Law, Class and Compassion: Vera Drake and the Lived Reality of Illegal Abortion

13 February 2026
By Natalia Katolik and Somtochukwu Madumelu

On 28 January 2026 Durham CELLS and the Institute for Medical Humanities hosted an ‘Afternoon of Law, Medicine and Popular Culture’. We watched and the discussed the film Vera Drake, with introduction and talk from Dr Samantha Halliday.

The cinematic power of Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake (2004) lies in its commitment to "kitchen sink realism". Rather than treating abortion as a remote legal abstraction, Leigh grounds the narrative in the mundane details of 1950s working-class London. Muted greys, cramped interiors, and lingering domestic shots depict illegality as embedded within ordinary life. Vera Drake offers a compelling reflection on the disjunction between abortion law and the lived experiences of women subject to it.

Continued: https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/ethics-law-life-sciences/about-us/blogs/cells-blog/law-class-and-compassion-vera-drake-and-the-lived-reality-of-illegal-abortion/

13.02.2026

Blog

Film, Art, Books

Abortion Act 1967

Crime and Policing bill

Abortion Rights in Canada are Under Attack

Forced-birth groups are testing their strategy

Dr. Jen Gunter
Nov 28, 2025

My friends in Canada, and anyone else who cares about human rights and not descending into fascism, The National Post sounded a right-wing dog whistle about abortion, and you need to pay attention. We have lived this in the United States, and trust me when I tell you, this is how it starts.

The cause for alarm? The National Post, a right-wing national rag, ran a piece featuring an undercover forced birther allegedly visiting four clinics, claiming she was 22 weeks pregnant and trying to arrange an abortion. The videos were highly edited and apparently filmed two years ago, when the person who made them claimed to have been pregnant. I make no excuses for not taking the word of someone who shoots clandestine videos about abortion. When someone publicly admits to misleading multiple people, their word is meaningless.

Continued: https://vajenda.substack.com/p/abortion-rights-in-canada-are-under

Fostering a supportive and non-judgmental environment for women seeking abortion care

18 April 2024

Ivonne Diaz, Director of Division of SRHR, and Laura Gil, Chair of Committee on Safe Abortion

As part of FIGO’s ongoing commitment to advancing sexual and reproductive rights, the FIGO Committee on Safe Abortion would like to commend and highlight the exemplary work of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG), which has recently issued guidance for healthcare professionals on involving the police following abortion and pregnancy loss.

The guidance is designed to foster a supportive and non-judgmental environment for women seeking care related to abortion, pregnancy loss, or unattended delivery. These guidelines emphasise the importance of treating women with dignity, respect and compassion, regardless of their reproductive choices or circumstances.

Continued: https://www.figo.org/blog/fostering-supportive-and-non-judgmental-environment-women-seeking-abortion-care

18.04.2024

Blog

FIGO

FIGO Committee on Safe Abortion

International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics

Ivonne Diaz

La Mesa por la Vida y la Salud de las Mujeres

Kenya – Entrench safe motherhood

To uphold the fundamental human right to health, as enshrined in the Constitution, maternal health must remain a top government priority.

Thursday, August 03, 2023

By Tamia Nuna, Youth Advocate

In 2020, nearly 800 women died daily from pregnancy- and childbirth-related preventable causes, a maternal death every two minutes. While the global maternal mortality ration (MMR) dropped by 34 per cent from 2000 figures, that 95 per cent of cases were in low- and lower-middle-income countries is a concern. Kenya had a high MMR, of 530 deaths per 100,000 live births, above the global average of 223, thus the urgent need for action.

Continued: https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/blogs/entrench-safe-motherhood-4324120

03.08.2023

maternal mortality ratio

MMR

Sustainable Development Goal 3

Japan – A big but awkward step forward

2023-05-30
Kumi Tsukahara, Hatena Blog

In Japan, the Mefeego Pack, a combi-product of one Mifepristone and four Misoprostol tablets, was launched on May 16, 2023, and the Japan Women's Foundation's Dr. Miho Uchida's clinic began offering "oral abortion pills" for the first time in Japan on Thursday, May 25, 2023.

