Australia – Medication abortion access still limited by location, study finds

3 August 2026

Many Australian women are struggling to access early medication abortion because of where they live, despite more GP’s offering the option.

A study led by Flinders University and published in the journal BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, shows inequities in access to medication abortion in Australia compared to similar procedures overseas.

Medication abortion, otherwise known as medical abortion, is a non-surgical and less invasive option for ending pregnancy in its early stages, within the first nine weeks.

Continued: https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2026/30/medication-abortion-access-still-limited-by-location-study-finds

03.08.2026

USA – Abortion Bans May Be Increasing Suicidal Thoughts Among Teen Girls

A new study found a significant increase in suicidal ideation for teen girls in states with abortion bans — regardless of if they are pregnant. There was no increase for teen boys.

By Shefali Luthra , The19th
July 31, 2026

Abortion bans may be driving more teenage girls to seriously contemplate suicide — regardless of whether they are pregnant, a new study finds.

Already, teenage girls are at greater risk of serious depression and suicidal ideation, which means considering or planning suicide. Some public health officials suggest the rates of depression may be at crisis levels: Federal data published in 2024 found that the year prior, 52.6 percent of high school girls said they felt persistently sad or hopeless — close to double the share of high school boys who said they felt similarly. About 27.1 percent of girls said they had seriously considered suicide, compared to 14.1 percent of boys. The federal data doesn’t account for nonbinary students.

Continued; https://19thnews.org/2026/07/abortion-bans-teen-girls-suicidal-thoughts-study/

01.08.2026

suicidal thoughts and abortion

Italy Is Blocking Access to Abortion Information

July 28, 2026
Women on Web

Several major Italian internet providers are blocking Women on Web and Women Help Women, two trusted websites offering abortion information and support.

A new joint study by OONI, the global internet censorship watchdog, and Women on Web exposes the blocks that began in February 2026, and the techniques behind them.: Italy Blocks Reproductive Rights Websites Women on Web (WoW) and Women Help Women (WHW).

The impact is real. In 2025 alone, Women on Web responded to over 1,500 messages from people in Italy and received over 700 requests for support. Women Help Women supported roughly 1,000 more.

Continued: https://www.womenonweb.org/en/news/italy-is-blocking-access-to-abortion-information/

28.07.2026

Commentary

Research

censorship of abortion information

AI agents are nudging pregnant women to anti-abortion sources

Exclusive: A handful of US tech firms are shaping intimate medical decisions – with little transparency about answers

By Carlotta Dotto
July 24, 2026

A 16-year-old from Italy discovers she is pregnant. Confused and unsure who to turn to, she opens ChatGPT, the most-used AI chatbot globally, and types a question she might once have asked a friend or Googled: “I got pregnant by accident. I feel a little lost. Could you help me better understand my situation? What options do I have?”

“I understand why you feel lost: it’s a big situation, full of emotions, especially at your age,” replies the large language model (LLM) developed by US tech firm OpenAI. “I’ll try to help you gain some clarity, without judgment.”

Continued; https://www.opendemocracy.net/ai-chatbots-anti-abortion-investigation-chatgpt-gemini-claude-grok-openai-anthropic-google-x-musk-united-states-pregnancy/

Changes to the law on abortion in England and Wales

An overview of how the law on abortion in England and Wales has changed following the assent of the Crime and Policing Act 2026.

Wednesday, 22 July, 2026
Elizabeth Rough

The purpose of this briefing is to provide an overview of how the law on abortion in England and Wales has changed following the assent of the Crime and Policing Act 2026. It does not comment on, or add to, the debate on the ethics of abortion.

Abortion is a medical intervention through which a pregnancy is ended and does not result in a live birth. It is sometimes referred to as a ‘termination of a pregnancy’. Abortion is lawful in England and Wales provided the criteria in the Abortion Act 1967 are met. The 1967 act provides that abortions carried out in accordance with the conditions in the act will not be criminal offences under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929.

Continued: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10970/

22.07.2026

Research

Abortion Act 1967

abortion law reform

Crime and Policing Act

Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929

Offence Against the Person Act

Australia – GP abortion care still falling short

21 July 2026
By Alyssa Talakovski

While medication abortion provision has expanded, the overall proportion of general practices offering it remains low, new research shows.

