‘Radicalized’ anti-abortion movement poses increased threat, US warned

Comments from Anu Kumar of reproductive rights group Ipas come as militant anti-abortion groups gain legislative influence

Jessica Glenza
Thu 8 Jul 2021

The president and chief executive of an international reproductive rights non-profit has warned that the American anti-abortion movement has significantly radicalized and is working to spread its ideology around the world.

The comments came as pro-gun anti-abortion theocratic militant groups who seek to prosecute women who have abortions under murder statutes have gained increasing legislative influence in the US.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/08/anti-abortion-movement-radicalized

Nadia: “There is Hope for a Better Future for Women in Poland.”

June 25, 2021

Nadia believes activism can change the world. Over the last few years in Poland, women’s reproductive choices have been stripped back at an alarming rate. The young activist wants to reverse this erosion of women’s rights by campaigning for better reproductive, labour and social rights across the country. Nadia is painfully aware that in Poland, where public discourse is dominated by men, the belief that “children and young women have no voice” still reigns.

"I wish we no longer had to talk about the wage gap, reproductive rights, the overloading of women with unpaid reproductive work. I want to live in a world where women had freedom of expression and the full right to pleasure on our terms," the activist says.

Continued: https://defendthedefenders.eu/nadia-there-is-hope-for-a-better-future-for-women-in-poland/

Europe’s regulators must ban ‘abortion pill reversal’

18/06/2021
By Tatev Hovhannisyan

“It can’t be happening in Europe!” This was the first reaction of my European friends and colleagues when they heard about our team’s findings – how doctors globally, backed by US religious conservatives, are providing women with an unproven and potentially dangerous treatment that claims to 'reverse' a medical abortion.

Like my friends and colleagues, I’ve always
thought that Europe is the best part of the world in which to be a woman. This
assumption is not baseless: according to the latest survey, European countries
are among the best places for women to live, thanks to their high regard for
human rights, gender equality and safety.

Continued: https://www.euronews.com/2021/06/18/europe-s-regulators-must-ban-abortion-pill-reversal-view

Convicted for ‘advertising’ abortion, German doctors are fighting to share the facts

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN
Mon June 7, 2021

(CNN) Dr. Detlef Merchel didn't expect to end up in court for doing what he sees as part of his job: giving his patients information about the medical procedures he provides. But there he was, getting convicted for "advertising abortion" -- a crime in Germany.

He received a fine of €3,000 ($3,650) last month for sharing details about the type of abortion he offers, as well as the legal requirements for accessing it on his website.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/07/europe/germany-abortion-law-doctors-cmd-intl/index.html

USA – The Sound of Silence on Abortion

June 3, 2021
By Linda Greenhouse

Back in 2014, when the Arizona Legislature passed a bill to provide business owners with a religious excuse to discriminate against gay people, the N.F.L. threatened to move Super Bowl XLIX out of the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed the bill.

In 2015, when the N.C.A.A. led a pushback from its Indianapolis headquarters against a similar bill that the Indiana Legislature passed, Gov. Mike Pence said it was all a “great misunderstanding” and eventually signed a watered-down version that met the demands of the N.C.A.A. and other sports organizations that had protested.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/03/opinion/abortion-corporate-support.html

Standing Between Care and Violence

Abortion-clinic escorts and defenders serve as human shields protecting patients from angry, aggressive protestors. Now, with emboldened extremists and the COVID crisis, they face more danger than ever before.

By Garnet Henderson
Jun 2, 2021

Shelley, an abortion-clinic defender at Clinics for Abortion and Reproductive Excellence (CARE) in Bellevue, Nebraska, had a bad feeling on the morning of September 25, 2020. One of those gut bad feelings. It had been a volatile summer. Warmer months typically bring more anti-abortion-rights protesters to clinics, and the groups had been even larger than usual in 2020, likely due to high unemployment rates. By September, the crowds had begun to thin back down to the clinic’s 12 to 14 “regulars.” That morning, one of the regulars was camped out in his usual spot at the base of the clinic’s driveway.

Continued: https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a36061740/abortion-clinic-escorts-defenders-face-violence/

Explainer: What is ‘abortion pill reversal’?

The unproven, potentially dangerous use of progesterone to ‘reverse’ a medical abortion is spreading globally, supported by the US Christian Right

Teddy Wilson
27 May 2021

US religious conservatives have claimed for years that a medical abortion can be ‘reversed’ if high doses of the hormone progesterone are taken.

The problem is that there is no medical evidence to support this claim – and the only trial into the method’s effectiveness and safety was abruptly halted in 2019 after several participants were hospitalised with severe haemorrhaging.

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/explainer-what-is-abortion-pill-reversal/

Texas’s New Abortion Law Endangers Women and Science

The reds flags are up. Is anyone paying attention?

By Dr Robert Turner
May 23, 2021

Texas is rapidly establishing itself as the anti-science, anti-trans, anti-women and anti-vaccine capital of America. A raft of new legislation has been passed by Gov Greg Abbott in the last few months. Abbott is the public face of a new conservative Texas that harkens back to the dark ages. In contrast to his earlier public Twitter statement that Texans should be responsible for their own health, not the government, Abbott was clearly referring to men, not, as he clearly perceives them, the lesser citizens of Texas.

One can now legitimately ask the question, “what’s next”. An assault on women’s right to the vote? Ridiculous you say, but wait. Until last week women had a semblance of control over their lives, their health, and their bodies. Greg Abbott has undone that in a move that’s left Texas with the most restrictive abortion laws in the US.

Continued: https://medika.life/texass-new-abortion-law-endangers-women-and-science/

Texas Governor Signs Law Banning Abortions as Early as 6 Weeks

By Associated Press
May 19, 2021

AUSTIN, TEXAS - Republican Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday signed a law that bans abortions in Texas before many women even know they are pregnant and differs singularly from similar efforts nationwide: leaving enforcement to private citizens, who can sue doctors or anyone who helps a woman get an abortion.

The law puts Texas in line with more than a dozen other states that ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, possibly as early as six weeks. It would take effect in September, but federal courts have mostly blocked states from enforcing similar measures.

Continued: https://www.voanews.com/usa/texas-governor-signs-law-banning-abortions-early-6-weeks

USA – The EACH Act would overturn a “blatantly racist” abortion rule. Will it pass?

By Clare Busch
May 12, 2021

When Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro was 17, she found out she was pregnant. Loraine Piñeiro decided to have an abortion, but because she was Medicaid recipient — like more than 72 million other Americans — her insurance wouldn’t cover the costs of the procedure. So, Loraine Piñeiro picked up extra shifts at her restaurant job, earning $2.17 per hour in base pay, to earn the necessary $450. She was still in high school.

She was in that position thanks to the Hyde Amendment, a policy dating back to 1976 that prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortion, except in the case of rape, incest, or if the pregnant person’s life is in danger. “When I learned about the Hyde Amendment, I realized how much it affected my life,” Loraine Piñeiro tells Mic. “I had no idea how I would figure out how to pay for an abortion. Those types of resources aren't easily available.”

Continued: https://www.mic.com/p/the-each-act-would-overturn-a-blatantly-racist-abortion-rule-will-it-pass-77726691