Mexico’s abandoned newborns: A tragedy driven by lack of sex education and the criminalization of abortion

At least eight cases in the last seven months have highlighted a structural problem, one that has been magnified by mass media and social media, without a proper analysis of its underlying causes

Mónica Juárez, Andrés Rodríguez
OCT 03, 2025

The scene was recorded by a security camera and broadcast throughout Mexico. In the Industrial neighborhood — in the Gustavo A. Madero borough of Mexico City — a car parked on the sidewalk. A woman got out of the vehicle, pulled down her pants, and squatted down. Within minutes, she gave birth to a baby girl, whom she left on the street. She then got back in the vehicle and was driven away.

A cyclist who was passing by — upon hearing the newborn’s cries — alerted the Ministry of Citizen Security. Officers rushed to the scene and took the newborn into protective care.

Continued: https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-10-04/mexicos-abandoned-newborns-a-tragedy-driven-by-lack-of-sex-education-and-the-criminalization-of-abortion.html

Bolivian teens seeking abortions meet misinformation online

Bolivian teens with unwanted pregnancies can be stymied by anti-abortion groups using online sites to spread misinformation.

Nathalie Iriarte
April 23, 2025

SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, Bolivia - When Kasandra, a teenager in Bolivia, discovered she was pregnant at 15 as a result of rape, her already troubled life fell apart.

The unwanted pregnancy was a horrible milestone in the years of sexual abuse and beatings she had endured at the hands of her stepfather that began when she was 11.

"To have a child was the worst. My stepfather was going to kick me out of the house or kill me," Kasandra, who did not want her real name used, told Context.

Continued: https://www.context.news/big-tech/bolivian-teens-seeking-abortions-meet-misinformation-online

Mothers Urged To Teach Their Daughters Sex Education

Taiwo Jimoh
April 8, 2025

A non-governmental organization, Leadership Initiative for Youth Empowerment (LIFE), has urged mothers to teach their daughters comprehensive sex education to prevent unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions.

The Executive Director of LIFE, Abiodun Unegbo, who made this call on Tuesday while addressing Journalists in Lagos, noted that Nigeria has one of the highest rates of maternal deaths resulting from unsafe abortion.

Quoting statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), Unegbo said approximately 2,870 women die each year in Nigeria due to complications from pregnancy and childbirth.

Continued; https://newtelegraphng.com/mothers-urged-to-teach-their-daughters-sex-education/

08.04.2025

News

Abiodun Unegbo

Leadership Initiative for Youth Empowerment

Philippines – WGNRR calls for urgent passage of prevention of adolescent pregnancy bill

January 20, 2025

The Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) and partners stand in strong solidarity with advocates, civil society organizations, stakeholders, and policymakers in the Philippines in supporting the passage of Senate Bill No. 1979, also known as the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Bill (PAP Bill).

We are deeply concerned that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has announced his intention to veto Senate Bill 1979 in ‘its current form,’ just days after emphasizing that ‘the teaching of sex education in our schools is very, very, very important.’ This contradiction to his position is disheartening, especially given the severity of the adolescent pregnancy crisis in the Philippines. Moreover, it is alarming that his decision seems to have been influenced by the spread of misinformation and disinformation about the bill.

Continued: https://wgnrr.org/wgnrr-calls-for-urgent-passage-of-prevention-of-adolescent-pregnancy-bill/

Ghana – Basic schools educated on Sexual and Reproductive Health Right to reduce teenage pregnancy in Atiwa East

September 26, 2024
By: Michael Kofi Kenetey

The Atiwa East District Education Directorate in collaboration with the Family Strengthening Programme, FSP of SOS Children’s Villages, Asiakwa has schooled pupils on Sexual and Reproductive Health Right, SRHR education in seven Basic Schools in Adasawase and New Jejeti in the Atiwa East District of the Eastern Region.

The education on SRHR is to help minimize the rise of teenage pregnancy and its related issues such as unsafe abortion and teenage pregnancy complications in the district. It is also to educate the pupils on dangers and negative effects of sexual activities on adolescents and young people, and the consequences it pose to their education and future career.

