Louisiana doctors detail unintended consequences of state’s abortion ban

BY KEITH ZUBROW, CBS NEWS
APRIL 30, 2023

"I am more likely to die than my mother was in childbirth. So as a country, our outcomes are getting worse," Dr. Rebekah Gee, an OB-GYN and a former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, told 60 Minutes.

Gee was interviewed by 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi as part of Sunday's report on maternal mortality rates in the United States. According to the World Health Organization, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of maternal death in the developed world, with Louisiana possessing some of the highest rates of any American state.

Continued: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doctors-detail-unintended-consequences-of-louisiana-abortion-ban-60-minutes-2023-04-30/

30.04.2023

miscarriage management

‘We need to read the room’: GOP divided on abortion as Democrats unite for 2024

Democrats center abortion rights in early stages of presidential campaign while Republicans waver over unpopular position

Lauren Gambino in Washington DC
Sun 30 Apr 2023

Hours after Joe Biden announced his re-election campaign on Tuesday, his vice-president and 2024 running mate, Kamala Harris, delivered a fiery call to action for voters alarmed by the loss of constitutional protections for abortion.

“This is a moment for us to stand and fight,” she said to a packed auditorium at Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington and her alma mater. To the “extremist so-called leaders” rolling back access to reproductive rights, Harris warned: “Don’t get in our way because if you do, we’re going to stand up, we’re going to organize and we’re going to speak up.”

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/30/republicans-divided-abortion-democrats-united-2024-election

India – Ministry of Health & Family Welfare organizes National Consultation on Comprehensive Abortion Care

APRIL 30, 2023
BY SANJIB

Port Blair, Apr 30: The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, GoI organized National Consultation on Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC) on April 24 & 25, 2023 at New Delhi. Around 150 participants attended the workshop from different States of India. The main objective of the programme was to focus on dissemination of MTP (Amendment) Act & Rules 2021 and to further improve access, demand, safety and quality of abortion care services in the country. CAC services ensure safe and quality abortion care to women seeking the services so that Maternal Death due to unsafe abortion can be prevented.

It is a matter of pride that the UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands has been awarded ‘Award of Excellence’ for improving access to safe abortion services and ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ for outstanding performance in improving access to safe abortion services in the Islands at National consultation on CAC. Dr. Suja Antony, Deputy Director (Family Welfare)/Joint Secretary (Reproductive Child Health Care) attended the two days workshop and received the Memento and Certificate on behalf of the UT Administration.

Source: http://www.andamansheekha.com/114728/

30.04.2023

News

Comprehensive Abortion Care

Dr. Suja Antony

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Japan approves abortion pill for the first time

Health ministry gives green light for two-step treatment to end pregnancies up to nine weeks

Agence France-Presse in Tokyo
Sat 29 Apr 2023

The abortion pill is to become available in Japan for the first time after the health ministry approved a drug used to terminate early-stage pregnancies.

Abortion is legal in Japan up to 22 weeks, but consent is usually required from a spouse or partner, and until now a surgical procedure had been the only option.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/29/japan-approves-abortion-pill-for-the-first-time

29.04.2023

News

approval of mifepristone

‘Clear’ difference in abortion access across Ireland – Malone

Saturday, 29 Apr 2023

It is "clear" there are differences in access to abortion services across Ireland, according to the former Master of the Rotunda Hospital.

Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Professor Fergal Malone said some parts of the country are well served, while in other parts, it is "challenging" as he described "conscientious objection" as one of the factors.

Continued: https://www.rte.ie/news/health/2023/0429/1379888-abortion-review/

29.04.2023

News

conscientious objection

USA – Outspoken abortion provider LeRoy ‘Lee’ Carhart dies at 81

by Lisa Baumann, The Associated Press
Apr 28, 2023

LeRoy “Lee” Carhart, who emerged from a two-decade career as an Air Force surgeon to become one of the best-known late-term abortion providers in the United States, has died. He was 81.

Carhart died Friday, according to Clinics for Abortions & Reproductive Excellence in Bellevue, Nebraska, where he was the medical director. His cause of death was not released by the clinic.

Carhart began focusing on abortions after retiring from the Air Force in 1985. He was one of only a handful of late-term abortion providers in the U.S. and was among the most vocal.

Continued: https://apnews.com/article/leroy-lee-carhart-dead-a8f547515880406fa20b2be32fa6a3be

Mefeego Pack approved as 1st abortion pill in Japan

April 28, 2023
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's health ministry approved Friday for the first time the sale of an oral abortion pill, giving women in early pregnancy an alternative to the surgical procedure.

The pill, called Mefeego Pack developed by British pharmaceutical company Linepharma International Ltd., can terminate a pregnancy of up to 9 weeks of gestation, and is considered safer than the surgical abortions that have been used hereto.

Continued: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230428/p2g/00m/0sc/071000c

28.04.2023

News

abortion pill

Linepharma International

The states to watch in the fight for US abortion rights

After Roe v Wade repeal, states across the United States continue to grapple with restricting or protecting abortion rights.

28 Apr 2023

State legislatures are wrestling with how much to restrict or expand abortion access after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last year.

Here is a snapshot of pending and passed legislation seeking to restrict or protect access in 2023, including details on a law that took effect in North Dakota this week broadly banning abortion and the defeat of abortion ban bills in South Carolina and Nebraska.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/28/the-states-to-watch-in-the-fight-for-us-abortion-rights

28.04.2023

News

anti-choice legislation

pro-choice legislation

Anti-abortion bills fail in GOP-controlled Nebraska and South Carolina

By Chandelis Duster, CNN
Fri April 28, 2023

Measures that would have severely restricted abortion failed Thursday in Nebraska and South Carolina, which both have Republican-controlled legislatures, a reflection of the growing unease among Republicans over the political popularity of strict bans.

In Nebraska, a “Heartbeat Act” would have banned most abortions after six weeks except in cases of rape or incest or to preserve the life of the mother once a “fetal heartbeat” was detected, but it stalled in the legislature. … On Thursday afternoon, the South Carolina state Senate failed to pass the “Human Life Protection Act,” which would have banned abortions in the state, in a 22-21 vote with five women voting against it.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/28/politics/abortion-bills-fail-nebraska-south-carolina/index.html

28.04.2023

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic

Legal abortions in the U.S. dropped 6% after Roe fell, despite an uptick in states with protections

By Farah Yousry / Side Effects Public Media
April 28, 2023

Some days, the phones at the Trust Women Wichita clinic ring nonstop, and staff are unable to keep up. Since the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal protections for abortion last summer, the clinic has had a math problem: too many patients desperate for care with limited time and resources to see them.

“We are averaging about 500 patients a month, give or take,” said Ashley Brink, a clinic director at Trust Women Wichita. “We're located in Kansas, but we only see about 100 patients a month that are actually from Kansas, the other 400-plus are from other states.”

Continued: https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/legal-abortions-in-the-us-dropped-6-after-roe-fell-despite-an-uptick-in-states-with-protections/