DOMINICA – Abortion, the high court, and health service

Dominica News Online
Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Dear Editor:
The High Court heard the constitutional challenge to the abortion law on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. The court normally aims to make decisions within six months.

We have now had a gestation period of a full nine months. So, delivery is due. And the court’s term ends in a few days on July 31.

But there should be no rush for the court to make its decision, since the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Dominica-China Friendship Hospital, most professional health bodies have done nothing to prepare for what could be a disruptive outcome.

Continued: https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/letter-to-the-editor-abortion-the-high-court-and-health-service/

22.07.2026

Opinion

abortion law reform

Aspire

ASPIRE Center for Sexual and Reproductive Health

Dominica Nurses’ Association

Eight Years After Repeal, Irish Women Are Still Waiting for Change

Lily van den Bergh
June 29, 2026

The recent passage of Sinn Féin’s bill abolishing Ireland’s mandatory three-day abortion waiting period has been celebrated as a significant step forward for reproductive rights. However, its success also brings to light the uncomfortable truth that while Ireland may present itself as a modern nation, its treatment of women’s reproductive rights remains rooted in its legacy of conservatism. Only weeks earlier, the Reproductive Rights (Amendment) Bill, championed by Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns, was defeated in the Dáil despite proposing far broader reforms to Ireland’s abortion legislation. While Sinn Féin’s bill addresses the patronising three-day waiting period, the Social Democrats’ proposal sought to build upon legislation introduced during the Repeal The Eighth movement in 2018 by also addressing the criminalisation of healthcare professionals and other barriers to abortion access. Though the removal of the waiting period should be welcomed, we must ask ourselves why, eight years after one of the largest feminist movements in Irish history, women’s political priorities are still struggling to translate into legislative change.

Continued: https://universitytimes.ie/2026/06/eight-years-after-repeal-irish-women-are-still-waiting-for-change/

Australia – Saving women? Spare me. This is hatred of women at its heart

June 22, 2026
by Ebony Bennett

The far right often cloaks itself as a movement to save women and girls, while doing the exact opposite.

So, it’s no surprise that as the far right seeks to stoke hatred against immigrants and the queer community, Australia is also experiencing co-ordinated efforts across three states to wind back women’s access to abortion.

The far right is a place of differing grievances and conspiracies, including neo-Nazis and incels but there’s plenty of evidence to suggest a hatred of women sits at the centre of their toxic overlapping interests. “Misogyny isn’t just a side issue: it connects everyday violence with radicalisation.”

Continued: https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/saving-women-spare-me-this-is-hatred-of-women-at-its-heart/

22.06.2026

Ireland – Women cannot wait any longer for abortion care reform

Government must implement abortion review recommendations now
Ivana Bacik TD
17 June 2026

Labour Leader Ivana Bacik TD has called on Government to urgently implement all recommendations of the O’Shea Review into abortion services and set out a clear timeline for reforming Ireland’s abortion laws. Speaking during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil today, Deputy Bacik said that while the Taoiseach’s support for removing the mandatory three-day waiting period was welcome, much broader reform is needed to ensure women can access healthcare in Ireland without unnecessary obstacles or having to travel abroad.

Deputy Bacik said: “Women across Ireland are still being failed by a healthcare system that continues to place unnecessary barriers between them and the care they need. Despite the historic repeal of the Eighth Amendment in 2018, at least 1,500 women have travelled abroad for abortion care since then. For those women, the promise of accessible reproductive healthcare has not yet been fulfilled.

Continued: https://labour.ie/news/2026/06/17/women-cannot-wait-any-longer-for-abortion-care-reform/

17.06.2026

Opinion

3-day waiting requirement

fatal foetal abnormality

Ivana Bacik

O'Shea Review of abortion services

Australia – Fear and ignorance should not drive abortion debate

By Aslan Shand
June 12, 2026

I did not think I would need to defend the right to safe abortions again. Abortion is no longer a criminal offence in Australia. There are well-reasoned and effective legal structures around abortions based on healthcare and women’s choice. It is broadly accepted that if you’re pregnant, it’s your decision to have children, or not.

But it appears that is not the case with extremists now proposing a range of ways to reduce women’s choices regarding their lives and reproduction. The overturning of Roe v Wade in the US has continued to embolden anti-abortion activists who are attempting to reduce women’s choices by introducing legislation in several Australian states that lacks factual basis and curtails women’s rights to make their own decisions.

