Current abortion law in Nepal leading to unsafe practices

Although Nepal's Constitution and international women's rights movements guarantee the right to safe abortion, experts have pointed out that the recent Safe Abortion Act has narrowed this right, effectively criminalizing both service seekers and providers.

By Pabitra Sunar
June 17, 2025

KATHMANDU, June 17: Although Nepal's Constitution and international women's rights movements guarantee the right to safe abortion, experts have pointed out that the recent Safe Abortion Act has narrowed this right, effectively criminalizing both service seekers and providers.

This concern was raised by presenters during a recently held dialogue on reproductive rights. … experts argue that despite these provisions, the law has effectively criminalized the right to abortion. Pushpa Joshi, a member of YoSHAN, stated that the existing legal framework automatically leads to criminalization. As a result, instead of accessing safe abortion services, many women are forced into unsafe abortions, she said.

Continued: https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/current-abortion-law-in-nepal-leading-to-unsafe-practices-92-31.html

New UN Guidance Calling for Restraints on Conscientious Objection to Abortion Care

by Cynthia Soohoo and Jaime M. Gher
November 26, 2024

The United Nations Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls (WGDAWG) this summer issued important new guidance on how governments can comply with their obligations to ensure that individual refusals to provide health care services based on religion or conscience do not create a barrier to reproductive health services, including abortion services. The guidance responds to reports of widespread abuse of “conscience claims” that have undermined abortion access in many regions. As States now turn to the process of implementing the guidance, we offer an explainer on what it requires and why implementation is necessary for States to comply with their international legal obligations.

Given the grave impact that delays or denial of care have on the health and lives of pregnant people, the WGDAWG’s guidance emphasizes that States should only allow conscience claims to refuse abortion services if they can ensure that pregnant people can promptly access these services from another provider.

Continued: https://www.justsecurity.org/105169/un-conscientious-objection-abortion-care/

26.11.2024

News

belief-based care denial

CEDAW Committee

conscience clause

conscientious objection

Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women

Human Rights Committee

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

United Nations Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls

US abortion ban: Experts urge country to join women’s rights convention

By World Nation News Desk
Updated 26/10/2022

The Committee of Experts on Women’s Rights highlighted this Friday that The United States is one of only seven countries in the world that is not a party to the convention. It protects the fundamental guarantees of women, including sexual and reproductive health.

“Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Urge the United States to Join To the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in order to respect, protect, fulfill and promote the human rights of women and girls,” the expert group said in a statement.

Continued: https://worldnationnews.com/us-abortion-ban-experts-urge-country-to-join-womens-rights-convention/

26.10.2022

CEDAW

CEDAW Committee

Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Committee of Experts on Women's Rights

Michelle Bachelet

Brazil: Decriminalize Abortion

Brazil: Decriminalize Abortion
Court Considering Petition to Expand Access

July 31, 2018

(São Paulo) – Brazil’s abortion laws are incompatible with its human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a video about the issue. Human Rights Watch will speak at a public hearing on August 3 and 6, 2018, as part of a Supreme Court case challenging the criminalization of abortion in Brazil in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Human Rights Watch will urge the court to consider Brazil’s obligations under international law in reaching its ruling.

Abortion is legal in Brazil only in cases of rape, when necessary to save a woman’s life, or when the fetus suffers from anencephaly – a fatal congenital brain disorder. Women and girls who terminate pregnancies under any other circumstances face up to three years in prison.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/07/31/brazil-decriminalize-abortion

Jamaica – No need to mislead

No need to mislead

Alyssa Nebel & Linnette Vassell
Tuesday, July 10, 2018

In her commentary 'Don't distort abortion conversation, Member of Parliament (MP) Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, published by the Jamaica Observer on July 2, 2108, Phillipa Davies, spokesperson for Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society, makes some very misleading statements to justify her organisation's opposition to legalising the termination of pregnancy under specific conditions. She argues that neither the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) nor the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) discuss abortion. This argument stems from a surface reading of the SDGs and what seems to be a shallow understanding of CEDAW. In addition, Davies cherry-picks content from the recommendations of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and consequently presents a one-sided and selective interpretation.

Continued: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/opinion/no-need-to-mislead_138002?profile=0

It’s time for the Philippines to decriminalize abortion

It’s time for the Philippines to decriminalize abortion
Most of the women who are hospitalized and die from complications from unsafe abortion are poor, Roman Catholics, married, with at least 3 children, and have at least a high school education

Clara Rita Padilla
June 01, 2018

Last May 25, in a historic referendum, Ireland paved the way to increase access to abortion. The Irish citizens who voted to repeal the 8th amendment to the Constitution providing equal protection to the life of the woman and the unborn have won. This is great news for Irish women and for women living in restrictive abortion laws.

Finally, the overwhelming vote of 66.4% to repeal the 8th amendment is in line with women’s right to health. It clearly manifests respect for women’s right to decide and a significant step to save women’s lives and freedom from disability that result from denial of access to safe and legal abortion.

Continued: https://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/203572-time-decriminalize-abortion-philippines

Amicus Brief: Decriminalization on Abortion in South Korea

Amicus Brief: Decriminalization on Abortion in South Korea
May 22, 2018

I. Introduction

Human Rights Watch has the honor of submitting this amicus brief in connection with case 2017Hun-Ba127, which is before the Constitutional Court of Korea (Constitutional Court). This case involves a review of the constitutionality of the Republic of Korea (South Korea)’s criminal law on abortion.

Under articles 269 and 270 of the Criminal Act, abortion is a crime, and any woman who undergoes an abortion risks up to one year of imprisonment or fines up to 2 million won (US$1850). Healthcare workers who provide abortions can face up to two years in prison, or more under certain circumstances.[1]

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/22/amicus-brief-decriminalization-abortion-south-korea

Q&A: Human Rights Law and Access to Abortion

Q&A: Human Rights Law and Access to Abortion

Updated July 24 2017

Is abortion a human rights issue?

States’ obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights include areas of sexual and reproductive health and autonomy. Where access to safe and legal abortion services are unreasonably restricted, a number of women’s and girls’ human rights may be at risk. These include: