‘You feel like a criminal’: How trans people are pushed further to the margins in anti-abortion Brazil

Dec 8, 2024

São Paulo, Brazil — In the summer of 2023, Matheus terminated his pregnancy at a friend’s house. 26-year-old Matheus, who identifies as nonbinary and uses he/she pronouns, said he, ​​made the decision because he felt unsafe with the person he had sex with, and the pregnancy triggered his gender dysphoria.

“I thought about how my body would be with the pregnancy, and it shakes me,” he told CNN, sitting at a park in the Brazilian city of São José dos Campos. “My breasts ​​would have milk, and my breasts are a part of my body​​, that really bothers me”. Despite the toll the pregnancy would have taken on Matheus’ mental health – whose real name has been changed to protect his identity – what he did is illegal.

Continued: https://www.bundle.app/en/breakingNews/'you-feel-like-a-criminal':-how-trans-people-are-pushed-further-to-the-margins-in-anti-abortion-braz-da92d3b1-953c-4e45-bc98-a3ebee9f794f


Brazilian abortion activist had to go abroad to end pregnancy

By Lais Morais
December 5, 2024

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - When Rebeca Mendes became pregnant, she fought for the right to have an abortion in Brazil. The Supreme Court denied her request to allow it in 2017, so she flew to Colombia to terminate her pregnancy.

Now she is an activist for the right to have safe and legal abortions in a country where they are only allowed in the case of rape, fetal deformation or the mother's life is in danger.

Continued: https://www.yahoo.com/news/brazilian-abortion-activist-had-abroad-130349895.html


Argentina’s Abortion Law Three Years Later

The country's abortion law has reduced fertility rates and preventable deaths among girls ages 10 to 14

By Maria Emilia Pianesi
December 4, 2024

Each year, comprehensive abortion care could save the lives of up to nearly 39,000 women and prevent related health complications for 5 million women worldwide. A multicountry survey on the implementation of comprehensive abortion policies in Latin America and the Caribbean found that safe abortions and quality post-abortion care in the region is limited by some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. As a result, the issue remains a major health and policy challenge in the region.  

In this context, Argentina has taken a historic step for sexual and reproductive health and rights by legalizing abortion. Law 27.610, Access to Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy and Post-Abortion Care, has been enforced since January 2021. It allows anyone to request an abortion before 14 weeks of pregnancy and entails no time limit in cases of sexual assault or when the life of the applicant is in danger.

Continued: https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/argentinas-abortion-law-three-years-later


Chile must guarantee right to health, access to safe abortion and strengthen mental health services, says UN expert

04 December 2024
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

SANTIAGO  - Chile must align its constitution with international human rights standards to fully guarantee the enjoyment of the right to health for all, a UN expert said today.

“Chile must prioritise health funding and ensure equitable resource allocation,” said Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, following an official visit to the country.

In a statement, Mofokeng acknowledged the government's willingness to address challenges, including mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and disparities in the private-public health system.

Continued: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/12/chile-must-guarantee-right-health-access-safe-abortion-and-strengthen-mental


Brazilian congressional committee votes for bill to ban abortion

By Reuters
November 27, 2024

BRASILIA - A committee in Brazil's lower chamber of Congress approved a bill on Wednesday that would ban abortion in Brazil in all cases including those currently allowed such as fetal deformation, rape or when the mother's health is in danger.

The Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, where conservatives have a majority, voted 35-15 to approve a proposal for a constitutional amendment to establish that the inviolability of the right to life applies from the moment of conception and not at birth.

Continued: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazilian-congressional-committee-votes-bill-ban-abortion-2024-11-27/


Proposal to Ban Abortion in Brazil, Even in Legally Permitted Cases, Advances

There were 35 votes in favor and 15 against in the committee; government advised against it

Nov.27.2024
The Constitution and Justice Commission of the Chamber of Deputies approved this Wednesday (27) a PEC (proposed constitutional amendment) aiming to ban abortion in Brazil, under protest from left-wing parliamentarians.

The vote was 35 in favor and 15 against. The government advised against it. The committee session had to be interrupted for about 50 minutes after a group of women entered the plenary to protest.

Continued: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/scienceandhealth/2024/11/proposal-to-ban-abortion-in-brazil-even-in-legally-permitted-cases-advances.shtml


Guatemala – Hidden in plain sight: The lobby group restricting rights in Latin America

Founded by members of shadowy Catholic organisation Opus Dei, the AFI has become one of Guatemala’s most influential groups

26 November 2024
OpenDemocracy

In the first half of this year, seven girls aged between 10 and 14 gave birth in Guatemala every single day.

Guatemalan law states that these 1,298 girls are the victims of sexual violence. Medical professionals say their pregnancies pose a high risk to their physical and mental health. But the Asociación la Familia Importa (AFI), Guatemala’s most influential anti-abortion organisation, has focused on preventing such girls from having abortions at any cost – and it is succeeding.

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/afi-guatemala-opus-dei-anti-abortion-restrict-rights-latin-america/


Lack of abortion care is a threat to women’s health in Latin America

Inequalities and restrictions to sexual and reproductive health and rights are endangering women, write Mercedes Colomar and Veronica Fiol

BMJ 2024; 387 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q2530
Published 18 November 2024

Mercedes Colomar, Veronica Fiol

In 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development established a groundbreaking framework recognising reproductive rights as human rights.1 This framework prioritised people and human rights in development—rather than population control. Thirty years on, stark inequalities in sexual and reproductive health and rights persist across national, regional, and global levels. Poor access and restrictions on abortion are contributing to maternal mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In many contexts, women have limited autonomy and decision making power over their health, exacerbating poor health outcomes. Unsafe abortion is a serious public health problem and poses a particular risk to women’s health—especially in countries where abortion is clandestine and often dangerous. The impact of unsafe abortion is particularly severe in young, impoverished, and less educated women. Studies on clandestine abortions in places where abortion is highly restricted show that women with higher incomes have a greater chance of accessing safer abortion methods than those with lower incomes.2 Legislative restrictions, inadequate social support, limited family planning services, and under-resourced healthcare infrastructures contribute to this issue. Complications from these abortions further strain local health systems because of the need for emergency and long term care.

Continued: https://www.bmj.com/content/387/bmj.q2530


Abortion access is dwindling in Milei’s Argentina, three years after legalization

By Betiana Fernández Martino, CNN en Español
October 29, 2024

Montecarlo is a small city in the province of Misiones, Argentina, with just under 20,000 inhabitants. Those who walk through its neighborhoods can find cobblestone streets, but most of the roads are made of dirt. Anyone who wants to travel from this town to Posadas, the provincial capital, has to drive for about three hours.

María (who asked not to be identified by her real name to avoid being recognized in her city) says that in Montecarlo, all the neighbors know each other. She has four children: the oldest is 13 years old, and the youngest is just over a year old.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/29/americas/argentina-abortion-access-javier-milei-intl-latam/index.html


Abortion access is dwindling in Milei’s Argentina, three years after legalization

By Betiana Fernández Martino, CNN en Español
Tue October 29, 2024

Montecarlo is a small city in the province of Misiones, Argentina, with just under 20,000 inhabitants. Those who walk through its neighborhoods can find cobblestone streets, but most of the roads are made of dirt. Anyone who wants to travel from this town to Posadas, the provincial capital, has to drive for about three hours.

María (who asked not to be identified by her real name to avoid being recognized in her city) says that in Montecarlo, all the neighbors know each other. She has four children: the oldest is 13 years old, and the youngest is just over a year old.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/29/americas/argentina-abortion-access-javier-milei-intl-latam/index.html