Rwanda – Women’s rights are human rights: the right to autonomy and self-determination

By Brenda Mutoni
September 30, 2021

Worldwide, women enjoy 25% fewer legal rights than men. Millions of women around the world are not able to make decisions about their own bodies.

According to research published in September 2021 by UNFPA titled “My body is my own. Claiming the right to autonomy and self-determination”, just over half of women and girls in middle- and low-income countries have the right to decide for themselves whether they have sex, use contraception or seek medical care. In some sub-Saharan countries, the figure is even below 10%.

Continued: https://www.newtimes.co.rw/opinions/womes-rights-are-human-rights-right-autonomy-and-self-determination

Ghana recorded 200k abortions in 2017 – Study

Source: GNA
30 September 2021

Ghana in 2017 recorded about 200,000 abortions, an equivalent to a national abortion rate of 26.8 per 1000 women between 15 and 49 years, a study by the Guttmacher Institute has revealed.

Guttmacher Institute is a leading research and policy organisation committed to advancing sexual reproductive health and rights in the United States of America.

Continued: https://www.myjoyonline.com/ghana-recorded-200k-abortions-in-2017-study/

Opinion – Only women have abortions

Womanhood is a question of material reality, not identity.

Ann Furedi
30th September 2021

Following a barrage of criticism, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has apologised for revising an iconic speech by the late Supreme Court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to fit with today’s woke-speak.

At RBG’s confirmation hearing in 1993, a time when anti-choice activism was rife in the US, she was asked about her position on abortion. She did not mince her words:

Continued: https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/09/30/only-women-have-abortions/

30.09.2021

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Global

These Texas women struggled to get an abortion before the new law. They say it would be even harder now.

Abortion rights advocates say the law disproportionately affects minors, low-income communities and people of color.

Sept. 30, 2021
By Chloe Atkins

Standing in front of a judge at 17, Veronika Granado said she felt numb as she asked him to grant her a judicial bypass, which would allow her, as a minor, to get an abortion without parental consent or notification.

For Granado, who had just graduated high
school, terminating the pregnancy would allow her to continue her education
without being a young mother at the same time.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/these-texas-women-struggled-get-abortion-new-law-it-would-n1280196

Unsafe abortions contribute to Ghana’s high maternal mortality – Dr. Ali Samba

30.09.2021

Unsafe abortions contribute to Ghana’s high maternal mortality - Dr. Ali Samba Listen to article

Complications from unsafe abortions contribute substantially to high
maternal mortality in Ghana, which was estimated at 310 maternal deaths per
100,000 live births in 2017.

This is according to the Director of Medical Affairs of the Korle Bu Teaching
Hospital, Dr. Ali Samba.

Continued: https://www.modernghana.com/news/1107781/unsafe-abortions-contribute-to-ghanas-high-matern.html

Ghana – Indigenous Women Empowerment Network advocates improved contraceptive services to prevent unsafe abortion

Nestor Kafui Adjomah
29 September 2021

The Indigenous Women Empowerment Network (IWEN), a health-centered organisation has been advocating a wider range of improved contraceptives and high-quality counseling services to prevent unintended pregnancies that could result in unsafe abortions.

According to the Executive Secretary of IWEN, Celestina Andoh, most young women in Ghana face difficulties in accessing sexual and reproductive health services whilst many others are not using contraceptive despite wanting to avoid pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.myjoyonline.com/indigenous-women-empowerment-network-advocates-improved-contraceptive-services-to-prevent-unsafe-abortion/

Abortion pledge adds to scepticism over women’s rights in China

Analysis: plan to reduce abortions as birthrates plunge draws comparisons to The Handmaid’s Tale

Helen Davidson in Taipei
Wed 29 Sep 2021

Far-reaching proposals from Beijing on “women’s development” have sparked concern over a pledge to reduce abortions, with feminists and academics pointing to the government’s history of control over women’s reproductive rights.

On Monday China’s state council published its latest 10-year outline for women’s development. The lengthy document contained guidelines for China’s gender-based policy, but it was a short phrase that caught particular attention: a pledge to “reduce abortions conducted for non-medical reasons”.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/29/abortion-pledge-adds-to-scepticism-over-womens-rights-in-china

29.09.2021

Protesters demand abortion rights across Latin America

Thousands of women across Latin America rallied to call for access to legal, safe and free abortion.

29 Sep 2021 Al Jazeera

Thousands of women joined demonstrations across Latin America to demand abortion rights in their countries, marking the Global Day of Action for access to legal, safe and free abortion.

Marches were called on Tuesday in Venezuela, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Colombia, demanding voluntary access to reproductive medical services without fear of punishment.

Continued : https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/9/29/global-day-of-action-for-access-to-legal-safe-and-free-abortion-protesters-demand-abortion-rights-across-latin-america

29.09.2021

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International Safe Abortion Day

Most of Europe fails to guarantee access to abortion care

A new comprehensive atlas of abortion policies across Europe shows that women’s experience ‘largely depends on their postcode’

Tatev Hovhannisyan
28 September 2021

Women and girls in almost a third of European countries have problems accessing abortion care and some are even forced to continue pregnancies against their will, reveals the European Abortion Policies Atlas, published today on International Safe Abortion Day.

“It is startling how governments are cynically manipulating [the law] to prevent women’s access to abortion,” said Caroline Hickson, regional director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN), co-author of the Atlas with the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF).

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/europe-access-abortion/

28.09.2021

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Caroline Hickson

European Abortion Policies Atlas

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Change is inevitable: people demand the human right to access safe abortion across Europe

Amnesty International
September 28, 2021

Europe has been at the forefront of the global trend towards the liberalization of abortion laws for more than 60 years. But there is still work to do to give all women and people who can become pregnant access to safe and legal abortion.

Almost all EU member states have now legalized abortion on request or on broad socio-economic grounds and, in the last few years, several European countries have enacted important progressive reforms or taken steps to remove harmful procedural and regulatory barriers that can impede access to abortion.

Continued: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/09/change-is-inevitable-people-demand-the-human-right-to-access-safe-abortion-across-europe/