Andorra: Activist on trial for raising concerns about total abortion ban at UN meeting

December 1, 2023
Amnesty International

Abortion rights activist, Vanessa Mendoza Cortés, should have never been charged with a crime or put on trial for defending human rights, said Amnesty International, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Women’s Link ahead of her defamation trial on Monday.

Vanessa Mendoza Cortés, President of Stop Violence (Stop Violències), a civil society organisation, was charged with criminal defamation after voicing concerns about Andorra’s total abortion ban at a meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to examine the country’s record on women’s rights in 2019.

Continued: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/12/andorra-activist-on-trial-for-raising-concerns-about-total-abortion-ban-at-un-meeting/

Northern Ireland – Sex education: Some schools tell pupils homosexuality is wrong, says report

June 12, 2023
By Robbie Meredith, BBC News NI education correspondent

Some schools in Northern Ireland are teaching pupils that homosexuality is wrong in relationships and sex education (RSE).

A Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) report said "many schools use language that shames and stigmatises young people" who had sex.

Some told pupils that those who "engage in casual sex must bear the consequences of their actions".

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-65871730

12.06.2023

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abstinence-only education

Alyson Kilpatrick

Catholic Church

Chris Heaton-Harris

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

sex education

United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

Europe

Northern Ireland

Human Rights

UK – Ministers accused of inaction over Northern Ireland abortion rights

Ministers accused of inaction over Northern Ireland abortion rights
MPs say government must provide clarity on legal situation for women

Heather Stewart Political editor
Thu 25 Apr 2019

Ministers must act urgently to address human rights breaches faced by women in Northern Ireland who seek an abortion, according to a damning report from a cross-party committee of MPs.

The women and equalities committee accuses the government of failing to tackle challenges identified by a UN committee on women’s rights last year, which found “systematic violations”.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/apr/25/ministers-accused-of-inaction-over-northern-ireland-abortion-rights

Stop regression on sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls, UN experts urge

UN OHCHR NEWS RELEASE – Stop regression on sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls, UN experts urge

by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
Oct 19, 2018

Rollback and regression on respect for international human rights norms threatens the sexual and reproductive health rights of women, including women with disabilities, UN human rights experts warned on 5 September 2018.

In a joint statement, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) said access to safe and legal abortion, as well as related services and information are essential aspects of women’s reproductive health. Access to such services is a prerequisite for safeguarding women’s human rights to life, health, equality before the law and equal protection of the law, non-discrimination, information, privacy, bodily integrity and freedom from torture and ill treatment, the Committees said.

Continued: http://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/un-ohchr-news-release-stop-regression-on-sexual-and-reproductive-rights-of-women-and-girls-un-experts-urge/

El Salvador: What happens when abortion is illegal in all circumstances

What happens when abortion is illegal in all circumstances

Jeannette Urquilla
May 30, 2017

El Salvador has one of the worst records on reproductive rights in the world. Since 1998, Article 133 of the Penal Code has made abortion illegal in all circumstances, without exception, punishable by up to eight years in prison. Sentences of up to 30 years have been handed down when a judge determined that “homicide” rather than abortion had occurred. The Alliance for Women’s Health and Life has reported that 147 El Salvadorian women were charged with crimes relating to abortion between 2000 and 2014.

Because our laws are so draconian, so tilted in favor of the rights of fetuses over those of living women, pregnant women experiencing difficulties may not feel safe in El Salvador’s hospitals. We’ve all heard about Maria Teresa Rivera, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison after she miscarried. (She was released after serving four.) We are terrified of having medical problems during pregnancy as there is an underlying presumption of guilt. So women often suffer in silence, which causes further complications.

Continued at source: LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-urquilla-el-salvador-abortion-20170530-story.html