Resolution supporting abortion as a human right introduced in U.S. Congress

Ipas
Sept 27, 2024

A resolution condemning the criminalization of abortion in the United States and urging governments at all levels—federal, state and local—to uphold abortion as a human right was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on September 24 with tremendous support—96 original co-sponsors.

Representative Nikema Williams of Georgia introduced the measure, which also commends state and local governments’ leadership for introducing and passing similar resolutions in their states and counties—including Austin, Texas; Mount Ranier, Maryland;  Montgomery County, Maryland; and the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro in North Carolina.

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/resolution-supporting-abortion-as-a-human-right-introduced-in-u-s-congress/


Inside Poland’s Abortion Crossroads

... and what it has to do with the Kremlin.

Podcast: 27:50 minutes
WORDS: LAICIE HEELEY, PICTURES: COLIN LLOYD
DATE: APRIL 29, 2024

When does something as deeply personal as abortion become a matter of foreign policy? Maybe when it becomes a stand-in for national values and belief systems. Or maybe when it becomes a clever wedge to divide societies.

Today, Polish abortion activists are on the cusp of a huge change. After 30 years of some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, it looks like some liberalization could be on the way.

Continued: https://inkstickmedia.com/inside-polands-abortion-crossroads/


The Terrifying Global Reach of the American Anti-Abortion Movement

Conservatives have not limited their attack on reproductive rights to the United States. They’ve been busy imposing their will on other countries, too—with disastrous consequences for millions of poor women.

Jodi Enda
March 18, 2024

Because Editar Ochieng knew the three young men, she didn’t think twice when they beckoned her into a house in an isolated area near the Nairobi River. One was like a brother; the other two were her neighbors in the sprawling Kenyan slum of Kibera.

Ochieng did not know the woman who performed her abortion. She and a friend scoured Nairobi until they found her, an untrained practitioner who worked in the secrecy of her home and charged a fraction of what a medical professional would. Mostly, what Ochieng remembers is the agony when this stranger inserted something into her vagina and “pierced” her womb. “It was really very painful. Really, really, really painful,” she told me. Afterward, Ochieng said, she cut up her mattress to use in place of sanitary pads, which she could not afford. She was 16 years old.

Continued: https://newrepublic.com/article/179485/american-anti-abortion-movement-terrifying-global-reach


‘Beyond Borders’ gives U.S. state lawmakers a global human rights perspective on abortion

Ipas
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2024

In the nearly two years since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion in the United States, the abortion landscape has become fragmented and increasingly polarized.  In more than half of the 50 U.S. states, abortion is now completely banned, heavily restricted or under legal threat.

With that divided landscape as a backdrop, dozens of U.S. state-level lawmakers gathered recently with abortion rights advocates and human rights experts from the United States and ten other countries to share ideas and strategies for expanding abortion access in legally restrictive settings.

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/beyond-borders-gives-u-s-state-lawmakers-a-global-human-rights-perspective-on-abortion/


UN experts say U.S. abortion bans violate human rights

New recommendations call on the U.S. to fully decriminalize abortion

November 17, 2023

The United States is violating human rights by denying legal access to abortion—and should take immediate action to end the criminalization of abortion at the federal, state and local levels. This is the newly released conclusion of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in response to testimony from Ipas and partners in October.

“This is a reckoning for U.S. policymakers at every level of government,” said Bethany Van Kampen Saravia, Ipas senior legal and policy advisor, who attended the October hearing in Geneva. “The UN Human Rights Committee has appropriately called on the U.S. government to acknowledge the human rights crisis that is taking place within America, as states continue to ban abortion and limit access to sexual and reproductive health care.”

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/un-experts-say-u-s-abortion-bans-violate-human-rights/


Reproductive health advocates take the fight for abortion rights to the United Nations

Oct 26, 2023
By Kaitlyn Kennedy

Geneva, Switzerland - As a slew of abortion bans take effect around the US, advocates are fighting back during the 139th session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

They argued that guaranteeing access to abortion falls within the scope of the US' international obligations, as bans can deprive pregnant people of their right to life under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Continued: https://www.tag24.com/topic/abortion-rights/reproductive-health-advocates-take-the-fight-for-abortion-rights-to-the-united-nations-2988945


Biden urged to clarify that abortion aid abroad unaffected by Roe v Wade ruling

Senators also seek to correct misinterpretation by aid recipients of Helms amendment as a blanket ban on US funds for abortion

Noa Yachot
Fri 12 Aug 2022

Supporters of reproductive rights in Congress are calling on the government to clarify to foreign aid recipients that the end of abortion rights in the US does not affect US-funded family planning programs abroad, and to limit the damage of a half-century-old law that has functioned as a blanket ban that prevents US aid from supporting abortion care overseas.

Their efforts come as the Biden administration looks for ways to support abortion rights in the wake of the supreme court decision overturning Roe v Wade – which scrapped abortion rights – and amid signs that abortion rights could be a persuasive issue in midterm elections.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/12/foregin-abortion-funding-limit-ban-senators-joe-biden


Democrats Push Bill to Allow U.S. Aid to Fund Abortions Around the World

BY KHALEDA RAHMAN
7/27/22

The Supreme Court's historic decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was quickly felt around the country as states quickly moved to enact abortion bans.

But abortion rights advocates fear not enough attention is being given to how the impact of the decision will ripple around the world.

Continued: https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-push-bill-allow-us-aid-fund-abortions-world-1728338