Argentina used as a ‘testing ground’ for eroding abortion rights, warns Amnesty

Alarm as Javier Milei’s government curbs state supply of abortion pills and seeks to reverse landmark legalization

Harriet Barber in Tucumán
Wed 28 May 2025

Argentina is being used as a “testing ground” for stripping back abortion rights internationally as it cuts funding for contraceptives and ends the distribution of abortion pills, Amnesty International warned on Wednesday.

Before the inauguration of President Javier Milei in December 2023, the state bought abortion pills, which were then distributed for free through the public health system.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/may/28/argentina-womens-rights-javier-milei-testing-ground-eroding-abortion-rights-seek-reverse-landmark-legalisation-warning-amnesty

USA – ‘A Virtual Abortion Doula in Your Pocket’: Aya Contigo Helps Latinas Find Abortion Care

5/26/2024
by Carrie N. Baker

U.S. abortion bans impact 6.7 million Latinas in the United States—the largest group of women of color impacted by these bans. Many lack insurance, cannot travel and face language and cultural barriers to reproductive healthcare.

To address these barriers, two Canadian physicians—Dr. Roopan Gill and Dr. Genevieve Tam—co-created Aya Contigo, an app with an embedded live virtual chat to help people access contraception and abortion. A project of Vitala Global, the app provides resources for obtaining and using abortion pills, and the chat is staffed by professional counselors who walk users through the process. Launched originally in Venezuela, Aya Contigo began serving the United States in September 2023 with plans to expand to Guatemala.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2024/05/26/spanish-abortion-support-usa-venezuela-latina-women/

Malaysia Punishing Women For Abortion Is Not The Answer

The Galen Centre calls for law reform, after a Melaka court sentenced a 21-year-old woman to jail for self-managed abortion. Abortion has been lawful in Malaysia since 1989 when Section 312 of the Penal Code was amended to allow termination of pregnancy.

By Azrul Mohd Khalib
23 May 2025

The recent nine-month custodial sentence imposed by the Ayer Keroh Magistrate’s Court on a young woman who ended a five-month pregnancy with medication obtained online, highlights the urgent need to modernise laws that continue to criminalise women while failing to address the root causes of unplanned pregnancies.

No woman or girl should face prison for exercising autonomy over her body. Malaysia’s Penal Code still contains provisions dating back from and written in the 19th century. They do not reflect current medical practice, World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, human-rights standards, or the realities faced by women, especially young women, the poor and the unmarried.

Continued: https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2025/05/punishing-women-for-abortion-is-not-the-answer-azrul-mohd-khalib/

USA – Shield Laws Are the Fault Line in the Battle Over Abortion Access

New York’s shield law was designed to protect providers mailing medication abortion pills out of state. But a New York provider is facing legal action in Louisiana and Texas.

Rachel Rebouché
February 20, 2025

Can a doctor who lives in and practices medicine in the state of New York be fined by a Texas court for violating Texas’s abortion ban and licensure law, or be indicted on criminal charges under Louisiana’s abortion law for prescribing and mailing abortion pills to patients who are residents of those states?

Dr. Margaret Carpenter is facing a lawsuit from the state of Texas and an indictment from a Louisiana grand jury for prescribing and shipping medication abortion to people in those states. Last Thursday, Louisiana’s governor signed an order to extradite, demanding that New York force Carpenter to travel to Louisiana to stand trial. New York Governor Kathy Hochul forcefully rejected the demand, stating: “I will not be signing an extradition order that came from the governor of Louisiana — not now, not ever.” Around the same time, a Texas state court entered a default judgement against Carpenter, finding her in violation of Texas’s abortion ban and liable for over $100,000 in fines and attorney fees.

Continued: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/shield-laws-fault-line-abortion-access/

20.02.2025

Commentary

abortion pills

abortion trafficking laws

Dr. Margaret Carpenter

Kathy Hochul

mifepristone and misoprostol

USA – Reproductive rights and justice groups plan for Trump’s return

By: Sofia Resnick
January 21, 2025

In the days following President-elect Donald Trump’s win last November, a national abortion-assistance hotline was being inundated with calls. “They were confused about whether abortion was even still legal in the country, because they have heard the rhetoric around Trump’s position on abortion,” said Brittany Fonteno, the president and CEO of the National Abortion Federation.

… Many activists that spent the last year trying to fight off a subsequent Trump term are now focused on how to maintain and expand access to abortion and birth control but also maternal and prenatal care. … “Everything has changed,” Fonteno told States Newsroom. “We are heading into absolutely the most hostile landscape for abortion access in 50 years in this country, without the legal protection of Roe and with the most hostile administration to abortion access.”

Continued: https://ncnewsline.com/2025/01/21/reproductive-rights-and-justice-groups-plan-for-trumps-return/

USA – Reproductive rights and justice groups plan for Trump’s return

By: Sofia Resnick
January 18, 2025

The association of abortion providers runs what Fonteno says is the largest financial assistance program for people seeking abortions and is among the many groups preparing for another potentially destabilizing shift in U.S. reproductive health policy after Trump takes office Monday.

Continued: https://lailluminator.com/2025/01/18/abortion-trump-2/

‘I was crying, there was no anaesthesia’: the fight for legal and safe abortion in Nigeria

In a country where thousands die every year from unsafe procedures, and rape is shockingly high, campaigners must overcome strict laws and religious beliefs, as well as misinformation and stigma

By Kasia Strek in Ota and Lagos
Mon 13 Jan 2025

In a modest house on a red dirt road in Ota in Ogun state, Adijat Adejumo, a 39-year-old auxiliary nurse, runs a small chemist shop. She treats common illnesses such as malaria and colds and sells painkillers, antidiarrhoeal medications and vitamins. For the past few years, she has also been selling packs of mifepristone and misoprostol, medicines included in the WHO essential medicines list to induce abortion safely.

Both medicines are legal in Nigeria, a country with one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates, but only if used to save women’s lives during obstetric complications. Adejumo does not stock them in her shop; instead when a woman comes asking for help to end an unwanted pregnancy, she has them delivered. On average, she gets three such requests a month.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jan/13/abortion-rights-nigeria-sexual-violence-women

Canadian non-profit that facilitates abortion pill access sees surge in U.S. requests

By Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press
November 27, 2024

A Canadian non-profit that helps women obtain the abortion pill in countries with restrictions says it saw a fourfold increase in U.S. requests after the presidential election.

The majority of inquiries came from women who were not pregnant, suggesting many want the drug on hand in case they need it, says Venny Ala-Siurua, executive director of Women on Web.

Ala-Siurua, based in Montreal, says some women fear abortions could become illegal or harder to access in the U.S. after Donald Trump takes office.

Continued: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/11/27/canadian-non-profit-that-facilitates-abortion-pill-access-sees-surge-in-u-s-requests/

Self-managed abortion: A global human rights imperative

To safeguard individuals’ control over their reproductive health and protect human rights, governments must remove legal barriers that hinder access to self-managed abortion.

November 26, 2024
By Andrés Constantin & Katherine Mayall, Open Global Rights

In the ongoing struggle for reproductive justice, self-managed abortion has emerged as a vital tool for ensuring reproductive autonomy, privacy, and health. Self-managed abortion is the process of ending a pregnancy without direct clinical supervision, often by using medications such as mifepristone and misoprostol. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes that people can safely self-manage abortion using medication abortion pills during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, making this an essential aspect of advancing reproductive rights globally.

Yet, although this practice offers a critical pathway for individuals to exercise control over their reproductive health, legal and policy barriers remain entrenched worldwide, obstructing access to self-managed abortion. This is not simply a health issue—it is a profound human rights violation that demands urgent attention.

Continued: https://www.openglobalrights.org/self-managed-abortion-a-global-human-rights-imperative/

‘I would wish this on absolutely no one’: How three women dealt with pregnancy in the year since Texas’ six-week abortion ban

To mark the first anniversary of SB 8 going into effect, The 19th spoke with Texans who sought an abortion in this past year. Each has a different story. But all shared similar sentiments: anger, sorrow, frustration and fear.

Shefali Luthra, Health Reporter
August 29, 2022

Tiff found out she was pregnant on New Year’s Day. Her period was three days late, just enough to suspect that something was off. Still, when she saw the two pink lines, she was shocked.

She was 16. She didn’t know what to do or what would happen with her parents, whom she describes as conservative.

Continued: https://19thnews.org/2022/08/pregnancy-texas-six-week-abortion-ban/