USA – Federal judge writes that new abortion rule ‘recklessly disregards’ women’s health

Federal judge writes that new abortion rule 'recklessly disregards' women's health

By Kate Sullivan, CNN
April 30, 2019

Washington (CNN)A federal judge in Oregon issued a written opinion Monday saying the Trump administration's abortion clinic-referral restriction "recklessly disregards the health outcomes of women, families, and communities."

US District Judge Michael J. McShane called the federal restriction "a ham-fisted approach to health policy" and said it "prevents doctors from behaving like informed professionals."

Continued: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/29/politics/federal-judge-new-abortion-regulation-opinion/

30.04.2019

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Channels of safe abortion will reduce maternal death rate

Channels of safe abortion will reduce maternal death rate
Abortion stigma, rules on pregnancy termination lead women to their graves

by PURITY NTHIANA
30 April 2019

Unsafe abortion accounts for up to 11 per cent of global maternal deaths, according to a new report by the United Nations Population Fund.

Some 31,000 women die every year as a result of unsafe abortion, while eight million suffer from abortion-related complications. By giving women access to safe abortion services especially in a situation where the pregnancy threatens the life and health of a woman, it will become significantly less likely that women will risk their health by undergoing unsafe abortion from unqualified service providers.

Women should be given quality services to end their unwanted pregnancies without putting their lives at risk. Increasing access to safe abortion will improve the health of families, enhance education rates and boost people’s economic prospects.

Youth health advocate, NAYA Kenya

Source: https://www.the-star.co.ke/opinion/star-blogs/2019-04-30-channels-of-safe-abortion-will-reduce-maternal-death-rate/

30.04.2019

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HUNGARY – Birthrate, family and country: Viktor Orban wants women back in the home

by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
Apr 30, 2019

When it comes to power, what does the far right do to women? In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s racist, nationalist, extremist discourse goes hand in hand with the desire to keep women pregnant. In Poland, where the ultra-conservative Law and Justice party has been in power since 2015, the government is tirelessly trying, with the support of the Catholic Church, to prevent women from having access to abortion and contraception. “In these two countries, the role of women as individuals is slowly disappearing from public policies and being replaced by ‘the family’,” warns Andrea Pető, professor at the Central European University of Budapest.

“The Hungarian government is using two topics to campaign: its anti-immigration stance and the family,” says Dóra Papp, an activist and director of the petitions platform of aHang (The Voice). Last year, the government declared that 2018 would be the “year of families”.

Continued: http://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/hungary-birthrate-family-and-country-viktor-orban-wants-women-back-in-the-home/

USA – Supporters of abortion rights should be energized, not demoralized

Supporters of abortion rights should be energized, not demoralized

By David S. Cohen and Carole Joffe
April 29, 2019

For supporters of abortion rights, these are anxious times. President Trump has filled the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, with judges thought to be hostile to legal abortion. And this year, state legislatures have passed a seemingly endless stream of anti-abortion laws. Yet abortion rights supporters shouldn’t feel defeated. In fact, even in the age of Trump, there are many reasons for celebration, as the abortion rights movement is working just as hard — and succeeding at times — to increase abortion access and protect reproductive rights. These promising developments should galvanize supporters and offer important lessons about how to preserve and even expand access to abortion.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/04/29/supporters-abortion-rights-should-be-energized-not-demoralized/?utm_term=.3034f1705382

29.04.2019

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USA – No, the Real ‘Abortion Divide’ Is Not Between Patients and Protesters

No, the Real ‘Abortion Divide’ Is Not Between Patients and Protesters
The abortion divide is between people who need and deserve abortion access and the well-funded movement colluding with lawmakers to push it out of reach.

Apr 29, 2019
Tara Murtha

PBS’ Frontline recently premiered The Abortion Divide, a short documentary that examines the experiences of several women facing unplanned pregnancies in Philadelphia as they decide whether to carry the pregnancy to term or have an abortion.

