New evidence-based learning on abortions in India

This will not only significantly increase the options for women seeking abortion services but also leverage the potential of medical abortion technology.

By IANS
Published: 10th Jun 2021

New Delhi: Abortion in India continues to face high levels of stigma — this stigma pushes women who seek it away from legal services; curtails free dissemination of information on abortion; and affects the delivery of essential services in the public health system.

Consequently, millions of women prefer not to go to public health facilities for abortion services. It is estimated that 78 per cent of the 15.6 million abortions that take place each year in India occur in non-facility settings, mainly through medical abortion pills.

Continued: https://telanganatoday.com/new-evidence-based-learning-on-abortions-in-india

USA – The Stigma of “Late-Term Abortions” Is the Point

“It’s just normal folks who end up getting pushed back and pushed back and pushed back.”

JUNE 3, 2021
BECCA ANDREWS

When the Supreme Court decided recently to consider Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, Marjorie Dannenfelser from Susan B. Anthony List said: “This is a landmark opportunity for the Supreme Court to recognize the right of states to protect unborn children from the horrors of painful late-term abortions.”

Dannenfelser’s choice to invoke “late-term abortions” was pointed. Typically, the phrase refers to abortions performed after 21 weeks, but I’ve seen anti-abortion advocates in particular use “late term” in reference to abortions anywhere after 15 weeks. Crucially, there is no real definition or medical designation for what constitutes a late-term abortion, so it’s used somewhat haphazardly. Medical experts also criticize the term for implying that abortions are taking place after a pregnancy reaches “term” at 37 weeks—which does not happen—or a point in pregnancy referred to by obstetricians as “late term,” up to 41 weeks—which also does not happen.

Continued: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/06/definition-late-term-abortions-mississippi-15-week-ban-supreme-court/

Tricked and uninformed: why so many young girls in Kenya are getting pregnant

May 30, 2021
Anthony Idowu Ajayi

The rate of early unintended pregnancy in Kenya is shockingly high. About one in five girls between the ages of 15 and 19 have begun having children. It’s worse in some areas than others. For instance, the rate is as high as two in five in Narok and Homa Bay counties. Most of these pregnancies are unplanned and unintended.

Getting pregnant at such a young age can harm a girl’s health and socioeconomic wellbeing.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/tricked-and-uninformed-why-so-many-young-girls-in-kenya-are-getting-pregnant-161098

Getting an Abortion in Egypt: Silence is the Real Killer

EGYPTIAN STREETS
28 MAY 2021

I can still feel how the air left my chest when I saw the second line appear on
the test.

I always thought I would know exactly what I wanted if I ever found out I was
pregnant. In reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I had always
considered myself well-informed, pro-choice, pragmatic, but when the
hypothetical became reality, I was stunted.

Continued: https://egyptianstreets.com/2021/05/28/getting-an-abortion-in-egypt-silence-is-the-real-killer/

28.05.2021

women's abortion stories

Amid stigma in Croatia, volunteers support women having abortions

While terminating a pregnancy is legal in Croatia, access to abortion is becoming increasingly challenging.

By Amanda Coakley
27 May 2021

Zagreb, Croatia – Zorana did not expect the call to come so soon.

Two weeks earlier, she had signed up online to be a Brave Sister and was still considering the level of involvement she wanted with the new initiative.

The mother-of-two was keen to help, but was nervous about the social implications of being associated with such a group.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/27/amid-stigma-in-croatia-volunteers-support-women-having-abortions

What You Didn’t Know About Abortion In Ghana

By Alpha Osei Amoako
26.05.2021

Unsafe abortion is the second most common cause of maternal mortality in Ghana. It accounts for about 15% of maternal deaths in the country. Unsafe abortion is very common amongst teenagers, women in their 20s and poor women probably because—they either do not know where to get safe abortions or they do not have access to financial resources.

Also, the stigma associated with abortion is one major reason why most teenagers and women in their early 20s resort to orthodox methods or practice unsafe abortion.

Continued: https://www.modernghana.com/news/1083798/what-you-didnt-know-about-abortion-in-ghana.html

26.05.2021

Commentary

Featured

abortion stigma

dangerous abortion methods

traditional abortion methods

Canada – Pro-choice coalition aims to raise awareness with billboard campaign

Group says it is seeking to challenge the stigma that persists around the topic of abortion

Mary Katherine Keown
May 04, 2021

As an abortion doula, Amber Gaudrault offers non-judgemental support to those who need it.

The choice to abort a fetus is rarely easy, but Gaudrault says doulas provide a “safe place to talk about why they chose an abortion and what it was like to have the procedure.”

Continued: https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/pro-choice-coalition-aims-to-raise-awareness-with-billboard-campaign

04.05.2021

pro-choice advertising

pro-choice billboard

Sarah Mann

Sudbury Manitoulin Abortion Support Collective

Sudbury Pro-Choice Coalition

Sixth of Irish doctors who perform abortions have been threatened

Colin Coyle
Sunday April 25 2021

More than one in six doctors providing termination services say they have experienced a “verbal threat or attack” since abortion was introduced in Ireland in 2019. The finding is from a study of 156 hospital doctors and GPs by researchers in the National Maternity Hospital and the Coombe.

The researchers found that while Irish doctors suffered fewer verbal or physical attacks than their American counterparts, they were more likely to be alienated by family, friends or acquaintances due to their abortion work.

Continued: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/irish-doctors-perform-abortions-threatened-murder-study-x3nxtnc2h

27.04.2021

abortion stigma

anti-choice hatred

anti-choice misogny

anti-choice terrorism

National Maternity Hospital

Pakistan – A strange paradox

Rizwana Naqvi
April 23, 2021

To say that we live in a patriarchal society would be a cliché, but how else can we describe a society where women can’t even make decisions regarding their own body, and regarding when and how many children to have.

Feminists have for years been advocating for equal rights for women not only in education and health but in all spheres of life. And when it comes to women’s rights, reproductive health is an important segment where women need to make informed decisions. Unfortunately, according to the State of World Population 2019 report, Pakistan’s maternal mortality (death due to pregnancy-related complication) rate was still as high as 178 women per 100,000. Though it has improved from 276 in 2008 and 375 per 100,000 in 1995, it is still quite high, as compared to other countries in the region.

Continued: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/824468-a-strange-paradox

Ghana – Abortion stigma contributing to rise in maternal deaths — PPAG

Date: Mar - 18 - 2021
BY: Doreen Andoh

The Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) says unsafe abortion is an issue of public health concern and contributes significantly to maternal morbidity and mortality.

It says although the law permits the discontinuation of pregnancies under certain conditions, abortion-related stigma is deterring people, particularly, young girls, from accessing safe abortion services.

Continued: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/abortion-stigma-contributing-to-rise-in-maternal-deaths-ppag.html