Why foreigners in Czechia face hidden barriers to abortion

Despite legal abortion access, foreign women—especially non-EU nationals—face bureaucratic, financial, and legal hurdles that can delay or deny care.

Elizabeth Zahradnicek-Haas
March 7, 2025

Abortion is legal in Czechia, but foreign women, particularly those from outside the EU, face numerous obstacles when seeking safe and timely abortion care.

The latest report from The Abortion Support Alliance Prague (ASAP), found that nearly half of the 70-plus state hospitals surveyed were uncertain about providing abortions to non-citizens, while 43 percent of hospitals refused to provide abortion services to EU citizens, either due to legal uncertainty or restrictive internal policies.

Continued: https://www.expats.cz/czech-news/article/legal-but-inaccessible-the-hidden-barriers-to-abortion-for-foreigners-in-czechia

5 South Asian Platforms breaking the Abortion Stigma

Discover how South Asian platforms are shattering abortion stigma and advocating for reproductive rights with resilience and compassion.

March 1, 2024
By Balraj Sohal

In many cultural contexts, the discussion around abortion remains veiled in silence, compounded by deeply ingrained taboos and societal pressures. However, within the South Asian community, a wave of platforms have risen to challenge these norms.

These organisations provide practical support and a sanctuary for individuals grappling with this often-taboo subject. Additionally, these platforms represent a seismic shift in how abortion is perceived and addressed within South Asian communities.

Continued: https://www.desiblitz.com/content/5-south-asian-platforms-breaking-the-abortion-stigma

Global – The Year of MAGA: Making Abortions Great Again.

By Dr Suchitra Dalvie
January 8, 2021

Ok…… so now that we have your attention :) we wanted to take this opportunity to remind all of us working on safe abortion rights advocacy that Change is Possible, Change is Inevitable and Change did Happen!

Despite the terrible year that was 2020, some incredible breakthroughs took place in our world and we wanted to start the New Year by celebrating those wins--- by taking a moment to breathe and recharge ourselves and by renewing our commitment to this issue.

Continued: https://www.asapblog-prochoicediscussions.com/post/the-year-of-maga-making-abortions-great-again-by-dr-suchitra-dalvie

08.01.2021

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ASAP Project: Transforming COVID-19 Into an Opportunity

FIGO’s Advocating for Safe Abortion Project (ASAP) - celebrating achievements and transforming COVID-19 into an opportunity.

13 August 2020
Olga De Biaggio – ASAP Senior Project Manager

Since its inception in April 2019, the Advocating for Safe Abortion Project (ASAP) has made some clear progress towards strengthening access to safe abortion for women and girls. Every year more than 35 million women have abortions in unsafe conditions, and the need for this intervention, as well as for the prioritisation of essential sexual and reproductive health services in general, could be exacerbated even further by the COVID-19 pandemic. For these reasons, the five strategies used by ASAP are today even more relevant than ever.

Strengthen management and organisational capacity of FIGO’s member societies

All 10 member societies involved in the project have successfully established a Project Management Unit (PMU) and equipped it with the right skills to implement the ASAP’s activities. The project team at FIGO HQ supported capacity building efforts through developing key resources, conducting monitoring visits and trainings, facilitating experience sharing, and providing continuous support remotely in the areas of project management, advocacy, communication and M&E.

Continued: https://www.figo.org/news/asap-project-transforming-covid-19-opportunity

13.08.2020

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India’s Liberal Abortion Law, Nullified by Social Stigma

India’s Liberal Abortion Law, Nullified by Social Stigma

By Stella Paul

NEW DEHLI, Apr 14 2020 (IPS) - Arti Zodpe is from the Tamasha (folk dance-drama) theatre in Sangli, in India’s Maharashtra state. After evening performances, some of the singers and dancers offer sex work services to the audience.