As far as we could confirm on May 27, 11 hospitals or clinics joined the providers listed on the website of the manufacturer Linepharma K.K. as institutions that can handle this drug, however on Monday morning, all the other clinics that followed the lead of Dr. Uchida's Fides Ladies Clinic disappeared from the list.

Continued: https://okumi.hatenadiary.com/

Renewed hope for sexual and reproductive health and rights in East Africa

Time is up for policy makers to stop putting the health and lives of women and girls at risk based on implicit biases and subjective opinions

by ESTHER AOKO, Star Blogs
24 June 2022

As sexual and reproductive health and rights continue to be sidelined the world over, detrimental health outcomes like alarming rates of teenage pregnancies and unsafe abortions continue to be reported in Kenya.

The Ministry of Health recently reported over 45,700 cases of teenage pregnancies in January and February of this year alone. Additionally, over 26,000 women and girls in Kenya die every year from unsafe abortion.

Continued: https://www.the-star.co.ke/opinion/star-blogs/2022-06-24-renewed-hope-for-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-in-east-africa/

24.06.2022

Blog

Featured

comprehensive sexuality education

Esther Aoko

maternal deaths

sexual and reproductive health and rights

Kenya – Unsafe abortion is violence against women

Every year almost half of all pregnancies about 121 million are unintended

MWANGI ALVIN
6 December 2021

Globally, an estimated 736 million women—almost one in three—have been subjected to intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence or both at least once in their lives.

The rates of depression, anxiety disorders, unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and HIV are higher in women who have experienced violence compared to women who have not.

Continued: https://www.the-star.co.ke/opinion/star-blogs/2021-12-06-mwangi-alvin-unsafe-abortion-is-violence-against-women/

06.12.2021

Blog

Featured

gender-based violence

Kenya – Comprehensive Sexuality Education Is Vital To All!

MAY 26, 2021
By Alvin Mwangi, Ghetto Radio

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a lot of adolescents and young people remain and stay in homes. It is saddening that everyday we hear of injustices that adolescents and young people in all our diversities are going through in Kenya.

Access and enjoyment to the highest standard of health care is important to all adolescents and young people including the “left behind”, LGBTQ+, persons with disabilities, persons who inject drugs, young people from marginalized areas.

Continued: https://ghettoradio.co.ke/comprehensive-sexuality-education-is-vital-to-all/

26.05.2021

Blog

Featured

Alvin Mwangi

comprehensive sexuality education

Covid-19 and contraception

Canada – My body, my business — abortion is a personal choice and right

Kathryn McIntee
March 17, 2021
Viewpoint: Reproductive Justice (Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada)

In August 2020, I was away up North when I suspected that I was pregnant again. My period was not late, but I experienced all the symptoms I felt in the past. I was alone when I took the pregnancy test that confirmed it. My partner was also in the North but in a place far more remote without any cell service. It was difficult not being able to share the unexpected news with him, but I knew I would see him in a week.

When I returned to the city, I decided to see a doctor to confirm the pregnancy and to request a referral for an ultrasound. I have been pregnant several times in the past, but many pregnancies ended due to an anembryonic pregnancy (also called a blighted ovum -- this occurs when an early embryo never develops or it stops developing; it is resorbed and leaves an empty gestational sac). An anembryonic pregnancy does not always result in a miscarriage, and so I have experienced both surgical and medical abortions to dispel the "products of conception that are contained in the uterus." I have also made a choice to end a pregnancy for personal reasons.

https://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/viewpoint-reproductive-justice/2021/03/my-body-my-business-abortion-personal-choice

17.03.2021

Blog

Featured

Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada

women's abortion stories

Global – The Year of MAGA: Making Abortions Great Again.

By Dr Suchitra Dalvie
January 8, 2021

Ok…… so now that we have your attention :) we wanted to take this opportunity to remind all of us working on safe abortion rights advocacy that Change is Possible, Change is Inevitable and Change did Happen!

Despite the terrible year that was 2020, some incredible breakthroughs took place in our world and we wanted to start the New Year by celebrating those wins--- by taking a moment to breathe and recharge ourselves and by renewing our commitment to this issue.

Continued: https://www.asapblog-prochoicediscussions.com/post/the-year-of-maga-making-abortions-great-again-by-dr-suchitra-dalvie

08.01.2021