angeles — In the fall of 1970, a schoolteacher named Judith Arcana walked into a meeting held at a church a few blocks from her Chicago apartment. She emerged hours later a newly minted member of Jane, an underground collective that counseled women through – and later performed – thousands of illegal abortions between 1968 and 1973.

To Ms. Arcana, then 27, the idea of providing women with safe, dignified abortions dovetailed with her interest in reproductive justice and the burgeoning women’s liberation movement. “It seemed so right,” she recalls. “I was energized spiritually and politically, as well as intellectually.”

Continued at source: Christian Science Monitor: https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2017/0705/In-today-s-movement-toward-home-abortions-echoes-of-past-cultural-battles


Revolutionary Advances In Abortion Access: Why Not In The U.S., Too?

Revolutionary Advances In Abortion Access: Why Not In The U.S., Too?
For more than 10 years, women around the world have had access to online abortion. It’s time for the U.S. to catch up.

Elisa Wells, Contributor Co-Founder and Co-Director Plan C
May 22, 2017

Last week’s publication of a study showing that the mail order abortion service Irish women have been using to get around Ireland’s draconian abortion restrictions is safe and effective has implications for women around the world, including in the United States. The study essentially documented what we already suspected — that women are perfectly capable of determining their pregnancy gestation, taking the pills, and seeking follow up care when needed. This is fantastic news, providing even more support to the idea that these pills are safe and effective enough to put directly in the hands of those who need them.

The study findings are not surprising given what we know about the safety and effectiveness of medication abortion based on years of use in clinical settings, but they are remarkable in that the service was provided completely remotely, with none of the usual ultrasounds or pelvic exams that are typically required. It also should come as no surprise that a previous study reported that women were very satisfied with having an abortion using the online service. It’s simple, convenient, private, safe, and effective. Of course they liked it!

Continued at source: Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/revolutionary-advances-in-abortion-access-why-not_us_592324c7e4b07617ae4cbe5f?yeq


U.S.: Spreading Plan C to End Pregnancy

Spreading Plan C to End Pregnancy

Patrick Adams
April 27, 2017

After lunch on a Saturday in late January at her home in Los Angeles, Francine Coeytaux, 63, an abortion rights activist, retrieved a Priority Mail envelope from her office and announced to her guests, a group of young women she had recruited to her cause, the results of a recent experiment. “A couple weeks ago, we Googled ‘abortion pills’ and tried ordering from a few of the sites that came up,” she said.

Continued at source: NY Times: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/opinion/spreading-plan-c-to-end-pregnancy.html?emc=edit_tnt_20170427&nlid=44906087&tntemail0=y&_r=0&referer


South Africa: SMS platform set to ensure safe abortions

SMS platform set to ensure safe abortions
Crime & Courts | 4 March 2017
Rabbie Serumula

Johannesburg - They advertise their illicit abortion services, and cellphone numbers, on posters stuck across the city.

But illegal abortions are unreliable and unsafe, and that’s why Phephisile Mathizerd has helped start a new initiative to link women to safe abortions in Gauteng - at their fingertips.

The new initiative, called FEM, is designed to give girls and women access to safe and legal abortions through an SMS platform.

Continued at source: IOL.co: http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/sms-platform-set-to-ensure-safe-abortions-8036676


South Africa: A guide to safe abortion services now at your fingertip

A guide to safe abortion services now at your fingertips
Roxanne Henderson | 2017-03-02

When Phephisile Mathizerd was 21 and her friend had an unwanted pregnancy she had no idea how to help her.

“She didn't know where to go. I didn't know where to go. I didn't think of asking my mom or her mom where to go. I went to Google and found Marie Stopes‚ but I could have easily stumbled on an illegal facility‚” she said.

Now‚ years later‚ Mathizerd is spearheading an initiative to help women locate safe facilities for abortions in the form of an SMS portal called Fem.

The service provides users with a referral to a safe abortion clinic‚ vetted by social enterprise safe2choose‚ at their fingertips.

Continued at link: http://www.timeslive.co.za/lifestyle/2017/03/02/A-guide-to-safe-abortion-services-now-at-your-fingertips1?platform=hootsuite