Teenage girls turn to rat poison as unsafe abortion ‘epidemic’ spirals

Abortion is illegal in Sierra Leone, forcing women to abort unwanted pregnancies via dangerous practices. The consequences can be fatal

By Tom Collins
13 December 2022

Fanella Bola lay against the perimeter walls of a hospital in Sierra Leone and cried at the thought of going through with her pregnancy. The 17-year-old had been turned away from almost every hospital in the capital city of Freetown, where abortion is illegal.

As she dried her tears and prepared to trudge home, the schoolgirl was approached by a market woman who said there was another way.

Continued: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/teenage-girls-turn-rat-poison-unsafe-abortion-epidemic-spirals/

What a landmark ruling on abortion will mean for women in India

Oct 25, 2022
Dhwani Nagpal

A landmark ruling on abortion by India’s Supreme Court could pave the way for economic equality and reduce health inequity for women.

On September 29, 2022, the Indian Supreme Court released a judgment stating that all women, regardless of their marital status, have the right to safe and legal access to abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Previously, single women were limited to 20 weeks.

Continued: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/what-a-landmark-ruling-on-abortion-will-mean-for-women-in-india/

25.10.2022

unmarried women and abortion

Landmark Indian court ruling says rape includes marital rape and extends abortion rights to 24 weeks

By Manveena Suri and Jack Bantock, CNN
Thu September 29, 2022

Marital rape was defined as rape in a landmark decision by India’s Supreme Court on Thursday.

The country’s top court also stated that all women, regardless of their marital status, have the right to an abortion up until 24 weeks, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/asia/india-supreme-court-marital-rape-abortion-intl

29.09.2022

intimate partner violence

marital rape

Medical Termination and Pregnancy Act

Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly raises abortion, sexual violence in closing UN speech

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
Sep 26, 2022

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly urged countries to uphold women’s rights and abortion access while rooting out sexual violence in a Monday speech to the United Nations General Assembly as the global gathering draws to a close.

Joly summarized Canada’s priorities and concerns in foreign
relations. That includes being part of “a global coalition in support of
equality” that will “defend against the growing attacks on women's rights and
freedoms,” according to drafted remarks in French.

Continued: https://www.moosejawtoday.com/national-news/foreign-minister-melanie-joly-raises-abortion-sexual-violence-in-closing-un-speech-5869561

26.09.2022

Mélanie Joly

sexual and reproductive health and rights

sexual violence

United Nations General Assembly

‘Unsafe abortions contributing to high maternal mortality rate in Nigeria’

By The Nation
On Aug 6, 2022

A non-profit organisation, Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation has identified unsafe abortions as one of the factors contributing high maternal mortality rate in Nigeria.

The organisation said Nigeria is confronted with high incidences of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), which sometimes results in unwanted pregnancies, leading to unsafe abortions.

Continued: https://thenationonlineng.net/unsafe-abortions-contributing-to-high-maternal-mortality-rate-in-nigeria/

USA – I am the product of rape. Here’s why I support abortion rights

by Victoria Reyes
June 12, 2022

“I wish you had never been born. I should have had an abortion.”

I can’t remember the first time my mother told me that. But I do remember the first time I responded differently, other than freezing in place or bursting into tears.

Continued: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-06-12/abortion-reproductive-justice-rights-roe-supreme-court-product-of-rape

12.06.2022

U.N. and advocates raise concerns of abortion access for Ukrainian refugees in Poland

May 17, 2022
PATRICK ADAMS, NPR

Ukrainian women who were raped by Russian soldiers are among the millions of refugees who have fled to Poland.

And they now find themselves in a country that severely restricts access to reproductive health care, including both contraception and abortion.

Continued: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/05/17/994654590/u-n-and-advocates-raise-concerns-of-abortion-access-for-ukrainian-refugees-in-po

Ukraine war: Volunteers deliver emergency contraception pills

By Annabel Rackham, BBC News
Apr 29, 2022

Charities are working to deliver emergency contraception into Ukrainian hospitals as reports of rape rise.

Nearly 3,000 packets of morning-after pills have been sent to areas of the country most affected by the Russian invasion.

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has provided the pills, which volunteers are delivering.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-61269792

Ukrainians face rape, trafficking risk while those in Poland cannot access abortion

Ukrainian women fleeing the war are at risk of sexual violence, rape, and trafficking and those who are pregnant as a result cannot get an abortion in Poland due to one of Europe’s strictest anti-abortion laws.

By Giedre Peseckyte | EURACTIV.com
Apr 27, 2022

During the first days of the war, a 29-year-old Ukrainian woman fled the country with her two children. After about a week of travelling, she crossed the Ukrainian-Polish border, having never visited before and not speaking the language. As she travelled at night, by the side of the road, she saw groups of men holding signs with the name of Polish cities written on them in Cyrillic.

“You might have heard the great solidarity from the Polish people, and you might be tempted to get into one of the cars parked on the side of the road before the laws were passed and before drivers were registered,” said Anna Dąbrowska, president of Homo Faber, a Polish human rights organisation, during a speech to LIBE and FEMM parliamentarians on 21 April.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/ukrainians-face-rape-trafficking-risk-while-those-in-poland-cannot-access-abortion/

Poland’s Anti-Abortion Laws Obstruct Humanitarian Assistance to Ukrainian Pregnant Refugees and Rape Survivors

As sexual violence on children and young women is increasingly reported, pregnant women, including rape survivors, struggle to access sexual healthcare under Poland’s strict abortion laws

by Mathilde Grandjean
April 20, 2022

Since the start of the war, over 4.6 million Ukrainian refugees – 90% of whom are women and children – have fled their homes to seek sanctuary in neighbouring countries. Poland has received the highest number of displaced Ukrainians, as nearly 3 million refugees have entered the country since February. Amongst them are rape survivors and pregnant refugees in urgent need of medical help, including access to emergency contraception and abortion.

However, Poland’s near-total ban on abortion added to a lack of key sexual and reproductive health medicines and products obstruct humanitarian efforts to provide medical assistance to rape survivors and refugees who wish to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.

Continued: https://impakter.com/poland-anti-abortion-laws-obstruct-humanitarian-assistance-to-ukrainian-pregnant-refugees-and-rape-survivors/