Reproductive control of Indigenous women continues around the world, say survivors and researchers

Survivors of forced sterilization and coerced contraception from Canada, Peru and Indonesia will meet with researchers to share stories, heal and advocate for change.

June 27, 2022
by Gillian Rutherford

Survivors of forced sterilization and coerced contraception from Canada, Peru and Indonesia will gather with academic researchers at a summit in Edmonton this summer to share stories, heal through art and ceremony, and set an agenda for change.

The full extent of reproductive control practices around the world is not known, but they have been historically — and continue to be — targeted at Indigenous, poor and migrant women, according to principal investigator Denise Spitzer, professor in the School of Public Health and former Canada Research Chair in Gender, Migration and Health.

Continued: https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2022/06/reproductive-control-of-indigenous-women-continues-around-the-world.html

27.06.2022

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Denise Spitzer

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Indigenous right to abortion

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How green became the international color of abortion rights

June 25, 2022
by Ella Ceron and Taylor Johnson

(Bloomberg) — As abortion-rights activists took to the streets to protest the Supreme Court decision striking down Roe v. Wade on Friday, some wore green scarves, shirts and other pieces of clothing. Others held up signs with green lettering or background.

The color became a symbol of resistance to anti-abortion laws during pro-abortion rights activist efforts in Argentina. Then it was taken up by organizers in other Latin American countries, and it has since spread around the world. The green bandanna first appeared in 2015, worn by activists in the “ni una menos” or “not one less” movement who were protesting violence against women in Argentina, according to Amnesty International. Argentina legalized abortion in December 2020, and the symbol became known as the “marea verde,” or the “green wave.”

Continued: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/how-green-became-the-international-color-of-abortion-rights/

25.06.2022

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Campaña Nacional por el Derecho al Aborto

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Madres de Plaza de Mayo

National Campaign for the Right to Abortion

For abortion rights activists, Latin America provides a roadmap of ‘long fight’ ahead

It may take decades to constitutionally legalize abortion in the United States again, but advocates point to opportunities that could speed up such efforts.

June 24, 2022
By Nicole Acevedo

Human rights attorney Paula Avila-Guillen never thought she'd be fighting to decriminalize abortions in the U.S. until now, as nearly two dozen states move to ban the procedure following Roe v. Wade's official repeal Friday.

A leader of Latin America's "green wave" movement for reproductive rights, earlier this year Avila-Guillen helped legalize abortions for women up to 24 weeks-pregnant in her native Colombia, which now joins Argentina and parts of Mexico in the short list of places in Latin America where terminating a pregnancy is no longer a crime.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/abortion-rights-activists-latin-america-provides-roadmap-long-fight-ah-rcna35197

24.06.2022

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Alianza Americas

Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion

Paula Avila-Guillen

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Women's Equality Center

Brazil: Raped girl, 11, gets abortion after initial refusal

Brazilian prosecutors say a raped 11-year-old girl got a lawful abortion after a judge blocked her for weeks from ending her pregnancy

By Débora Álvares and Mauricio Savarese, Associated Press
June 23, 2022

BRASILIA, Brazil -- Brazilian prosecutors said Thursday that a raped 11-year-old girl had received a legal abortion after a judge blocked her for weeks from ending her pregnancy.

Federal prosecutors in the state of Santa Catarina said in a statement that Polydoro Ernani de São Thiago hospital had taken "measures to interrupt the minor's pregnancy” after a formal request made on behalf of the girl's family.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/brazil-raped-girl-11-abortion-initial-refusal-85607047

23.06.2022

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Polydoro Ernani de São Thiago hospital

Brazilian judge probed for blocking abortion for raped child

Brazil’s judicial watchdog agency says it's investigating a judge who stopped an 11-year-old rape victim from getting an abortion

By Débora Álvares and Mauricio Savarese, Associated Press
June 22, 2022

BRASILIA, Brazil -- Brazil's judicial watchdog agency says it is investigating a judge who stopped an 11-year-old rape victim from getting an abortion — a procedure that advocates insist is allowed in the South American nation for rape cases at any stage of a pregnancy.

Santa Catarina state Judge Joana Ribeiro Zimmer was filmed at a hearing May 9 asking the child whether she understood how pregnancies happen, referring to her rapist as “the father of the baby," asking her to “hold on a little more” to save it and even suggesting a name should be picked. The girl repeatedly said she did not want to give birth.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/brazilian-judge-probed-blocking-abortion-raped-child-85569779

22.06.2022

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Brazil – Judge Bans 11-Year-Old Rape Victim From Having Abortion

BY JOSEPH GOLDER, ZENGER NEWS
6/21/22

A judge in Brazil has banned abortion for an 11-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped, prompting widespread outrage.