The filmmakers follow the women who choose abortion into the Philadelphia Women’s Center (PWC), where they interview patients and doctors. They also showcase the protesters who gather outside PWC to try to shame and intimidate people on their way in and out of the building. They also film inside so-called crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs).

Continued: https://rewire.news/article/2019/04/29/no-the-real-abortion-divide-is-not-between-patients-and-protesters/

USA – What’s missing from the conversation about late abortions, explained by a doctor

What’s missing from the conversation about late abortions, explained by a doctor
Abortion opponents are accusing doctors of infanticide. Here’s the reality of abortion late in pregnancy, according to a doctor.

By Anna North Updated
Apr 29, 2019

President Trump on Saturday yet again claimed that doctors in America are executing babies. “The baby is born,” Trump said at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin. “The mother meets with the doctor. They take care of the baby. They wrap the baby beautifully, and then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby.”

Trump’s inflammatory words are part of a larger movement. At an especially contentious time in the abortion debate, opponents of the procedure have focused their attention on abortions that happen late in pregnancy. In some cases, they’re implying that laws allowing l

continued: https://www.vox.com/2019/3/11/18246702/trump-abortion-ralph-northam-virginia-green-bay

Trump’s anti-abortion rhetoric is getting out of control

Trump’s anti-abortion rhetoric is getting out of control
His latest lie is that the mother and the doctor decide whether or not to "execute the baby" after it's born and wrapped up in a blanket.

Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani
Apr 28, 2019

President Donald Trump’s anti-abortion rhetoric is getting more extreme by the day.

At a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Saturday night, Trump described a violent scene, claiming that a doctor and mother together decide whether or not to execute a baby after it’s born.

Continued: https://thinkprogress.org/trumps-anti-abortion-rhetoric-execute-baby-later-abortion-f0997b13c664/

28.04.2019

Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

USA – Is It Time to Take the Abortion Battle Hyperlocal?

Is It Time to Take the Abortion Battle Hyperlocal?

By Robin Marty
Published April 27, 2019

Whether or not the Supreme Court decides to uphold Roe v. Wade and keep abortion legal in every state, it’s an undeniable fact that abortion access has been decimated across the country. For more than half of U.S. states, the clinics that do remain are located in just a handful of cities, leaving most of the state without any provider at all.

Prior to 2016 and the resurgence of a national anti-abortion push, the right was heavily invested in this city-by-city targeting. A few of the more extreme groups even tested out city-based resolutions or bans to see if it was possible to wage hyperlocal attacks on abortion rights, even while the state itself kept the procedure legal.

continued: https://truthout.org/articles/is-it-time-to-take-the-abortion-battle-hyperlocal/

UK – My abortion politicised me, says WEP leader Mandu Reid

My abortion politicised me, says WEP leader Mandu Reid
Women’s Equality party head says her decision would have been different if UK parenting policies had been more progressive

Nosheen Iqbal
Sat 27 Apr 2019

Mandu Reid, the new leader of the Women’s Equality party (WEP), has spoken publicly about the impact of her abortion and why it compelled her to enter politics.

In an interview with the Observer, Reid said her decision to have a termination at 33 had not been “an easy choice” but one made because she “couldn’t balance being a single mother and hold on to my career aspirations”.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/27/mandu-reid-wep-abortion-politicised-me

27.04.2019

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Ghana – Seek abortion care at designated facilities – Marie Stopes

Seek abortion care at designated facilities – Marie Stopes
By Albert Futukpor, GNA

Tamale, April 26, GNA – Women especially young ladies have been advised to seek abortion care at designated health facilities with certified medical practitioners to guarantee their safety.

Madam Patricia Antwi-Boasiako, Northern Sector Regional Manager of Marie Stopes Ghana, who gave the advice, said it took a skilled medical practitioner to perform abortion to avoid complications hence need to seek such care at designated facilities.

Continued: http://www.ghananewsagency.org/health/seek-abortion-care-at-designated-facilities-marie-stopes-149031

26.04.2019