Media release from the University of Otago
Thursday 13 May 2021
A person’s stance on abortion is linked to their, often inaccurate, belief about when a fetus can feel pain, a University of Otago study has found.
Lead author Emma Harcourt, PhD candidate in Otago’s Centre for Science Communication, says misinformation about abortion and pregnancy is common and potentially harmful.
Continued: https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/abortion-opposition-related-beliefs-about-fetal-pain-perception
Covid-19 may end up inadvertently speeding up abortion progress in America — and exposing conservative hypocrisy along the way.
May 13, 2021
By Jessica Valenti, New York Times
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration announced that people seeking abortion pills during the Covid-19 pandemic will no longer have to visit a doctor’s office to get a prescription. Under the Trump administration, patients were required to receive the first of the medication’s two doses in person, a mandate upheld by the Supreme Court in January. The new policy instead allows for telemedicine consultations and pills sent by mail.
The decision is a practical one for the Covid era: It reduces unnecessary face time in doctor’s offices, which cuts down the potential for exposure. It could also be a huge blow to the anti-abortion movement. Groups like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have been pushing the Biden administration to make the F.D.A.’s decision permanent. Last week, in a legal filing, the agency announced it was reviewing their restrictions on the medication.
Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/opinion/abortion-pill-fda-covid.html
May 10, 2021
Women on Web
For 15 years now, Women on Web, the first ever telemedical abortion service, has made sure that pregnant people around the world have access to safe abortions. The first abortion Women on Web provided was to a woman living in Lisbon, who completed the online consultation on May 10, 2006, when abortion was still illegal in Portugal.
For 15 years now, Women on Web, the first ever telemedical abortion service, has made sure that pregnant people around the world have access to safe abortions. The first abortion Women on Web provided was to a woman living in Lisbon, who completed the online consultation on May 10, 2006, when abortion was still illegal in Portugal.
Continued: https://www.womenonweb.org/en/page/20954/women-on-web-telemedicine-abortion-service-turns-15
By Emma Batha, Thomson Reuters Foundation
MAY 12, 2021
LONDON, May 12 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A Maltese lawmaker made history on Wednesday by calling for the decriminalisation of abortion in the Mediterranean island, which has one of the world’s strictest bans.
In the first such move to amend the country’s tough abortion laws, independent MP Marlene Farrugia presented a bill which would remove criminal sanctions for women who seek terminations.
By Clare Busch
May 12, 2021
When Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro was 17, she found out she was pregnant. Loraine Piñeiro decided to have an abortion, but because she was Medicaid recipient — like more than 72 million other Americans — her insurance wouldn’t cover the costs of the procedure. So, Loraine Piñeiro picked up extra shifts at her restaurant job, earning $2.17 per hour in base pay, to earn the necessary $450. She was still in high school.
She was in that position thanks to the Hyde Amendment, a policy dating back to 1976 that prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortion, except in the case of rape, incest, or if the pregnant person’s life is in danger. “When I learned about the Hyde Amendment, I realized how much it affected my life,” Loraine Piñeiro tells Mic. “I had no idea how I would figure out how to pay for an abortion. Those types of resources aren't easily available.”
Wednesday, 12 May 2021
Press Release: New Zealand Law Society
The New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa has told a parliamentary select committee that the definition of "prohibited behaviour" in proposed ‘safe areas’ for abortion facilities is inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and needs to be reconsidered.
The Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill proposes amending the 1977 Act to provide for regulations to set up safe areas around specific abortion facilities on a case-by-case basis.
MAY 11, 2021
Guttmacher Institute
Despite the liberalization of abortion laws in many Sub-Saharan African
countries in recent years and the subsequent expansion of services such as
postabortion care, unsafe abortion is still common in the region and exacts a
heavy toll on individuals, families and health systems. Sub-Saharan Africa has
the highest estimated proportion of abortions that are unsafe in the world (77%
as of 2010–2014, compared with the global average of 44%), as documented in the
2020 report From Unsafe to Safe Abortion in Sub-Saharan Africa: Slow but Steady
Progress.
In line with one of its objectives to develop
the capacity of advocates and policymakers to access and utilize evidence to
ensure that family planning and reproductive health are prioritized in national
policies and budgeting processes, the Guttmacher Institute accepted an
invitation from the East African Reproductive Health Network (EARHN) to lead a
session at its 11th annual coordination meeting.
MAY 11, 2021
The Government has announced investments of $353.9 million over the next 4 years for women’s health as part of the 2021-22 Budget. It is not yet clear if, how and where this investment will fund equity and access in abortion care.
This investment is linked to the five priority areas of the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020–2030 and the improvement of long term health outcomes for women and girls. Priority area 1 is maternal, sexual and reproductive health.
Continued: https://www.mariestopes.org.au/your-choices/federal-budget-abortion/
The Court has been surprisingly hesitant to weigh in on abortion. But a pending case is likely to force its hand.
By Ian Millhiser
May 11, 2021
The Supreme Court has been sitting on a potentially very significant abortion case for the last two months, one that the Court’s rules say it should dismiss. We’re likely to find out this week whether the Court will dismiss this case, however, and that decision could tell us a great deal about how fast the Court plans to move in rolling back abortion rights.
In February, about a month after President Joe Biden took office, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear three consolidated cases challenging a Trump administration policy targeting abortion clinics.
To be a transformational president, Biden has to fight loud and hard against the Republican assault on reproductive rights.
by Emily Crockett
May 10, 2021
Many progressives found themselves pleasantly surprised with Joe Biden after his first 100 days in office. He’s willing to go big, embrace the legacy of FDR and LBJ, and pass trillions in investments on party-line votes if Republicans don’t offer real solutions. In his first joint address to Congress last month, Biden laid out his agenda and made an unapologetic, empathetic case for big solutions to big crises: not just the pandemic and economic collapse, but also climate change, gun violence, systemic racism, immigration, and more. From the well of the House, Biden proudly advocated for just about every progressive reform that his administration supports. Yet he was silent on one major issue: the decimated state of access to safe, legal, and affordable abortion and the Republican Party’s continually escalating efforts to make it worse.
Continued: https://washingtonmonthly.com/2021/05/10/why-biden-needs-to-go-big-on-abortion/
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