Russia’s Stalin-admiring provincial leader waging an ultra-conservative crusade

An ex-kickboxer preaching Orthodox traditions who has effectively banned abortion and declared war on alcohol: ultra-conservative governor Georgy Filimonov is the face of Vladimir Putin's rule in Russia's Vologda region.

14/09/2026

Vologda (Russia) (AFP) – Accused of authoritarianism and trampling women's rights, Filimonov will represent the ruling United Russia party in this month's tightly-controlled parliamentary elections.

Some 450 kilometres (280 miles) north-west of Moscow, the 46-year-old nationalistic regional leader has built up a reputation for his outspoken views and made national headlines.

In the historic city of Vologda, 31-year-old worker Artyom told AFP a joke was circulating in the neighbouring Yaroslavl region: "When people from Vologda come to us, it's for alcohol, petrol or to get an abortion."

Continued: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260914-russia-s-stalin-admiring-provincial-leader-waging-an-ultra-conservative-crusade

14.09.2026

Emergency Contraceptive Stockpile Fund

Zimbabwe abortion law leaves girls caught between rights and reality

By: Mary Taruvinga
12th September 2026

A 16-year-old girl who secretly terminated a pregnancy 15 years ago after her boyfriend refused to take responsibility says the experience continues to haunt her, highlighting the dangers faced by girls who struggle to access safe reproductive healthcare.

The woman, identified as Chipo to protect her identity, said she feared being judged and dropping out of school. After trying several methods, she eventually used a stick from an Indigenous tree to terminate the pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.newzimbabwe.com/zimbabwe-abortion-law-leaves-girls-caught-between-rights-and-reality/

12.09.2026

Health Services Amendment Act

USA – The Accelerating Project to Extend Abortion Bans to All 50 States

In a legal challenge to abortion access at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Department of Justice and Louisiana are on opposite sides. But they want the same thing.

Melissa Gira Grant
September 11, 2026

For the anti-abortion movement, overturning Roe v. Wade was never meant to be the end of the road. As destructive as the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was—it reversed Roe and permitted states to ban abortion—it did not eliminate abortion. In fact, since the decision, more people have had abortions, thanks to the widespread availability of medication abortion dispensed remotely. “The fight for life is far from over,” proclaimed the state of Louisiana in the opening line of its latest legal challenge to abortion access, which the state argued before a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Wednesday. For Louisiana, it is not enough to have banned abortion within its borders; it wants to extend that prohibition to reach those outside the state. Now it’s claiming that outside forces have undermined the state’s sovereignty—simply by making it possible for Louisianans to continue to access abortion.

Continued; https://newrepublic.com/article/215327/accelerating-project-extend-abortion-bans-50-states

Emma Bonino, Italian politician who fought for abortion access, dies aged 78

Sep 11, 2026
By Crispian Balmer

ROME (Reuters) – Emma Bonino’s life in politics began with a crime. In 1974, at a time when abortion was illegal in Italy, she travelled to a clandestine clinic in Florence to terminate an unplanned pregnancy.

“Coming back by train at night, I decided that never, never, never again should anyone have to suffer this humiliation,” she later recalled. A year later, determined to drag abortion out of the shadows, she handed herself in to the police, turning her private “offence” into a public ‌act of defiance.

The arrest made headlines, fueling a campaign that eventually led to the legalisation of abortion in 1978. It also launched Bonino into parliament with the Radical Party, a small but relentless force for civil rights.

Continued: https://whtc.com/2026/09/11/emma-bonino-italian-politician-who-fought-for-abortion-access-dies-aged-78/

11.09.2026

arresting women for abortion

Nigeria – When Pregnancy Becomes A Burden: WARDC Demands Action On Unsafe Abortion

Appolonia Adeyemi
September 10, 2026

For some young women and girls, an unintended pregnancy can quickly become a crisis—not because pregnancy itself is life-threatening, but because the fear of stigma, poverty, interrupted education, family rejection and lack of support can make them desperate for a way out. That desperation, reproductive health advocates say, is contributing to preventable deaths from unsafe termination of pregnancy.

At a memorial and advocacy meeting on the prevention of maternal deaths from unsafe maternal health practices in Lagos, the founding Director of the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, has urged governments to establish practical support systems that would make childbearing less burdensome and enable women and girls to make informed decisions without being pushed into unsafe practices.

Continued; https://newtelegraphng.com/when-pregnancy-becomes-a-burden-wardc-demands-action-on-unsafe-abortion/

10.09.2026

Adaora Ekekwe

Appolonia Adeyemi

Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi

Dr Olabisi Olanrewaju

Hakeem Olalekan Dauda

Mobolaji Ogunlende

Olaniyan Suliat Anike

Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Nigeria

Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre

Center Appeals to Kenyan Supreme Court in Defense of Constitutional Abortion Rights

In April 2026, the Court of Appeal in Kenya overturned a 2022 High Court ruling that affirmed constitutional abortion rights. The Center has taken the case to the Supreme Court on behalf of two Kenyans facing abortion-related criminal charges.

