South Africa – Young women face agonising barriers to accessing abortion in rural areas

Among significant barriers to accessing abortion services, experts cite a lack of management support at health facilities, costs, fear of breach of confidentiality and stigma. Many of these barriers are compounded in rural areas.

By Tiyese Jeranji for Spotlight
14 February 2021

Onke Jezile, founder of Lethabo la Azania, a non-profit organisation that works with children and the youth in Engcobo in Eastern Cape, says pregnant women in rural areas seeking abortion services face an uphill battle.

“For us in the rural areas, we have to fight 20 or 30 times more to get services compared with our urban counterparts,” explains Jezile.

Continued: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-02-14-young-women-face-agonising-barriers-to-accessing-abortion-in-rural-areas/

South Africa – Abortion is a regular medical procedure, so why do we need a law for it?

With abortion services becoming available through telemedicine and self-managed abortions increasingly gaining traction globally, the relevance and legality of abortion law should be questioned as women demand reproductive justice, and feminists get organising.

By Marion Stevens
14 August 2020

Abortion has always been legal in South Africa, a fact which may surprise many people. The colonial government introduced Roman-Dutch law, which allowed abortions to take place under certain conditions.

The Abortion and Sterilisation Act 2 of 1975 reserved access to abortion for white women, while increasing control over black women’s bodies – all within a population control framework. Under this act, approximately 1,000 white women accessed abortion every year, while the number of black women seeking abortions was not even recorded.

Continued: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-08-14-abortion-is-a-regular-medical-procedure-so-why-do-we-need-a-law-for-it/

14.08.2020

Abortion and Sterilisation Act 2

abortion in South Africa

abortion law reform

backstreet abortions

Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1996

clinical abortion guidelines

cytotec

Dr Helen Rees

Dr Lucía Berro Pizzarossa

Global Gag Rule

Immorality Act No.5

Immorality Amendment Act

Joanna Erdman

MAMA Network

Marie Stopes International

Marion Stevens

maternal mortality

Médecins Sans Frontières

Mexico City policy

mifepristone

misoprostol

Mobilising Activists for Medical Abortion

reproductive justice

self-managed abortion

Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition

SJRC

SRJC

telemedicine abortion

Feminists Defend Abortion Access Amid Pandemic

Feminists Defend Abortion Access Amid Pandemic

May 7, 2020
Emily Keller, International Women’s Health Coalition

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and lockdowns are enforced to stop the spread, abortion access—which is limited even in the best of times—has come under threat worldwide.

While some governments have responded with efforts to expand access to abortion—including the easing of restrictions on abortion pills and self-managed abortion—others, including the United States, have rushed to declare abortion “nonessential,” shut down clinics, and pass legislation to further restrict access. Pregnancy does not stop during a crisis, nor does the need for quality, safe, affordable, and compassionate abortion care. In fact, Marie Stopes International estimates that up to 9.5 million women and girls could lose access to contraception and abortion services due to the pandemic.

Continued: https://iwhc.org/2020/05/feminists-defend-abortion-access-amid-pandemic/

Challenges for achieving sexual and reproductive justice in South Africa

Challenges for achieving sexual and reproductive justice in South Africa

2 May, 2019
Written by Marion Stevens, Director, Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition

Reproductive Justice is defined by three principles: The right to have child; the right not to have a child; and the right to parent children in safe and healthy environments.

Twenty years after the evolution of the concept in the United States, the government of South Africa incorporated the concept of reproductive justice into its thinking. In 2014 the concept was introduced and spoken about locally and globally by the Department of Social Development (DSD)1,which houses the National Population Unit. DSD has incorporated the principles of reproductive justice, and taken the concept of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) further.

continued: http://www.srhm.org/news/challenges-for-achieving-sexual-and-reproductive-justice-in-south-africa/

Abortion providers — the custodians of reproductive justice in South Africa

Abortion providers — the custodians of reproductive justice in South Africa

Marion Stevens
13 March 2019

Sunday 10 March marked Abortion Provider Appreciation Day. These are men and women providing a service many health professionals shun. In South Africa, despite a progressive law, abortion providers continue to face stigma and difficult working conditions.

On 10 March 1993 Dr David Gunn was murdered by an anti-abortion extremist in Florida in the United States (See Appendix below annotating assassinations and violence). Three years later, to honour his life and work, 10 March became the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers.

Continued: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2019-03-13-abortion-providers-the-custodians-of-reproductive-justice-in-south-africa/

South Africa – The Gospel of Shame: How Christian groups thwart the right to abortion

The Gospel of Shame: How Christian groups thwart the right to abortion

21 Sep 2018
Pontsho Pilane

Are faith-based NGOs breaking the law when they refuse to give women information on where to terminate their pregnancies?

Lerato Molefe stares blankly at the sign erected in the yard in front of her. Her eyes are fixed on the blue silhouette drawing of two women with bulging bellies.

“FREE pregnancy test” ... “Information on OPTIONS”, the sign reads.

Continued: https://bhekisisa.org/article/2018-09-21-00-the-gospel-of-shame-how-christian-groups-thwart-the-right-to-abortion-south-africa

21.09.2018