Jordan’s Abortion Conundrum

The country’s strict laws leave women with impossible choices and facing financial struggles, stigma and dangerous procedures

Meghan Davidson Ladly
November 29, 2024

Amal watches her children play on the living room floor of her house on a quiet street in a suburb of Jordan’s capital. As dusk settles over the sloping hills of Amman, she sinks into a sofa and lights a cigarette, adjusting her hijab.

“It is illegal, but you can’t know how I feel,” she says. “I couldn’t think of anything except getting rid of this pregnancy. Even my kids — I couldn’t think of them. And I knew I had to make a decision.”

Continued: https://newlinesmag.com/spotlight/jordan-abortion-conundrum/


How Israel’s War in Gaza Ripped a Major Abortion Fund Apart

A nonprofit took a stand on Palestine. A senior employee resigned and published her account. Then the backlash started.

By Christina Cauterucci
Oct 14, 2024

It all started with an Instagram post. On a Monday in October 2023, Jade Hurley was looking for a way to acknowledge Indigenous Peoples Day, an alternative to Columbus Day celebrated by those who don’t consider the colonization of the Americas an occasion worth celebrating. As the communications manager at the D.C. Abortion Fund, Hurley was tasked with posting to the organization’s Instagram account, which has a modest audience of about 7,000 followers.

In DCAF’s Instagram Stories, which disappear after 24 hours, Hurley reposted another organization’s graphic, which asserted that the Indigenous peoples of Guam, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Palestine are entitled to reclaim the land that colonizers stole from them or their ancestors.

Continued: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/10/israel-gaza-palestine-abortion-fund-dc-tablet.html


Democrats Shouldn’t Isolate Abortion Access

Democratic leaders appear set on siloing abortion access from other critical issues—including the genocide in Gaza. That’s a mistake.

Anne Rumberger
August 19, 2024

About a thousand activists with the group Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws marched through downtown Chicago on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, chanting slogans like ​“One, two, three, four, fund abortions not war! Five, six, seven, eight, Israel is an apartheid state!”

Organizers designed the march, in part, to underscore to Democratic leaders — especially Vice President Kamala Harris — that they would do well to note the level of popular support for three key issues the party seems to have largely atomized: abortion access, queer rights and an end to the genocide in Gaza.

Continued: https://inthesetimes.com/article/democrats-abortion-gaza-genocide-queer-dnc


Iran steps up war on abortion with anti-abortion centers in 250 cities

July 29, 2024

Iran has established anti-abortion centers in 250 cities, preventing 4,700 abortions, according to a Health Ministry official.

In an interview with the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) on Saturday, Saber Jabbari-Farouji, head of Iran’s Health Ministry's Population Youth Department, disclosed that the centers are part of the "Nafas" intervention group.

The group operates in locations frequently visited by pregnant women contemplating abortion and collaborates with the likes of pregnancy diagnosis labs, gynecologists' offices, midwives, general practitioners, and the national health network, including hospitals, to deter a woman considering an abortion.

Continued: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202407278721


Turkey – Diyarbakır hospitals impose de facto ban on abortion

Public and private hospitals in Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakır refuse to carry out abortion operations, arguing it is “forbidden.” Abortion on demand has been legal until the 10th week of pregnancy since 1983 in Turkey.

Sunday July 14 2024

Public and private hospitals in Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakır province refuse to carry out abortion operations on demand, despite being legal.

In Turkey, abortion has been legal under Articles 5 and 6 of the Law on Population Planning since May 27, 1983, and is subject to the consent of the pregnant until the 10th week of pregnancy. Although the right to abortion on demand is guaranteed by law, in practice women may face various obstacles in the country.

Continued: https://www.duvarenglish.com/diyarbakir-hospitals-impose-de-facto-ban-on-abortion-news-64662


UAE to permit abortions in rape and incest cases in landmark legal reform

Experts say move is a progressive step that will protect women's health

Shireena Al Nowais
Jun 19, 2024

The UAE is to permit women to undergo abortions in cases where the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest. The decision marks a key milestone in the UAE's evolving abortion laws, with experts saying it will serve to bolster the health and safety of women living in the Emirates.

The Cabinet Resolution No. (44) of 2024 related to the Medical Liability law states that abortion is allowed "if the pregnancy is the result of intercoCrimes and Penalties Lawurse with a female against her will, without her consent, or without adequate volition" and "if the person who caused the pregnancy is an ancestor of the woman or one of her mahram [ineligible for marriage] relatives".

Continued: https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2024/06/20/uae-to-permit-abortions-in-rape-and-incest-cases-in-landmark-legal-reform/


UAE Clarifies Abortion Rules, Procedures

New regulation calls for the establishment of committees to evaluate abortion requests on a case-by-case basis
OMNIA AL DESOUKIE
06/17/2024

The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Health and Prevention announced new regulations on abortion last week, clarifying the cases in which a woman is allowed to terminate her pregnancy.

The new regulation allows women to request an abortion during the first 120 days of pregnancy. A committee will then examine the request, and if the committee finds a medical case for the abortion, the woman will be allowed to undergo an abortion. According to regulation, abortions will be performed only by specialist obstetrician-gynecologists in licensed healthcare facilities.

Continued: https://themedialine.org/by-region/uae-clarifies-abortion-rules-procedures/


UAE ministry announces abortion regulations

All cases of abortion should be performed in an authorised facility by a licensed physician

by Angel Tesorero
Sat 8 Jun 2024

The UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention (Mohap) on Saturday announced the procedures and controls for cases where abortion is permitted, aimed at “preserving the pregnant woman’s life, ensuring her safety, and enhancing oversight of healthcare facilities in the country".

Abortion is permitted "under clear conditions and controls", Mohap said, adding that a committee shall be established in each health authority to thoroughly examine abortion requests.

Continued: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/lifestyle/health/uae-ministry-announces-abortion-regulations


Turkish top court rules rights violated in delayed abortion case

Turkey’s top appeals court found a rights violation in the case of the woman whose abortion request was delayed past the 20-week legal limit by a prolonged legal process.

Friday June 07 2024
Duvar English

Turkey’s Constitutional Court (AYM) on June 6 accepted the application of A.J., who was sexually assaulted in 2019 and unable to terminate her pregnancy due to prolonged legal processes, and ruled that her rights had been violated.

The decision was published in yesterday's issue of the Official Gazette. The AYM's ruling highlighted that the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Turkey’s southeastern Urfa province failed to consider the 20-week legal limit for abortion. The court emphasized that future cases should take this limit into account.

Continued: https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkish-top-court-rules-rights-violated-in-delayed-abortion-case-news-64476#google_vignette


Iran – Raisi Administration Criticized for Inconsistent Abortion Policies

May 18, 2024
Iran International Newsroom/

President Ebrahim Raisi's recent remarks describing Iran's abortion statistics as "alarming," have sparked accusations of hypocrisy.

Critics argue that his administration, despite heavy investment, has failed to provide accurate data on abortion rates, contradicting his public stance.

Continued: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202405187222