Continued: https://www.gbcghanaonline.com/news/basic-schools-educated-on-sexual-and-reproductive-health-right-to-reduce-teenage-pregnancy-in-atiwa-east/2024/#google_vignette

26.09.2024

News

Asiwome Funn

Family Strengthening Programme

Innocent Asiwome Funn

What does a total abortion ban look like in Dominican Republic?

BY MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ
January 2, 2024

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Dominican Republic is one of four Latin American nations that criminalizes abortion without exceptions. Women face up to 2 years in prison for having an abortion, while the penalties for doctors or midwives range from 5 to 20 years. Abortion rights activists argue that the country’s total abortion ban not only restricts women’s reproductive choices but also puts their lives in danger.

Here’s a look at the country’s ban.

Continued: https://apnews.com/article/dominican-republic-abortion-ban-women-catholic-church-5890252153c3b451b16b62b4aa3fe26d

How Dominican women fight child marriage and teen pregnancy while facing total abortion bans

BY MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ
January 2, 2024

AZUA, Dominican Republic (AP) — It was a busy Saturday morning at Marcia González’s church. A bishop was visiting, and normally she would have been there helping with logistics, but on this day she was teaching sex education at a local school.

“I coordinate activities at the church and my husband is a deacon,” González said. “The bishop comes once a year and children are being confirmed, but I am here because this is important for my community.”

For 40 years, González and her husband have pushed for broader sex education in the Dominican Republic, one of four Latin American nations that criminalizes abortion without exceptions. Women face up to 2 years in prison for having an abortion; penalties for doctors or midwives range from 5 to 20 years.

Continued: https://apnews.com/article/dominican-republic-abortion-child-marriage-teen-pregnancy-45a2dd71fc006c413ae1386f601e912d

Breaking the Silence: Abortion Rights in Kenya – BBC Africa Eye documentary

BBC News Africa
Nov 26, 2023
Film: 45 minutes

Across the world, debates are raging about access to safe abortion. Complications from unsafe, backstreet procedures are a leading cause of maternal death in developing countries. In Kenya, where almost two-thirds of pregnancies are unintended, unregulated terminations are estimated to claim the lives of over 2,000 women every year.

BBC Africa Eye reporter Linda Ngari investigates a hidden crisis that has led to an estimated seven Kenyan women dying from unsafe abortions every day, with many more facing life-altering complications.

Continued: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI3AKMFgVKQ

Northern Ireland – Sex education: Some schools tell pupils homosexuality is wrong, says report

June 12, 2023
By Robbie Meredith, BBC News NI education correspondent

Some schools in Northern Ireland are teaching pupils that homosexuality is wrong in relationships and sex education (RSE).

A Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) report said "many schools use language that shames and stigmatises young people" who had sex.

Some told pupils that those who "engage in casual sex must bear the consequences of their actions".

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-65871730

12.06.2023

News

abstinence-only education

Alyson Kilpatrick

Catholic Church

Chris Heaton-Harris

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

sex education

United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

Europe

Northern Ireland

Human Rights

In the Dominican Republic, the Fight for Abortion Rights Is a Fight Against Anti-Blackness

Afro-feminist movements push for comprehensive sex education, a cultural shift, and exceptions to a total abortion ban.

By Natalia Perez-Gonzalez
FEBRUARY 22, 2023

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC—There’s a citywide blackout. No street lights, no shop lights—just headlights from passing cars. “This is just your typical Friday night,” Alicia Mendez Medina says, and a bodega worker nods from behind her. Alicia bids her goodbye and we head to Parque Duarte, the place many have described as “the it spot” for nightlife in Santo Domingo. She orders some wine.

“This country is a mess,” she laughs, and pours herself a glass. I can only see her cheekbones and her eyes, her back illuminated by phone flashlights from passersby. We restart our conversation, this time in almost complete darkness.

Continued: https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/dominican-republic-abortion/