The Human Rights Council must condemn attacks on abortion rights defenders

The Human Rights Council must condemn attacks on abortion rights defenders

25 September 2018

In support of the September 28 “Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion”, 223 civil society organizations from around the world have endorsed this joint statement on abortion rights.

The statement was developed by the Sexual Rights Initiative, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Ipas, the Asia-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women, the Youth Coalition for Sexual Health and Rights, AWID and the Swedish Association for Sexuality and Education.

Continued: https://www.awid.org/news-and-analysis/human-rights-council-must-condemn-attacks-abortion-rights-defenders

Normalizing Abortion

Normalizing Abortion

Sep 25, 2018
Françoise Girard

On September 28, activists around the world will mark International Safe Abortion Day, a global campaign to repeal laws that deny women the right to reproductive health care. The message is simple: no woman anywhere should have to tolerate restrictions that too often lead to injury or death.

NEW YORK – Last month in Buenos Aires, Elizabeth, a 34-year-old mother of two, died after inserting parsley into her cervix in a desperate attempt to induce an abortion. Days earlier, Argentina’s Senate had narrowly defeated legislation that would have legalized abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. If that bill had passed, Elizabeth might be alive today. Instead, she is a grim statistic: one of more than 40 Argentinian women who will die this year from botched abortions.

Continued: https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/international-safe-abortion-day-legalizing-abortion-services-by-francoise-girard-2018-09

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/

September 28: Statements from International Leaders and Members’ Activities

Statements from International Leaders and Members' Activities

Sept 28, 2017

MARGE BERER, INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR WOMEN'S RIGHT TO SAFE ABORTION

International Safe Abortion Day, 28 September, follows closely on International Contraception Day, 26 September. These are two of the days in the calendar each year when we celebrate women's right to decide whether and when to have children. Today, we call on international and national leaders to acknowledge the importance of laws, policies, information and services for girls and women which support these rights – the right to use contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancy, and the right to safe abortion when it is too late for contraception. We remind them that provision of safe, legal abortion is essential to fulfilling the global commitment to the Sustainable Development Goal of universal access to sexual and reproductive health (Target 3.7)." We urge them to work with advocates for women's health and rights, parliamentarians, health care providers and others to make these rights a reality for all those who need them.

Continued at source: International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion: http://mailchi.mp/safeabortionwomensright/statements-from-international-leaders-and-members-activities-28-september-2017?e=3fa4c971b0

28.09.2017

Events/Campaigns

Featured

International Safe Abortion Day

Marge Berer

Safe Abortion Day

September 28

World Health Organization

South Africa: It’s Time to End the Stigma and Silence Around Abortion

Africa: It's Time to End the Stigma and Silence Around Abortion

Sep 28, 2017
By Marion Stevens

International Safe Abortion Day - celebrated every year on September 28 - marks a woman's fundamental reproductive right to access safe, legal abortion. For many women all over the world, this right, along with the right to access modern contraception, is essential for their maternal health, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and well-being. It allows women and couples the right to decide freely if and when to have children.

Especially for the many women who have unsupportable pregnancies, abortion is a vital yet normal medical procedure during their reproductive lives. When performed properly, abortion procedures are safe and can saves women's lives. However, unlike other reproductive health services, abortion is enveloped by stigma and silence, which leads to many women in South Africa lacking access to this crucial health service.

Continued at source: All Africa: http://allafrica.com/stories/201709280584.html

Europe: Why we’re marching for reproductive rights

Why we’re marching for reproductive rights
28 September 2017

Today, on the International Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, Friends of the Earth activists are taking to the streets in Brussels to demand women’s rights and bodily autonomy and the right to abortion for women across all European countries and around the world.

Sign the petition for reproductive rights in Europe

Abortion is still banned in Ireland and Malta, and highly restricted in Hungary and Poland. Elsewhere, even where access to abortion is legally guaranteed, it can still be denied in practice through the closure of abortion providers and funding cuts for expert staff. And in all countries the right to abortion is regularly threatened as right-wing reactionary politicians gain influence and use women’s rights as bargaining chips to win the support of conservative sectors of society.

Continued: Friends of the Earth Europe: http://www.foeeurope.org/women-rights-abortion-march-280917

Why ‘resist & persist’ is the perfect theme this September 28th, and everyday

Why ‘resist & persist’ is the perfect theme this September 28th, and everyday

09/28/2017
Musimbi Kanyoro, Contributor

In today’s world, women’s sexual and reproductive rights, including the right to safe, legal, and affordable abortion are being attacked and rolled back by those in positions of power.

In far too many places, abortion remains an unspoken word, loaded with archaic beliefs about female sexuality and gender, wrapped up with stigma, shame, and discrimination. Take the Mexico City Policy, or global gag rule, for instance: it perpetuates shame and rewards silence, as international health providers that even use the word ‘abortion’ in informing women of their options will lose their funding from the U.S. government.

Continued at source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-resist-persist-is-the-perfect-theme-this-september_us_59cd1400e4b095b7ae59d8f4

UN Special Rapporteurs Call for Strong Action on International Safe Abortion Day

UN Special Rapporteurs Call for Strong Action on International Safe Abortion Day
September 28, 2017

The International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) welcomes the unprecedented call to action on women’s rights by United Nations human rights experts marking International Safe Abortion Day.

In a statement, the independent experts, who cover areas of health, law, discrimination, human rights and extrajudicial killings, urged “all States to end the criminalization of abortion and to ensure that all women are able to access all necessary health services, including sexual and reproductive health care, in a manner that is safe, affordable and consistent with their human rights.”

The experts rightly denounced the denial of essential health services caused by criminalization and stigma as a violation of women’s human rights.

Continued at source: International Women’s Health Coalition: https://iwhc.org/press-releases/un-rapporteurs-action-international-safe-abortion-day-2017/

Barbados: Why do politicians still force women through unwanted pregnancies?

Why do politicians still force women through unwanted pregnancies?
Dame Billie Miller

I helped Barbados legalise abortion and the number of women dying from unsafe terminations plunged. Countless lives depend on more countries following suit

Thursday 28 September 2017

When I entered parliament in 1976 as the only female member, I took a stand and managed to do what many countries have failed to do, or are threatening to undo: decriminalise abortion.

Recently, President Michelle Bachelet of Chile succeeded in advancing legislation that made abortion legal under certain circumstances. Chile’s new law is only a first step in providing full access to safe abortion care, but it is a momentous change that required the vision of a strong, outspoken, female leader who took a stand on saving women’s lives.

Continued at source: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/28/why-do-politicians-still-force-women-through-unwanted-pregnancies-dame-billie-miller-barbados

Nicaragua’s Abortion Ban Makes Victims the Criminals

Nicaragua’s Abortion Ban Makes Victims the Criminals

September 28, 2017
Janet Walsh, Deputy Director, Women’s Rights Division

For more than six years, Ana’s partner raped her repeatedly in their home several hours from Nicaragua’s capital. He threatened, humiliated, and tormented Ana and their two young children. When she begged him to leave, he refused.

Twice, the rapes resulted in unwanted pregnancies. The first time, Ana told her partner she wanted to get a clandestine abortion. “He said he would kill me,” Ana told me. Afraid for her life, she continued the pregnancy and gave birth to her second child.

Continued at source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/28/nicaraguas-abortion-ban-makes-victims-criminals