Rwanda – Supreme Court hears case on safe abortion

By Nasra Bishumba
Published : October 19, 2021

The Supreme Court on Monday, October 18 heard a case in which a local non-governmental organisation, Great Lakes Initiative for Human Rights and Development (GLIHD), sought to challenge two articles within the Penal Code regarding safe abortion.

Article 72 of the law determining the jurisdiction of courts stipulates that any person, company or association with legal personality can petition the Supreme Court to declare a law unconstitutional if they have any interest.

Continued: https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/supreme-court-hears-case-safe-abortion

South Africa – Call to remove stigma surrounding abortions for safe, legal procedure

By Goitsemang Tlhabye
Oct 1, 2021

Pretoria - Healthcare stakeholders have called on communities to rid themselves of the stigma that has continued to inhibit women’s access to safe and legal abortions.

Abortion consultant with Ipas South Africa, Dr Makgoale Magwentshu, also a senior capacity-building and policy adviser for sexual and reproductive health, said the stigma surrounding abortions had continued to act as a barrier to ensuring women had access to safe and legal abortions.

Continued: https://www.iol.co.za/pretoria-news/news/call-to-remove-stigma-surrounding-abortions-for-safe-legal-procedure-19e8b3e1-32f5-4495-925d-464cc3f282cb

Empowering women worldwide: A revolution in safe abortion care

28 September 2021
by Dr Manisha Kumar, head of MSF’s task force on safe abortion care

I became an abortion provider almost 10 years ago. Since then, I have helped countless people around the world access safe abortion care. I’ve also witnessed the devastating complications from unsafe abortion when people do not have access to this essential healthcare. Unsafe abortion is one of the main causes of maternal death and suffering worldwide, and the only one that is almost entirely preventable.

An abortion with pills is a game-changer. The simple regimen, taken over 24 hours, has the power to completely revolutionise access to safe abortion care, especially in low-resource and humanitarian settings, where MSF works. Used by millions of people for over 30 years, we have decades of research and experience showing how safe and effective abortion pills are.

Continued: https://www.msf.org/self-managed-abortion-pills-opens-access-millions-people

Unsafe abortion and maternal mortality in Nigeria

A director of global health nonprofit Pathfinder International claims the high rate at which women in Nigeria die as a result of unsafe abortions is one reason for the country to review its abortion laws. But does his data check out?

Published on 28 September 2021

Unsafe abortions caused 11% of the pregnancy-related deaths of women in Nigeria, Dr Habeeb Salami claimed at a September 2021 training workshop in Abuja, the country’s capital.

Salami is advocacy director for Pathfinder International, a global nonprofit that works to improve reproductive health, HIV and Aids prevention, and maternal health.

Continued: https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/reports/health-check-unsafe-abortion-and-maternal-mortality-nigeria

28.09.2021

Dr Oluwatosin Wuraola Akande

maternal death

maternal mortality

Pathfinder International

World Health Organization

Japan urged to abolish third-party consent from abortion law

Restrictions amount to ‘sexual assault’ on women by Japanese state, say rights campaigners

Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Mon 27 Sep 2021

Women’s health campaigners have urged Japan’s government to amend a law that forces married women to seek consent from their husbands before they can have an abortion.

Japan is one of only 11 countries that require third-party consent for abortions, despite calls to end the practice by the World Health Organization and other groups.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/27/japan-urged-to-abolish-third-party-consent-from-abortion-law

27.09.2021

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International Safe Abortion Day

Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Kazane Kajiya

Maternal Health Act

spousal consent for abortion

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

World Health Organization

In Spain, Abortions Are Legal, but Many Doctors Refuse to Perform Them

Many physicians in the country call themselves “conscientious objectors” and deny the procedures, often forcing women to travel long distances for one.

By Nicholas Casey
Sept. 21, 2021

ZARAGOZA, Spain — Dr. Mercedes Sobreviela, a gynecologist in this city in northeast Spain, believes it is a woman’s choice whether she has an abortion. She says the “right decision” for a woman is “always the one she wants.”

But as a physician in Spain, Dr. Sobreviela believes she has the right to choose as well, and she has chosen not to perform abortions.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/world/europe/spain-abortion-doctors.html

Abortion pills are booming worldwide. Will their use grow in Texas?

By Samantha Schmidt and Sammy Westfall
Sept 14, 2021

In the 1980s, women in Brazil began spreading the word about a pill used to treat ulcers. Sold over the counter, the drug carried a warning: Don’t use during pregnancy; risk of miscarriage.

It flew off the shelves. Hundreds of thousands of women, desperate for abortions in a country where the procedure was criminalized, now had an option.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/14/abortion-pills-texas/

How does Texas’ abortion law stack up with the rest of the developed world?

Sep 4, 2021
By Rob Picheta, CNN

Texas' ban on abortion beyond six weeks —
before many women even know they have conceived — has widened the reproductive
health gap between the United States and other leading democracies.

The U.S. Supreme Court formally denied a request from Texas abortion providers
to freeze the new law on Wednesday, even though it violates Roe v. Wade, which
legalized abortion across the U.S. prior to viability, which happens at around
24 weeks of pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.koco.com/article/how-does-texas-abortion-law-stack-up-with-the-rest-of-the-developed-world/37478205

Half a million abortions in Kenya every year, despite ban? Yes – and decade-old estimate still relevant

Most of the 500,000 terminations are unsafe, prompting Ghetto Radio host Maji Maji to ask if abortion should be made legal in Kenya.

Published on 24 August 2021

Radio celebrity Julius Owino, known as Maji Maji, recently made a startling claim to start off a discussion about abortion in Kenya.

“500,000 abortions hizo uhappen Kenya [happen in Kenya] nationwide, according to statistics,” he said on Ghetto Radio.

Continued: https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/reports/half-million-abortions-kenya-every-year-despite-ban-yes-and-decade-old-estimate

World leaders urged to improve access to safe abortion services

Source: Nestor Kafui Adjomah
12 August 2021

Chief Executive Officer of Global Media Foundation (GLOMeF), Raphael Godlove Ahenu, has called on world leaders to make safe abortion accessible to every woman who requests it.

According to him, “estimates from 2006 shows
that, in developing countries, the yearly cost for treating complications from
unsafe abortion amounts to US$ 553 million and US$ 6 billion for treating
post-abortion infertility across the world”.

Continued: https://www.myjoyonline.com/world-leaders-urged-to-improve-access-to-safe-abortion-services/