Anti-rights groups: why we need a smarter politics of naming

April 13, 2026
By Nicolas Agostini

As movements working to undermine universal human rights protections become more influential, the language used to call out these “anti-rights” groups also needs closer scrutiny, or else risks being self-defeating, writes Nicolas Agostini, human rights advocate and researcher.

Some expressions capture the anxieties of an era. In the human rights field today, everybody wants to say something about “gender apartheid” or “transnational repression”. Few expressions, however, have spread as quickly as “anti-rights”, a label used to describe movements that work to undermine universal human rights protections, usually in the name of culture, religion, or tradition.

Continued: https://genevasolutions.news/human-rights/anti-rights-groups-why-we-need-a-smarter-politics-of-naming

13.04.2026

Building Reproductive Justice with Women of African Descent

April 13, 2026
Women’s Link Worldwide

In February, our legal associate at Women’s Link, Eliana Alcalá De Ávila, participated in a community meeting in Cali, Colombia, alongside women leaders and women of African descent from the organizations La Comadre and AFRODES. The goal was to share information about access to abortion in the country from an intersectional perspective and to open a conversation about the specific barriers that Black women—women of African descent—face in exercising their sexual and reproductive rights.

The gathering took place in Llano Verde, a neighborhood in the Aguablanca district that is home to a significant Afro-descendant population and has welcomed many people displaced by violence in the country. There, at a local public school, the women who organized the event welcomed us with a deeply meaningful gesture: a space for harmonization to begin the day.

Continued: https://womenslinkworldwide.org/en/building-reproductive-justice-with-women-of-african-descent/

13.04.2026

Commentary

Eliana Alcalá De Ávila

La Comadre

reproductive justice

Ruling C-055 of the Constitutional Court of Colombia

sexual and reproductive health

Scotland – Leading anti-abortion figure standing for Reform UK in May elections

April 13, 2026
By Steph Brawn

A WARNING that reproductive rights "are not safe" with Reform UK has been issued after it emerged a leading anti-abortion figure is standing for the party in England's local elections. Lois McLatchie Miller is standing for Nigel Farage's party in the affluent London area of Maida Vale next month.

McLatchie Miller has worked for years for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) – a Christian group known for its work overturning abortion rights in the US as well as opposing LGBT+ rights – and has made regular appearances on GB News and Talk TV.

Continued: https://archive.is/Eo0Mq
(https://www.thenational.scot/news/26017330.leading-anti-abortion-figure-standing-reform-uk-may-elections/)

13.04.2026

News

Alliance Defending Freedom

buffer zone laws

Gillian Mackay

Lois McLatchie Miller

Nigel Farage

Reform UK

safe access zones

Southern Poverty Law Center

Korea decriminalized abortion 7 years ago. For many women, it remains a dangerous choice.

The Hankyoreh reviewed years’ worth of court cases to understand how the failure to enshrine the right to abortion in law and normalize it as standard health care has affected Korean women who chose to terminate their pregnancies

April 13, 2026

Min-ji underwent two abortions while in a relationship with Young-ho in 2020 and 2021. The decision to terminate the pregnancies was reached by mutual consent. However, after the couple split, Young-ho changed drastically, going so far as to plaster Min-ji’s workplace with posters that accused her of being a “murderer who killed two children.”

After having an abortion in January 2022, Ye-eun refused to engage in sexual relations with her partner, Cheol-su, only for him to threaten to notify her family and her school of her past pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1253991.html

Belgium – Ghent project improves access to emergency copper coils against unwanted pregnancies

13 April 2026

In Ghent, healthcare professionals and the city council have given a positive assessment of a pilot project that ensures women have rapid access to an emergency IUD (Intrauterine Device), also known as an emergency copper coil. This alternative to the morning-after pill is often overlooked, even though it is more reliable following unprotected sex. Since the project began in June 2025, more than 100 emergency IUDs have already been fitted in hospitals, GP practices and an abortion clinic.