September 3, 2026
Center for Reproductive Rights

The Center has appealed to the Kenyan Supreme Court in a long-running case with the potential to reshape reproductive rights across the country. At its core is the question of abortion care—whether those who seek and provide such care are constitutionally protected against criminal charges.

The case, which revolves around a pregnant minor and a clinician who treated her during a medical emergency, has been making its way through the Kenyan legal system for the past six years. In 2022, the High Court delivered a landmark victory that affirmed widespread constitutional protections for abortion rights. Then, in April 2026, an appeals court overturned that ruling, threatening reproductive healthcare across the country. The Center has asked the Supreme Court to reverse the appeal court’s judgment.

Continued: https://reproductiverights.org/news/center-appeal-kenyan-supreme-court/

03.09.2026

Center for Reproductive Rights

Kenya Christian Professionals Forum

Kenyan Penal Code

Kenyan Supreme Court

Malindi Petition No. E009 of 2020

Anti-rights Charter Faces ‘Very Long Process’ to Reach African Union

Sept 2, 2026
Kerry Cullinan

A draft charter on “family, sovereignty and values”, which would significantly undermine the rights of African women and girls, is not likely to be presented to the African Union (AU) General Assembly next February – despite a push from its conservative sponsors.

“That draft instrument has not got to the AU yet, and it is important to state categorically that it was not proposed by the African Union,” said ⁠Dr Robert Eno, Registrar of the AU’s African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Continued: https://healthpolicy-watch.news/anti-rights-charter-faces-very-long-process-to-reach-african-union/

02.09.2026

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights

African Union General Assembly

Dr Robert Eno

Fatou Bintou Sallah

Girls Not Brides

Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa

Sexual Health with Equity & Rights

SHE & Rights

⁠Vimbai Kapurura

Private clinics in 11 Russian regions performed no abortions in 2025

31 Аug 2026

Private clinics in Kabardino-Balkaria, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Kalmykia, North Ossetia, Tuva, Chukotka, Dagestan, Karelia, and Magadan, Tver, and Kurgan oblasts performed no abortions in 2025, according to the To Be Precise project, citing Rosstat data.

At the same time, the share of abortions performed in private clinics doubled over seven years, from 19% of all abortions in 2018 to 38.6% in 2025. In 23 regions, private clinics account for more than half of all abortions.

Continued: https://semnasem.org/amp/news/2026/08/31/private-clinics-in-11-russian-regions-performed-no-abortions-in-2025

31.08.2026

Georgy Filimonov

private clinics in Russia

Russia

Russian Orthodox Church

To Be Precise project

LIECHTENSTEIN: ‘We have one of the strictest abortion bans in Europe’

By CIVICUS staff
27.Aug.2026

CIVICUS discusses struggles for abortion rights in Liechtenstein with Gabriella Alvarez-Hummel, a journalist and reproductive rights activist who works with Fristenlösung für Liechtenstein, an organisation that campaigns for the introduction of a legal time-limit abortion model.

Liechtenstein recently modernised its succession rules to allow female heirs to inherit the throne, a symbolic step forward in a country where women only won the right to vote in 1984. Women’s rights remain a live political battleground. Civil society continues to campaign for reform of one of Europe’s strictest abortion laws, but Prince-Regent Alois has the power to veto laws and has vowed to block any change. The clash pits a citizen-led campaign for women’s reproductive rights against monarchical power.

Continued: https://lens.civicus.org/interview/liechtenstein-we-have-one-of-the-strictest-abortion-bans-in-europe/

28.08.2026

N. Ireland – Protestors claim Belfast City Hall being used as ‘billboard for abortion’ ahead of council vote

Campaigners behind request to illuminate building for International Safe Abortion Day say ‘unsafe abortion remains a leading but preventable cause of maternal death’

By Allan Preston
August 24, 2026

A council vote on whether Belfast City Hall can be lit up in support of abortion rights is expected to take place next week. Making the request in Belfast for the first time, the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWC) want to illuminate the building in green on September 28 to mark International Safe Abortion Day.

At a council committee meeting last week it was endorsed by Green, Alliance, Sinn Féin and SDLP councillors with the DUP voting against.

Continued: https://archive.is/Xot8H
(https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/protestors-claim-belfast-city-hall-being-used-as-billboard-for-abortion-ahead-of-council-vote-RBBWL44R2JGY3NEEVTT56EPCI4/)

24.08.2026