What Is The Global Gag Rule & How Does It Affect Abortion Access Around The World?

Alice Broster
Feb 8, 2021

It’s been estimated that between 2015 and 2019 around 121 million unintended
pregnancies occurred around the globe. Of those, 61% ended in abortion. This
equates to around 73 million abortions every year. This can mean very different
things depending on where you live. For a termination to be considered safe it
should be carried out by someone who is trained and in an environment that’s
clean. For many people, this isn’t an option. So, what is the global gag rule?
It’s been reported that President Biden will end the U.S. government's efforts
to restrict access to reproductive rights and healthcare around the world
through the Mexico City Policy, AKA the global gag rule.

Continued: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicebroster/2021/02/08/what-is-the-global-gag-rule--how-does-it-affect-abortion-access-around-the-world/

South Korea’s abortion law revision plan sparks controversy

Conservatives and religious groups are facing off with women's rights organizations in a fierce debate over changes to a 1953 law that makes abortion illegal.

13.10.2020
Julian Ryall

The South Korean government has announced plans to reverse the blanket ban on abortions that was imposed in 1953 and revise the law to permit a termination before the 14th week of a pregnancy. The proposed changes have been strongly criticized by both sides of the argument.

Last week, the government announced that it will alter sections of both the Criminal Act and the Mother and Child Health Act that refer to abortion. The changes will also allow abortions up to a maximum of 24 weeks for women with extenuating medical or economic circumstances, if a genetic disorder is identified in the baby or if they have been the victim of a rape.

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/south-korea-abortion-controversy/a-55253968

Rwanda celebrates International Safe Abortion Day

By Joan Mbabazi
Published : September 30, 2020

Participants representing different organisations encouraged the youth and women to make use of safe abortion services.

Health Development Initiative (HDI) on Monday, September 28 partnered with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and other organisations to celebrate the International Safe Abortion Day. The celebrations were held at Kibagabaga Hospital and the main message for the day centred on measures to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Continued: https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/rwanda-celebrates-international-safe-abortion-day

30.09.2020

Great Lakes Initiative for Human Rights and Development

Health Development Initiative

International Safe Abortion Day

Nigeria – COVID-19: FG charged on Family Planning funding

By Richard P. Ngbokai, Kano
Aug 4, 2020

Women‘s Integrated Services for Health (WISH), an international women reproductive health advocacy group has called on the federal and states government to prioritise funding of family planning services for enhanced health and economic dividends.

The National Sustainability Lead, WISH, Dr Michael Olawuyi who made the call in Kano at a media briefing stressed that prioritizing family planning has the potential to optimize the country’s population age structure such that the working population is more than the dependent population which translates to increased productivity and economic growth.

Continued: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/covid-19-fg-charged-on-family-planning-funding.html

Knowledge of safe contraception is patchy among young Nigerian students

Knowledge of safe contraception is patchy among young Nigerian students

January 27, 2020
Anthony Idowu Ajayi, Meggie Mwoka
African Population and Health Research Center

Nearly half of pregnancies among adolescent girls in developing countries are unplanned. In Africa, about 46% of these pregnancies end in unsafe abortion. Deaths from abortion account for 10% of maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Nigeria, nearly 28% of women were found to have had an unwanted pregnancy. The rate of unplanned pregnancy is especially high among young people. But women can only get a legal abortion if the pregnancy poses a threat to the life of a woman or in cases of rape or incest.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/knowledge-of-safe-contraception-is-patchy-among-young-nigerian-students-130313

27.01.2020

Featured

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emergency contraception

knowledge of emergency contraception

knowledge of safe contraception

Vietnam – Workshop raises public awareness on contraception, reproductive health

Workshop raises public awareness on contraception, reproductive health

VNA Monday, September 23, 2019

Hanoi (VNA) – A workshop on active contraception took place in Hanoi on September 23 in response to World Contraception Day 2019.

Co-organised by the Department of Population and Family Planning, Vietnam Women’s Union, and Bayer Vietnam company, the workshop discussed causes of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and the benefits of using contraceptive methods.

Continued: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/workshop-raises-public-awareness-on-contraception-reproductive-health/160921.vnp

Kenya – Devolve research on unsafe abortion to find solution

Devolve research on unsafe abortion to find solutions
A collective number of cases reported countrywide will not mitigate problem

by Daniel Otieno
24 April 2019

In Kenya, seven women die daily as a result of unsafe abortion. However, the missing information is the prevalence of abortion at the county level. For example, Kisumu and Homa Bay are among the top 10 counties leading in deaths of women.

There is, however, no specific information on deaths related to unsafe abortion. Do we have numbers of women who died while attempting to terminate a pregnancy? How do we arrive at the estimated 464,000 cases of unsafe abortion?

Continued: https://www.the-star.co.ke/opinion/star-blogs/2019-04-24-devolve-research-on-unsafe-abortion-to-find-solutions/

24.04.2019

Network for Adolescents and Youth of Africa

USA – The Endless Cost Of Maligning Abortion

The Endless Cost Of Maligning Abortion

Janet Burns
Feb 28, 2019

Throughout our lives, we rely on different clues and impressions to help us determine what is right, and what is wrong. These clues may be large or small, and take many forms; in select cases, they can even appear as financial figures. For while it may be impossible to put a price on human health and happiness, the cost of neglecting them is becoming all too clear.

In the case of Americans' reproductive health, such numbers clearly show that denying women contraceptives and wanted abortions has a substantial toll on their lives and livelihoods, their children and families, and society as a whole. Evidence in favor of giving women full access to family planning is extensive and varied, with many pragmatic aspects, from the costs of Medicaid-paid births to combating environmental threats.

Continued: https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetwburns/2019/02/28/the-endless-costs-of-maligning-abortion/

USA – When women are denied an abortion, their children fare worse than peers

When women are denied an abortion, their children fare worse than peers

By Diana Greene Foster
December 5, 2018

What will happen if Americans lose the constitutional right to abortion? Not all women who need an abortion would find a way to get one. Many would carry the unwanted pregnancy to term and give birth.

The discourse around abortion tends to focus on women and generally fails to consider how being denied an abortion affects the children a pregnant woman already has and those she may have in the future. The research is clear: Restricting access to abortion doesn’t just harm women — it harms their children as well.

Continued: https://www.statnews.com/2018/12/05/how-abortion-denial-affects-children-well-being/

05.12.2018

women denied abortion

women don't regret abortions

Nigeria – Unsafe abortions cause preventable deaths

Unsafe abortions cause preventable deaths

Date: Nov 15 , 2018
BY: Zadok K. Gyesi
Category: General News

As a personal principle to update myself about what is happening around the world, I visit different news portals every morning. So, it was in fulfilment of this daily ritual that on September 21, this year, I came across an article published on the Daily Post’s news portal headlined: “Nigerian women committed 2.7m abortions in 2017 – Study.”

In the article, it was reported that majority of the abortions were done by young girls in secondary schools and women in their early 20s, and that one out of every four of the abortions was unintended, leading to an increase in the abortions committed by the women.

Continued: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/unsafe-abortions-cause-preventable-deaths.html