The move, which came to light Monday, has put the judge, Joana Ribeiro Zimmer, under investigation by the country's Court of Justice.

https://www.newsweek.com/judge-bans-11-year-old-rape-victim-having-abortion-1717723

21.06.2022

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Dr. Polydoro Ernani de Sao Thiago

Brazilian Judge Denies Abortion to 11-Year-Old Rape Victim, Previewing Post-Roe America

It's not just Brazil—across the US, lawmakers are already boasting about the bans they'll pass without rape exceptions, which are already mostly symbolic.

By Kylie Cheung
June 21,2022

A judge in Brazil denied an abortion to an 11-year-old who had been impregnated by rape, saying she didn’t want to enable a “homicide,” Newsweek reported on Monday. The young girl had reportedly been raped in her home earlier this year, and when she was taken to the hospital upon learning she was pregnant, a doctor at the University of Santa Catarina denied her an abortion because she was more than 22 weeks pregnant. The university hospital’s rules prohibit doctors from offering abortion care to someone past 20 weeks of pregnancy, without a court order.

Brazil notably criminalizes abortion and threatens abortion patients with one to three years in prison, and providers with one to four years. The country provides exceptions only for threats to the pregnant person’s life, when the fetus is deemed unviable, and, relevant to this case, if the pregnancy is the result of rape.

Continued: https://jezebel.com/brazilian-judge-denies-abortion-to-11-year-old-rape-vic-1849089474

21.06.2022

Ireland and Latin America Can Inspire the US Abortion Fight

Analysis by Clara Ferreira Marques | Bloomberg
May 30, 2022

For decades, activists across the world have looked to Roe v. Wade, the landmark US ruling on abortion, as a model worthy of emulation. With the Supreme Court now set to overturn that decision, roles need to reverse: US rights groups must now turn to successful campaigns in Latin America and in Ireland for inspiration and advice on mobilizing voters, galvanizing legislators and widening support.

The impact of these popular movements is hard to overestimate. The Latin American marea verde, or green wave, emerged in Argentina in response to high rates of violence against women with the Ni Una Menos campaign, or Not One Less, and mass street protests. It expanded to include a demand for legal and safe abortions, and took its name from the green scarves women began to wear …

Continued: (unblocked) https://wapo.st/3wYPzTZ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ireland-and-latin-america-can-inspire-theusabortion-fight/2022/05/30/500ffa4c-dfef-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html

How will laws against abortion be enforced? Other countries offer chilling examples

In Argentina, midwives were prosecuted. In Brazil, clinics were raided. In Rwanda, hundreds of women went to jail

By GILLIAN KANE
MAY 25, 2022

Within the next month it is very likely the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade and eliminate the federal constitutional right to an abortion. When that happens, dormant trigger laws in many states will immediately go into effect and abortion will become a crime. Because abortion will be regulated at the state level, enforcement and penalties will vary greatly. Kentucky, South Dakota, North Dakota, Tennessee, South Carolina and Missouri are just some of the states that would make providing an abortion a felony, with penalties including jail time up to 20 years. Other states, too impatient to wait for the court decision, have already moved to increase penalties for either having or providing an abortion. Louisiana attempted to classify abortion as a homicide, although lawmakers there have since walked back the effort. Texas is uniquely punitive, criminalizing abortion after six weeks and incentivizing enforcement through the private sector by offering bounties of $10,000 cash to deputized ordinary citizens who can sue anyone involved in providing an abortion.

Continued: https://www.salon.com/2022/05/25/how-will-laws-against-abortion-be-enforced-other-countries-offer-chilling-examples/

What The Green Scarf Means In The Fight For Reproductive Rights

FRANCES SOLÁ-SANTIAGO
MAY 17, 2022

When a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion in early May revealed that Rove v. Wade will likely be overturned, protests broke out across the country, as activists pushed for lawmakers to codify the landmark decision that protected a pregnant person’s right to choose abortion via the Women’s Health Protection Act. Over the weekend, the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America held a march and called on all the attendees to wear green and “bring your green bandana.” Similar protests were held in cities like Miami and Washington, D.C., where many attendees likewise sported green scarves on their wrists and necks.

While the green scarf may be the new symbol of the pro-abortion fight in the U.S, it's been around for at least a decade. In fact, it emerged in Argentina in the late 2010s, as the country’s activists fought to decriminalize abortion in a sweeping movement that earned them the title “Marea Verde” or “Green Wave.”

Continued: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2022/05/10978997/green-scarf-meaning-roe-v-wade-protests