Ecuador abortion rights victory hailed as latest in ‘tidal wave’

Advocates say court ruling that decriminalises abortion in rape cases is an important step, but struggle continues.

By Vincent Ricci
7 May 2021

Quito, Ecuador – Women’s rights advocates have hailed a recent court ruling that will ease restrictions on abortion in cases of rape in Ecuador, the latest country in Latin America to be swept up in the “green wave” abortion rights movement.

In a 7-2 vote on April 28, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador deemed unconstitutional a previous ban that outlawed abortions except in cases where a woman’s life was in danger, or if a woman with a mental disability was raped.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/7/ecuador-abortion-rights-victory-hailed-as-latest-in-tidal-wave

Ecuador court decriminalises abortion in rape cases

Ecuador's Constitutional Court decriminalises abortion in cases of rape, a major step in Catholic-majority Latin America where termination of pregnancy is largely taboo.

Apr 28, 2021

Ecuador's Constitutional Court on Wednesday decriminalised abortion in cases of rape, the country's human rights ombudsman announced, a major step in Catholic-majority Latin America where termination of pregnancy is largely taboo.

Ombudsman Freddy Carrion announced the court's decision on Twitter, and said the ruling "was possible thanks to the women and feminist groups who have consistently battled for a more fair and egalitarian society."

Continued: https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/latin-america/ecuador-court-decriminalises-abortion-in-rape-cases.phtml

28.04.2021

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abortion and rape

abortion law reform

Ecuador Constitutional Court

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights

This fight against women's oppression is not just a struggle for women, but for all of humanity.

Tuesday, April 06, 2021

by Alison Bodine, Common Dreams

March 8, 2021, International Women’s Day, is an important day to recognize the
challenges confronted and the great victories made by women around the world,
especially in the past year of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over the last 12 months, in addition to the health challenges posed by Covid-19
itself, women have faced increasing rates of domestic violence, higher rates of
job loss, as well as a larger burden of the care of children and families
because of the pandemic. In countries like the U.S. and Canada, government
mismanagement of Covid-19 has amplified the health and economic crisis. Black,
Indigenous, and immigrant women and their communities have been
disproportionately impacted by the crisis.
Continued: https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/04/06/womens-rights-are-human-rights

Latin American activists eager to promote unproven ‘abortion pill reversal’ treatment

There are signs that this controversial method is starting to take root in the region – supported by a large US Christian right group.

Diana Cariboni

25 March 2021

“I’ve never done this before, but I know it works,” said a Uruguayan
anti-abortion activist who offered an openDemocracy undercover reporter a
controversial ‘treatment’ that claims to be able to ‘reverse’ medical
abortions.

Our reporter contacted a 24-hour ‘abortion pill reversal’ hotline run out of
the US by the Christian right group Heartbeat International. The hotline
connected her to a local activist in Uruguay.

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/latin-america-unproven-abortion-pill-reversal-treatment/

Abortion Is Now Legal in Argentina, but Opponents Are Making It Hard to Get

Anti-abortion activists are suing to block a new law allowing the procedure, and many doctors in conservative areas have declared themselves conscientious objectors.

By Daniel Politi, New York Times
March 7, 2021

BUENOS AIRES — For the first time in more
than a century, women in Argentina can legally get an abortion, but that
landmark shift in law may do them little good at hospitals like the one in
northern Jujuy Province where all but one obstetrician have a simple response:
No.

Abortion opponents are reeling after a
measure legalizing the procedure was signed into law in December, but they have
hardly given up. They have filed lawsuits arguing that the new law is
unconstitutional. And they have made sure doctors know that they can refuse to
terminate pregnancies, a message that is being embraced by many in rural areas.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/world/americas/argentina-abortion-opposition.html

Argentina: Can one country’s change of abortion law alter a continent?

By Katy Watson, BBC South America correspondent
March 4, 2021

When Argentina's Congress voted to legalise abortion up to the 14th week of pregnancy, Renata (not her real name) felt excited.

"How cool," the 20-year-old from
northern Brazil remembers thinking in late December. A student and supermarket
worker, Renata saw it as the start of something new in a region where abortion
is mostly illegal.

But she thought little more of it until a
week later, when she found out she was pregnant herself. Then, she says, her
world collapsed.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56098334

Chile’s Government Gave Out Flawed Birth Control Pills Which Caused Dozens of Unplanned Pregnancies

By Mary Anne Webber
Mar 04, 2021

The government of Chile has provided hundreds of thousands of defective birth control pills to women that resulted in at least 140 unplanned pregnancies.

The birth control pill packs, which went by the name of Anulette CD, were packaged incorrectly, with the sugar pills or placebo, in the place of the active pills.

Continued: https://www.latinpost.com/articles/149505/20210304/chile-government-flawed-birth-control-pills-unplanned-pregnancies.htm

04.03.2021

Anulette CD

birth control pills

Corporación Miles

defective birth control pills

flawed birth control

Paula Avila-Guillen

Sebastian Pinera

unplanned pregnancies

Women's Equality Center

Defective Birth Control Blamed for Scores of Unplanned Pregnancies in Chile

The public health system delivered, and then quietly recalled, 276,890 potentially flawed packets of birth control pills. At least 140 women believe they got pregnant because of the error.

by Ernesto Londoño, New York Times
March 2, 2021

There had to be a mistake, Melanie Riffo thought, staring in disbelief at the result of her pregnancy test: Positive.

She had been taking her birth control pills without fail, Ms. Riffo said. She and her boyfriend were careful. He’d even been told by doctors that a childhood ailment could have left him infertile.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/world/americas/chile-women-birth-control.html

Activists hope Colombia follows Argentina’s lead on reproductive rights

February 28, 2021
Ana Fadul

Bogotá, Colombia – Abortion is a polarizing topic in Colombia, where it is against the law in most cases, but the legalization of the procedure in another South American nation has women’s rights activists here also hoping for a change.

In late December, Argentinian lawmakers voted 38 to 29 to make abortion legal until the 14th week of pregnancy. It was the first Latin American nation to fully legalize abortion, leading advocates to hope the decision will create a wave throughout the continent.

Continued: https://youthjournalism.org/activists-hope-colombia-follows-argentinas-lead-on-reproductive-rights/

Venezuelan women lose access to contraception, and control of their lives

By Julie Turkewitz and Isayen Herrera, New York Times
February 20, 2021

SAN DIEGO DE LOS ALTOS, Venezuela — The moment Johanna Guzmán, 25, discovered she was going to have her sixth child, she began to sob, crushed by the idea of bringing another life into a nation in such decay.

For years, as Venezuela spiraled deeper into an economic crisis, she and her husband had scoured clinics and pharmacies for any kind of birth control, usually in vain. They had a third child. A fourth. A fifth.

Continued: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/02/20/world/venezuelan-women-lose-access-contraception-control-their-lives/