ABC Sunshine Coast / By Edwina Storie
May 31, 2021
Jo Bolger is Australia's first abortion doula — a grandma, a mother of three, and one of those people who brims with warmth.
An abortion doula provides non-medical support, whether it be emotional, physical or informational, through a termination of pregnancy.
Continued: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-01/meet-australia-s-first-abortion-doula/100153212
Media release from the University of Otago
Thursday 13 May 2021
A person’s stance on abortion is linked to their, often inaccurate, belief about when a fetus can feel pain, a University of Otago study has found.
Lead author Emma Harcourt, PhD candidate in Otago’s Centre for Science Communication, says misinformation about abortion and pregnancy is common and potentially harmful.
Continued: https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/abortion-opposition-related-beliefs-about-fetal-pain-perception
Wednesday, 12 May 2021
Press Release: New Zealand Law Society
The New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa has told a parliamentary select committee that the definition of "prohibited behaviour" in proposed ‘safe areas’ for abortion facilities is inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and needs to be reconsidered.
The Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill proposes amending the 1977 Act to provide for regulations to set up safe areas around specific abortion facilities on a case-by-case basis.
MAY 11, 2021
The Government has announced investments of $353.9 million over the next 4 years for women’s health as part of the 2021-22 Budget. It is not yet clear if, how and where this investment will fund equity and access in abortion care.
This investment is linked to the five priority areas of the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020–2030 and the improvement of long term health outcomes for women and girls. Priority area 1 is maternal, sexual and reproductive health.
Continued: https://www.mariestopes.org.au/your-choices/federal-budget-abortion/
Media release from the University of Otago
Friday 30 April 2021
Aotearoa achieved a major milestone in sexual and reproductive health and rights with the decriminalisation of abortion, but a University of Otago academic argues abortion care is still not being provided within the full extent of the law.
Emma Macfarlane, a Lecturer in the Department of Women's and Children's Health, believes little has changed in the way abortion services are organised in the year since the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 came in. She also argues we are yet to realise the full extent of abortion care within a decriminalised environment.
BY MARIA DOLOJAN, Teen Vogue
MARCH 17, 2021
In 2019, when news broke that a 12 year-old girl in my island community on Guam was raped and impregnated, reality set in for me and many women and girls. It was the first time some of us realized that we did not have any abortion providers in Guam, and it would take extraordinary measures for someone from our island to get an abortion. She would have to fly thousands of miles to Hawai‘i — and because she likely comes from a poor family who does not have the financial means to pursue abortion services elsewhere, she would not able to end the pregnancy.
It was a wakeup call.
Continued: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/there-are-no-abortion-providers-in-guam
Monday, 15 March 2021
Press Release: New Zealand Government
Much-needed transformation of abortion services is a step closer, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall said.
In March last year, a new law was passed which decriminalised abortion and treats it as a health issue. Previously, the Ministry of Justice oversaw the administration of abortion services rather than the Ministry of Health.
Continued: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2103/S00098/improving-access-to-abortion-services.htm
It’s been impossible to get an abortion on the island since 2018, and the closest legal clinic is in Hawaiʻi
Michelle Broder Van Dyke in Honolulu
Wed 10 Mar 2021
Guam has taken a significant step toward restoring abortion access, after the ACLU scored a victory in a lawsuit that seeks to ensure residents of the US territory can turn to remote healthcare providers for abortion medication.
Getting an abortion on Guam has been impossible since 2018, when the last abortion doctor retired and moved off the island. Before then, at least 200 abortions occurred on Guam every year. Today, accessing the closest legal abortion clinic requires a flight to Hawaiʻi, an expensive and difficult undertaking especially during a pandemic.
Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/10/guam-abortion-access-aclu-lawsuit
8 March 2021
A new requirement in the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 requires a practitioner who objects to abortion to refer the patient to a doctor who can help them.
The Health Professionals' Alliance is fighting for a declaration that the new law interferes with the Bill of Rights Act.
Continued: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/437917/health-practioners-sue-crown-over-abortion-legislation
Terry Bellamak | Guest writer
March 8, 2021
This week, a bill that would ensure pregnant people seeking abortion don’t have to be confronted by angry mobs outside of clinics is expected to have its first reading. Terry Bellamak explains why safe areas are so crucial for vulnerable patients.
Last March, New Zealand legalised abortion. The new law changed many things for the better – no more seeking approval of certifying consultants, no more having to lie to come within the grounds in the Crimes Act. But due to a procedural misstep, safe areas did not make it into the final version. MPs asked too late for a roll call vote. To be fair, it was late at night.
Continued: https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/08-03-2021/why-we-need-safe-areas-outside-abortion-clinics/
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