“We [Tamasha sex workers] live outside of the city as people feel disturbed by the sound of our ghunghroo [anklet bracelets with bells] and music. When we go to the city, especially to a sex health clinic, the staff say, ‘so you have come to spread your filth here’. If we get an abortion, they make us clean the floor afterwards,” she had said at a recent gathering of doctors and abortion rights experts.

Continued: https://www.ipsnews.net/2020/04/india-liberal-abortion-law-nullified-social-stigma/

India – The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Posted on 30 January, 2020
by Suchitra Dalvie, Asia Safe Abortion Partnership

Many of us greeted the news with cautious optimism when we heard that yesterday the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister had approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. The Bill will be introduced in the ensuing session of the Parliament. But on reading the details of the amendments proposed one is forced to wonder if this is just fussing around over minor details while continuing to ignore the larger issues of women’s autonomy and agency?

For these amendments to truly bring about wide ranging change we must remember one crucial thing about true change—it happens only with a shift in power. Until the archaic patriarchal notions of the need to criminalize various sexual and reproductive aspects of our lives (such as Section 377 in the Indian Penal Code) are done away with, any legislation like the MTP Act which is mainly meant to protect the doctors and not the women involved, is not likely to result in genuine change.

Continued: https://asap-asia.org/blog/the-more-things-change-the-more-they-stay-the-same/

My Experience As A Safe Abortion Advocate In Pakistan

My Experience As A Safe Abortion Advocate In Pakistan | #AbortionMeraHaq

By Asia Safe Abortion Partnership
May 14, 2019
Posted by Neelam Saleem Punjani

Working with women on some of the most stigmatised topics like women’s right to safe abortion is not a challenge that many people would welcome. It is sometimes difficult, often frustrating, and at times confrontational. But if you ask me, advocating for women’s right to safe abortion is simply the best job in the world!

I was motivated to work with women by my own experience of growing up in a patriarchal society, where speaking about women’s right has always been considered a taboo.

continued: https://feminisminindia.com/2019/05/14/abortion-advocate-pakistan/

14.05.2019

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Building Support for Safe Abortion in Asia, One Network at a Time

Building Support for Safe Abortion in Asia, One Network at a Time

November 9, 2018
Liza Kane-Hartnett

In Asia, approximately 27 percent of all pregnancies end in abortion. This is a key reason why, for 10 years, the Asia Safe Abortion Partnership (ASAP) has sought to reframe abortion as a human right and build a regional movement to improve access to safe and legal abortion services.

Asia is home to 50 countries, diverse in culture, gender norms, and abortion policies. Seventeen of the 50 countries allow for abortion without restriction of reason, though they may require parental or spousal permission and employ gestational limits.

Continued: https://iwhc.org/2018/11/building-support-safe-abortion-asia-one-network-time/

The pro-choice movement in Asia: A retrospective

The pro-choice movement in Asia: A retrospective

Posted on 8 February, 2018
by Asia Safe Abortion Partnership
Dr. S. P. Choong. Founding Member, Asia Safe Abortion Partnership

As a founding member of ASAP, I am taken aback to suddenly realize that it’s been 10 years since we adopted the idea of a regional alliance for abortion rights. I guess it has been such an enjoyable and fulfilling ride for me to witness the growth of the pro-choice movement – in different countries, involving different professions and especially different generations.

Starting out as an individual abortion rights activist 50 years was a lonely business – facing stigma from friends and professional colleagues. No matter how strong our own internal convictions, it can still be stressful

Continued: http://asap-asia.org/blog/the-pro-choice-movement-in-asia-a-retrospective/#sthash.L4FEkh7u.dpbs

08.02.2018

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Bangladesh: The Drop – Documentary Film

April 9, 2016

Shathi, from Dhaka is suffering complications from unsafe abortion. Like her, each year, an estimated 572,000 women suffer complications from unsafe abortion, but only 40% of those who need treatment actually receive care from a facility.

Watch this powerful documentary (8:47) made by ASAP Youth Champion Anika Binte Habib from Bangladesh, highlighting the complications women face in accessing safe abortion services.

Source: The Drop, Youtube

09.04.2016

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