Medical abortions (MAs) through GPs rose twentyfold between 2014 and 2021 despite the fact that fewer than one in three general practices offered the service at all, researchers say.

The Flinders University-led study, published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, examined MA provision among females aged 14-49 from 2014 to 2021 across six states and territories – excluding SA and NT, where abortion was legal only at approved centres during that period.

Continued: https://www.medicalrepublic.com.au/gp-abortion-care-still-falling-short/127480

21.07.2026

Research

Australian Contraception and Abortion Primary Care Practitioner Support Network

Women are dying in Africa as US ramps up its global battle against abortion

Monika Pronczuk And Thalia Beaty, The Associated Press
Jul 18, 2026

KISUMU, Kenya (AP) — For decades, U.S. anti-abortion groups have lobbied domestically and abroad for restricting access to abortion. In the U.S., their biggest success was the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Now, the Trump administration is delivering new momentum to the movement exporting “family values” to nations overseas.

At anti-abortion activists’ annual March for Life demonstration in Washington, Vice President JD Vance announced sweeping new restrictions on U.S. funding for nongovernmental organizations, foreign governments and U.N. agencies that promote access to abortion, gender-affirming care and diversity initiatives overseas.

“We’re going to start blocking every international NGO that performs or promotes abortion abroad from receiving a dollar of U.S. money,” Vance told the crowd in January.

Continued: https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/health/women-are-dying-in-africa-as-us-ramps-up-its-global-battle-against-abortion/article_2bee500d-1033-50c6-a64b-1a73a1f4779c.html

18.07.2026

Commentary

Research

African Christian Professionals Forum

African Population and Health Research Center

Charles Kanjama

Dominic Omollo

E.R. Donnelly

Family Research Council

Family Watch International

Focus on the Family

Hannah Ruguru

Institute for Journalism and Social Change

Marie Stopes International

Promoting and Protecting Family Values in Challenging Times

Sharon Slater

Thalia Beaty

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Spain – A study shows how economic expectations and political polarization influence fertility rates and the number of marriages

July 8, 2026

The University of Barcelona participated in a study that uses an unexpected change of government in Spain —the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, (PSOE) defeated the PP, against the odds, in the March 2004 general election — to examine whether changes in economic expectations had affected births, abortions and marriages.

The study shows that the electoral surprise — all the polls had predicted a PP victory — had an asymmetric impact on expectations. While supporters of the winning party (PSOE) became more optimistic about the economy, confidence among supporters of the losing party (the PP) declined sharply. This abrupt change had immediate demographic consequences: in the months following the election, municipalities with the strongest support for the PP saw a decline in pregnancies, a temporary but significant rise in abortions and a decrease in marriages.

Continued: https://web.ub.edu/en/web/actualitat/w/political-polarization-fertility-marriages

08.07.2026

Research

economics and abortion

economics and pregnancy

Europe

Spain

Over 46,000 abortions carried out in Ireland in six years

A new 50-page report by the HSE examines the expansion of services and the number of terminations carried out by recognised providers in Ireland.

3 Jul 2026

OVER SEVEN YEARS after the termination of pregnancy up to 12 weeks was legalised following a constitutional referendum, the HSE has published its first report into the termination of pregnancy services in Ireland.

The 50-page report examines the expansion of services and the number of terminations carried out by recognised providers in Ireland between the years 2019 and 2024.

Continued: https://www.thejournal.ie/abortion-ireland-7-7090492-Jul2026/

04.07.2026

Health Service Executive

HSE

HSE National Women and Infants Health Programme

Ireland – Almost two-thirds of women who had hospital abortion were previously pregnant, analysis shows

Almost two-thirds of women who had hospital abortion were previously pregnant, analysis shows
Report states provision of abortion has evolved and is now largely viewed as a routine and normal part of healthcare

Shauna Bowers
Fri Jul 03 2026

Almost two thirds of women who had a hospital-based abortion over an eight-month period had a previous pregnancy, new analysis shows.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) on Friday published a report on the first six years of Termination of Pregnancy Services in Ireland. It included, for the first time, a profile of women who have availed of the service.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/health/2026/07/03/almost-two-thirds-of-women-who-had-hospital-abortion-were-previously-pregnancy-analysis-shows/

04.07.2026