Continued: https://www.echo.net.au/2026/06/fear-and-ignorance-should-not-drive-abortion-debate/

12.06.2026

Would Aborting Pregnancy After Down Syndrome Diagnosis Spark Outrage In East Asia?

Dr Alexis Heng Boon Chin
8 June 2026

Jesse Ridgway and his wife’s decision to abort their pregnancy after prenatal testing confirmed the foetus had Trisomy 21 triggered massive outrage in the US. But in East Asia, bringing a severely disabled child into the world may be seen as irresponsible.

The New Jersey-based content creator, known to his eight million subscribers as McJuggerNuggets, posted a heartfelt statement on Instagram Wednesday revealing that he and his wife Ashley had terminated their pregnancy after prenatal testing confirmed the fetus had Trisomy 21 — better known as Down syndrome.

Continued: https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2026/06/would-aborting-pregnancy-after-down-syndrome-diagnosis-spark-outrage-in-east-asia-dr-alexis-heng-boon-chin/

08.06.2026

Opinion

Down Syndrome

Dr Alexis Heng Boon Chin

Jesse Ridgway

Asia

United States

One Nation’s lurking attachment to the fringe anti-abortion movement sounds like the start of a horror movie

Australians who don’t want to find themselves victims should read the whole screenplay before accepting the part

Van Badham
Thu 4 Jun 2026

Australia’s right-wing populist One Nation party is enjoying a well-publicised poll bump, so it’s time to talk horror movies. We’ll employ our horror metaphor set before the monster has revealed itself, but as dark forces are growing more manipulative and insidious.

Not getting nearly enough play in the sensationalistic coverage around the conspicuously revived Pauline Hanson project is her party’s closeness to Australia’s fringe anti-abortion movement.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/04/one-nation-fringe-anti-abortion-movement-horror-ntwnfb

04.06.2026

Opinion

anti-choice extremism

Abortion trauma is a myth. Irish women don’t need laws to make them ‘reflect’ on their choices

More people regret knee surgery than abortion. So why is the patriarchy still scaring us with lifelong torment?

Roe McDermott, The Guardian
Tue 26 May 2026

Ireland’s parliament, the Dáil, voted down a reproductive rights amendment bill this month that would have abolished the country’s mandatory three-day waiting period for access to an abortion. Supporters of the unsuccessful reform bill, tabled by the Social Democrats, argued that the delay serves no medical purpose.

As the bill moved through political debate and media coverage, those defending the requirement to wait three days from the time of requesting an abortion before care can be accessed barely attempted to argue otherwise, instead structuring their opposition to reform around the idea that women cannot be trusted to know what they want. The waiting period, which is not required in most European countries, was repeatedly described as “a cooling off” period; time to “reflect”, “reconsider”, “rethink”. Supporters of the status quo spoke extensively of wanting to save women from feelings of regret.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/26/abortion-trauma-myth-irish-women-patriarchy

Ireland – My grandmother fought for reproductive rights over 50 years ago — why are we still fighting?

The three-day wait for an abortion in Ireland is medically unnecessary, patronising, and unjustified, writes Aisling McGee

Sun, 24 May, 2026
Aisling McGee

In my first week at university, I wrote that “laws are in a constant state of motion”. At the time, I believed Ireland was a utopian society; that our laws and legislation evolved alongside the people they governed.

Perhaps it was naivety, or even just hopeful optimism. After all, I grew up listening to stories about my grandmother May McGee and the battle she had to fight for her own autonomy.

Six years after I wrote those words, I no longer believe them.

Continued: https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41849346.html

Defending reproductive rights in Kenya

We must ensure that women and girls seeking abortion care within the law in this country are defended and protected, as guaranteed by the constitution.

Doris Kathia, People Daily ePaper
4 Apr 2026

Kenya stands at a critical crossroads in defining the scope of reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and access to healthcare under our Constitution. In recent years, reproductive health, including abortion and assisted reproductive technologies, has become increasingly politicised.

Organised anti-rights movements leverage highprofile events like the March for Life to frame the debate narrowly through moral and religious lenses, often ignoring the lived realities of women, girls, and families navigating complex health and socio-economic challenges.

Continued; https://www.pressreader.com/kenya/people-daily-epaper/20260404/281651081658359

04.04.2026