By Léa Marchal, Brussels
13 March 2026
Podcast – 6 minutes, with transcript
In Spain, abortion is back in the political and legal spotlight.
A court ruling has just ordered the city of Madrid to create a registry of conscientious objectors. These are doctors in the region who refuse to perform abortion procedures.
A court ruling has just ordered the city of Madrid to create a registry of conscientious objectors. These are doctors in the region who refuse to perform abortion procedures.
Amnesty International
By Cécile Yougbare, SRHR activist with Médecins du Monde, Kinga Jelińska, activist from Poland and Erin Grant, Abortion Care Network Co-Executive Director
10 March 2026
Across the world, governments and other actors are rolling back on decades of progress on gender equality, including access to abortion. But people are fighting back, determined to protect the rights so many have fought so hard to achieve.
As the Commission on the Status of Women holds its 70th session, three courageous human rights defenders from Burkina Faso, Poland and the United States share their strategies to protect access to abortion, their hopes for the future and the reasons why they believe that, despite the many increasing challenges, humanity must always win.
By Selma Hajri, doctor and human rights defender from Tunisia.
5 March 2026
Amnesty International
Ahead of International Women’s Day, we spoke with five courageous activists from Tunisia, Mexico, Burkina Faso, Poland and the United States who shared their strategies to protect access to abortion, their hopes for the future and the reasons why they believe that, despite the many increasing challenges, humanity must always win.
My name is Selma Hajri, I’m 71 and I am Tunisian. I am a doctor and a feminist. About fifteen years ago, I was the founder of an association dedicated to sexual and reproductive rights: the TAWHIDA Ben Cheikh Group. I am an endocrinologist specialising in reproductive health, and I am still the General Secretary of this association.
A few years ago, I created a regional network of activists and health professionals for abortion rights and access. This network focuses on the southern Mediterranean region, but with a view to exchange experiences with the northern mediterranean region more. I am very proud because it is the first and only network in this region that directly addresses abortion rights.
Continued: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2026/03/my-message-is-keep-going-theres-no-other-way/
Professor Amy Adamczyk discusses why where you live can change how you see abortion on “The Thought Project” podcast.
February 26, 2026
Podcast: 46 minutes
Abortion attitudes can look deeply personal, but sociologist Amy Adamczyk’s research suggests they are also powerfully shaped by the places we live.
On this episode of The Thought Project, host Tanya Domi speaks with Adamczyk, a professor of Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center and John Jay College, about her award-winning book Fetal Positions: Understanding the Cross-National Public Opinion About Abortion. Drawing on survey data from over 200,000 people across 88 societies, plus interviews in the United States and China, Adamczyk unpacks why views about abortion vary so widely and why national context, especially religiosity and gender equality, can influence people’s attitudes even when their personal beliefs do not. She also discusses what is shifting in the U.S. after Dobbs, how China’s one-child policy still echoes in public opinion, and what her findings suggest about access, agency, and the future of reproductive rights.
Continued: https://www.gc.cuny.edu/news/what-shapes-abortion-attitudes-around-world
By Léa Marchal
2 February 2026
Podcast – 5:26 mins with transcript
Abortion bans pushed Polish women to seek risky or costly alternatives. Now the EU faces a showdown: can a new solidarity fund guarantee safe access across borders, or will politics block women’s rights again?
EUobserver is proud to have an editorial partnership with Europod to co-publish the podcast series “Long Story Short” hosted by Léa Marchal. The podcast is available on all major platforms.
“There’s an earthquake. There’s somebody who’s been raped. You need to help the people, not check their credentials on the global gag.”
2 February 2026
Irwin Loy
Chaos, confusion, and more ethical dilemmas: Humanitarians are still trying to understand the impacts of a sweeping expansion to the so-called “global gag rule” on US funding.
The Trump administration expanded the on-again, off-again anti-abortion care directive known as the Mexico City policy to include nearly all foreign assistance, including humanitarian funding sent through UN agencies and international and local aid groups. The rules – announced on 23 January and published last week – also slap vague bans on programmes related to diversity and equity, and gender identity.
January 28, 2026
Adeola Ojo
Dupe Awosemusi is a woman with many hats and a record that speaks of commitment, passion and hardwork. She is an astute legal practitioner, a social worker and the pioneer Coordinator of Oyo State Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Team, domiciled in ministry of Justice, Oyo State; former Chairperson of FIDA, Oyo State and currently a Director in Ministry of Justice. In this interview with ADEOLA OJO, she speaks on restrictive abortion laws, high morbidity and mortality rate in Nigeria and reproductive health laws among others.
There seems to be an alarming rate of morbidity and mortality from unsafe termination of pregnancies in Nigeria, is this right?
Yes — there is indeed an alarmingly high rate of both morbidity (health complications) and mortality (death) from unsafe termination of pregnancies in Nigeria, and it remains a serious public health concern.
by Evi Kiorri, Brussels
December 22, 2025
Podcast – 20:30 minutes
Abortion remains illegal in Malta and highly restricted in Poland, despite ongoing pressure from European institutions to uphold reproductive rights.
In this episode of Europe Talks Back, we examine the historical and current influence of religious institutions on abortion policy across Europe, and the political forces maintaining these restrictions.
We are joined by Neil Datta, executive director and founder of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, and Magdalena Chrzczonowicz, editor-in-chief of OKO.press and contributor to the cross-border investigation Exporting Abortion, who share insights on how restrictive laws impact women and how cross-border initiatives are working to protect access to safe abortion care.
Continued; https://euobserver.com/health-and-society/ar23b6aa4a
Dano Nissen
December 15, 2025
Dolores Fonzi spoke with the Knockturnal about her film “Belén.” The film follows the true story of its titular character, a young Argentine woman who miscarries a pregnancy and is charged with an illegal abortion. Fonzi plays Soledad Deza, the lawyer who represents Belén. She also directed the film.
I want to start with the very first scene. It’s very thrilling and fast-paced and has a very different tone from the rest of the film. So tell me, as a director, because that’s one of the few scenes you’re not in, right? What was it like creating that feeling at the beginning of the film?
Continued: https://theknockturnal.com/dolores-fonzi-on-argentine-abortion-rights-film-belen/amp/
“Women on Web stays open no matter what,” says Women on Web, a feminist nonprofit that connect abortion seekers with abortion pills. “Abortion is part of our lives and should be freely available to all.”
11/17/2025
by Carrie N. Baker, Ms. Magazine
As Republicans push the FDA to restrict mifepristone, the international online abortion service Women on Web is reassuring Americans that they will continue to support access to abortion pills in all 50 states, no matter what. Women on Web has served over 130,000 people worldwide since 2005 and began serving the U.S. in July 2024.
Based in Canada, Women on Web is a nonprofit organization that has team members located across 20 different countries who connect abortion seekers with prescriptions for abortion pills and to pharmacies that will mail mifepristone and misoprostol to people up to 14 weeks of pregnancy.
Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2025/11/17/abortion-pills-usa-women-on-web-fda-trump-rfk/
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