Continued: https://www.belganewsagency.eu/ghent-project-improves-access-to-emergency-copper-coils-against-unwanted-pregnancies

13.04.2026

News

Astrid De Bruycker

emergency IUD

Ghent pilot project on IUDs

Belgium

Europe

Contraception

Thousands protest in Prague for and against abortion

April 11, 2026

Thousands of people have taken part in demonstrations on abortion rights in Prague. The participants in the annual "March for Life" marched through the city center after a service in the Catholic St. Vitus Cathedral. Hundreds of mainly young protesters gathered for a counter-demonstration under the slogan "Prague is feminist". They held up signs with texts such as "Women's rights are human rights" and "My body, my choice".

The police were on site with numerous forces to prevent clashes. Five people were temporarily arrested because they did not follow the officers' instructions, a spokesperson said. According to the CTK agency, the number of abortions in the Czech Republic has been falling for decades and stands at around 15,000 per year. Women can legally have an abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy without having to give a reason. Abortions for medical reasons can be legal up to the 24th week.

Source: https://www.bluewin.ch/en/news/international/thousands-protest-in-prague-for-and-against-abortion-3184934.html

11.04.2026

News

March for Life

pro-choice counter protest

Kenya: Young for Contraceptives, Old for Motherhood – How Hidden Barriers Fuel Teen Pregnancy and Unsafe Abortion in Kenya

10 April 2026
By Rosemary Onchari

Kisii — In a quiet village in Kisii County, southwestern Kenya, 16-year-old Juliet Moraa sits on a wooden plastic stool, cradling her one-month-old baby boy. Her eyes well with tears as she reflects on how a simple visit to a nearby health facility changed the course of her life.

A Form Three student, Moraa says she sought contraceptive services and sexual health information after feeling pressured by her boyfriend and warnings from peers about the risks of early pregnancy. Instead, she says she was turned away.

Continued: https://allafrica.com/stories/202604100391.html

10.04.2026

Kenya Demographic and Health Survey

Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV/AIDS

Kenya National Commission on Human Rights

lack of contraception

A Public Health Emergency: How Abortion Bans Are Fueling Maternal Deaths in America

People living in states that have banned abortion are nearly twice as likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth, or soon after compared with those in states where abortion remains legal and accessible.

Sylvia Ghazarian, Common Dreams
Apr 10, 2026

The maternal mortality crisis in the United States is a national embarrassment, and it’s unfolding in real time. The US continues to have one of the highest maternal death rates among high-income countries, and the situation is getting worse, not better. Behind this trend is a growing body of research showing that state abortion bans directly contribute to increased maternal mortality, especially in communities already burdened by systemic inequities.

Continued: https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/abortion-bans-public-health

Health-care providers warn: Unauthorized abortion pills sellers targeting women in Canada

By Annie Burns-Pieper
April 10, 2026

NELSON, B.C. - Health-care providers in British Columbia and Ontario say websites are offering unauthorized and potentially dangerous abortion pills from India by mail and in person. The services are targeting newcomers, uninsured people, and those with low health-care literacy, they say.

While medical abortion is legal in Canada, abortion medication, like other pharmaceuticals, must be approved by Health Canada and prescribed by a doctor or nurse practitioner (or midwife in Quebec). The services, which are being offered through websites and WhatsApp, provide imported medication of unknown quality, without a prescription or medical supervision.

Continued: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/health-care-providers-warn-unauthorized-abortion-pills-sellers-targeting-women-in-canada/

Zero Sum Game—Trump Budget Request Proposes Zeroing Out Family Planning Funds and Continues to Starve Global Health Programs

April 10, 2026
PAI

On April 3rd, the White House released its “skinny” budget for fiscal year (FY) 2027, proposing a massive $16.2 billion in cuts to the diplomatic and foreign assistance activities of the U.S. government, while making note that the administration does not believe U.S. foreign assistance funding should support “unfettered access to birth control.” The proposed cuts to the State Department and other international affairs agencies and programs reduce funding by nearly a one-third from the FY 2026 enacted level. Although a figure of “0” does not appear next to an international family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) line-item in any of the budget documents released so far, it is a virtual certainty that the Trump regime will not request any bilateral or multilateral funding for these programs for the second year in a row.

Continued: https://pai.org/resources/trump-fy-2027-budget-request/

10.04.2026