Abortion reform battle set to begin – but how will senators vote?

President Alberto Fernández has confirmed that he will send a bill to legalise abortion in Argentina to Congress imminently. Here’s how the numbers shape up ahead in the upper house of an era-defining vote.

Oct 31, 2020

Frustrated in 2018 by defeat in the Senate; postponed at the end of 2019 due to
the general elections; suspended again this year due to the coronavirus
pandemic – the campaign to legalise abortion in Argentina has once again
returned to the government’s agenda, with President Alberto Fernández vowing to
send the bill to Congress before the year is out.

Once again, the numbers in the Senate are the key challenge if the Peronist
leader is to honour his campaign promise to legalise abortion. In August 2018, the Senate rejected the
abortion bill by a 38-31 vote with two abstentions. The difference this time
around looks to have narrowed since then but doubts persist – the government is
sure to be crunching numbers before taking the final step of sending its bill
to Congress.

Continued: https://batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/abortion-reform-battle-set-to-begin-but-how-will-senators-vote.phtml

31.10.2020

pro-choice campaigners

Polish pro-choice campaigner helps women bypass abortion law

Issued on: 31/10/2020

Seven years ago, Natalia Broniarczyk had an abortion despite stringent Polish legislation against it.

Now, she is helping other women do the same and taking part in mass protests against a further tightening of an already highly restrictive law.

Continued: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201031-polish-pro-choice-campaigner-helps-women-bypass-abortion-law

Colorado Abortion Ban Could Be Felt Nationwide

October 31, 2020

Sarah McCammon

Last year around this time, Tammy, her husband, and their young son were
getting ready for a big expansion of their family: she was expecting twins –
one boy and one girl.

The family celebrated around Christmastime with a gender reveal party, complete
with matching onesies reading, "Little Brother" and "Little
Sister."

Continued: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/31/929637426/colorado-abortion-ban-could-be-felt-nationwide

Indonesia criticized for signing anti-abortion convention

Ardila Syakriah and Dian Septiari, Jakarta
Sat, October 31 2020

A coalition of Indonesian women rights groups have lambasted the government for signing an anti-abortion convention rolled out by the United States, saying the government cosponsored it without proper public consultation.

The coalition deemed the signing of the convention unconstitutional and harmful to the sexual and reproductive health of Indonesian women because it might lead to more unsafe abortion practices and subsequently, more maternal deaths.

Continued: https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2020/10/30/indonesia-criticized-for-signing-anti-abortion-convention.html

Poland’s abortion protests—democratic standards at stake

The passion behind the demonstrations signifies a battle for basic democratic standards in a world of creeping authoritarian temptations.

by Maria Skóra
30th October 2020

On October 22nd, the Constitutional Court in Poland made an unprecedented decision, declaring abortion due to foetal defects unconstitutional. Because around 90 per cent of all legal abortions in the country are performed on this criterion, upon entering into force this ruling will in practice drastically limit access to safe termination of pregnancy. It stands in opposition to medical science and to the will of the majority of the population, which—according to the polls—supports the existing abortion regime, already one of the strictest in Europe.

This battle started as early as 2016, with ‘pro-life’ associations lobbying the parliament for an amendment to the law. They failed then but the change has now effectively been introduced by the Constitutional Court. The new status quo is not only controversial on its merits but also because the court’s judicial neutrality, vis-à-vis the governing Law and Justice Party (PiS), has long been questioned.

Continued: https://www.socialeurope.eu/polands-abortion-protests-democratic-standards-at-stake

Polish hospitals begin turning away women seeking abortions

Institutions appear to enforce controversial ban despite legislation not yet taking effect

Hannah Summers
Fri 30 Oct 2020

Hospitals in Poland have been turning away women seeking abortions even though a court ruling that has instituted a near-total ban on terminations has not yet taken effect.

The ban, which outlaws one of the three narrow exceptions under which abortion is still permitted – that of severe foetal defects – has sparked huge protests in Poland.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/30/polish-hospitals-begin-turning-away-women-seeking-abortions

Pro-choice supporters hold biggest-ever protest against Polish government

About 100,00o people take to the streets of Warsaw to oppose tightened abortion law

Christian Davies in Warsaw
Fri 30 Oct 2020

About one hundred thousand protesters took to the streets of the Polish capital, Warsaw, on Friday, in the largest demonstration of popular anger directed against Poland’s ruling rightwing Law and Justice party (PiS) since it assumed office in 2015.

Protests have been held across the country since Poland’s constitutional tribunal declared earlier this month that abortions in instances where a foetus is diagnosed with a serious and irreversible birth defect were unconstitutional. Such procedures constitute about 96% of legal abortions in Poland, which already has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/30/pro-choice-supporters-hold-biggest-ever-protest-against-polish-government

Women Converge on Warsaw, Heightening Poland’s Largest Protests in Decades

Outraged by a court decision to ban nearly all abortions, tens of thousands of women took to the streets of Poland’s capital on Friday, culminating a week of big protests across the country.

By Anatol Magdziarz and Marc Santora
Oct. 30, 2020

WARSAW — Ignoring the threat of prosecution and the dangers posed by a surge of coronavirus cases, tens of thousands of women outraged by a court decision to ban nearly all abortions in Poland converged in Warsaw on Friday, intensifying what have been the largest demonstrations in the country since the fall of communism in 1989.

With a musical medley that included Darth Vader’s theme from Star Wars, in a poke at the government, and techno music blaring over loudspeakers, crowds of women flooded the streets of the capital. Many of the women had the red lightning bolt that has become the iconic image of the movement emblazoned on their clothes, as the police and military security officers flanked them as they marched.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/world/europe/poland-abortion-women-protests.html

Thousands in Warsaw Join Biggest Protest so far Against Abortion Ruling

By Reuters
October 30, 2020

WARSAW, POLAND - Tens of thousands of Poles joined a march Friday in Warsaw, the biggest in nine days of protests against a ruling by the country's top court last week that amounted to a near-total ban on abortion in the predominantly Catholic nation.

Defying strict rules that restrict gatherings to five people during the coronavirus pandemic, demonstrators walked through central Warsaw streets carrying black umbrellas, a symbol of abortion rights protests in Poland, and banners that read "I think, I feel, I decide" or "God is a woman."

Continued: https://www.voanews.com/europe/thousands-warsaw-join-biggest-protest-so-far-against-abortion-ruling

Poland’s Constitutional Court Has Effectively Banned Abortion, But We Will Not Stop Fighting For Our Fundamental Rights

BY KRYSTYNA KACPURA
OCTOBER 30, 2020

Planning in Poland Poland’s anti-abortion laws have always been among the most restrictive in Europe. Until this week the procedure was only permitted when the pregnancy posed a threat to the woman’s life; if there was a fatal fetal abnormality or in cases rape or incest.

However on Oct. 22 the country’s constitutional court ruled that a fatal fetal abnormality was not justification for terminating a pregnancy and violates the constitution. For the over 10 million women of reproductive age in Poland, this ruling effectively puts in place a complete ban on abortion.

Continued: https://time.com/5905885/poland-abortion-ban-protest/

30.10.2020