Some people who seek abortions can face prison time in more than 120 countries, analysis shows

In six countries, some abortion seekers can face life in prison, according to a global study of the penalization of abortion.

March 21, 2023
By Julianne McShane

Some people who seek or obtain abortions can face prison time in more than 120 countries, according to an analysis published Monday that sheds new light on international penalties for the procedure.

More than 90 countries have maximum penalties of up to five years of prison time for certain abortion-seekers, while 25 have sentences of between five and 10 years, according to the research, which relied on a World Health Organization database of abortion policies.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/abortion-penalties-prison-time-around-world-rcna75760

21.03.2023

Antonella Lavelanet

global abortion laws

Global Abortion Policies Database

prosecuting abortion providers

prosecuting women for abortion

Rebecca Cook

World Health Organization

PAHO and partners launch campaign to reduce maternal mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean

Every hour, a woman loses her life in the region due to complications in pregnancy, childbirth or postpartum, the vast majority of which are preventable.

PAHO / WHO
8 Mar 2023

Washington DC - The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) together with other United Nations agencies and partners, today launched a campaign to encourage countries in Latin American and the Caribbean to reduce maternal mortality, which increased by 15% between 2016 and 2020.

Around 8,400 women die each year in the region from complications in pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. High blood pressure, severe bleeding, and complications from unsafe abortion are the most common causes. However, nine out of ten of these deaths are preventable through quality care, access to contraception and by reducing inequities in access to care.

Continued: https://reliefweb.int/report/world/paho-and-partners-launch-campaign-reduce-maternal-mortality-latin-america-and-caribbean

Married Women Are Most Likely To Opt For Abortions In Developing Countries

Anuradha Varanasi
Feb 28, 2022

Access to safe abortions in low-income and middle-income countries is still a major struggle — thanks to socioeconomic factors, lack of skilled healthcare workers, and patriarchal norms that restrict women’s bodily autonomy, among other barriers. Globally, 45% of all abortions are unsafe and a whopping 97% of them take place in developing countries.

A new study published in the journal PLOS One has highlighted that married women were far more likely to undergo abortions in low-income and middle-income countries. Especially those who had more than four children or were above the age of 30 and highly educated.

Continued: https://www.forbes.com/sites/anuradhavaranasi/2023/02/28/in-developing-countries-married-women-are-most-likely-to-opt-for-abortions/?sh=15dcbd9b2144

28.02.2023

News

Research

married women and abortion

World Health Organization

Vietnam – Teenagers lack knowledge about reproductive health

SGGP
February 21, 2023

Some medical experts believed that minors lack basic knowledge and skills on protection and care for reproductive and sexual health, so they easily become victims of sexual abuse, leading to bad consequences. Lack of parents' and relatives’ care and schooling also worsened the problem.

According to the World Health Organization, children entering adolescence are going through many physical and psychological changes like exploring their own capabilities and expanding many new relationships. Teenagers having early sexual intercourse have a higher risk of sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancy, and unsafe abortion.

Continued: https://www.sggpnews.org.vn/teenagers-lack-knowledge-about-reproductive-health-post100396.html

How US abortion organisers are learning from Honduran activistsc

As networks, some clandestine, form to help women access abortion in the US, they look to Central America for a road map – and a warning.

By Delaney Nolan
Published On 19 Feb 2023

New Orleans, United States – The half dozen women gathered in the backyard pause for a moment to listen to the television next door. The neighbour is playing a football game at high volume. It’s loud. That’s good – it gives them cover.

“I couldn’t hear anything from the sidewalk,” says Ana,* referring to the women’s conversation. “I think we’re OK,” says another. The rest are reassured.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/2/19/how-us-abortion-organisers-are-learning-from-honduran-activists

Africa’s Progress Against Maternal and Infant Mortality Has ‘Flatlined’

Dec 1, 2022
Kerry Cullinan

In the past decade, Africa’s progress against maternal and infant mortality has flatlined, and it will need to reduce maternal deaths by a massive 86%, and more than halve the deaths of babies to reach global targets by 2030.

This is according to the Atlas of African Health Statistics 2022 released by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Africa region on Thursday.

Continued: https://healthpolicy-watch.news/africas-progress-against-maternal-and-infant-mortality-has-flatlined/

01.12.2022

Kenya Medical Research Institute

maternal mortality

Sustainable Development Goals

World Health Organization

Africa

Health

Human Rights

‘Umbuntu: I am because we are’ – East, Central and Southern Africa OBGYNs come together to inspire and be inspired

24 November 2022
Chira Zerbo, FIGO. Project Assistant, Advocating for Safe Abortion Project

In October 2022, the first Community of Practice (COP) – a partnership between the East, Central, and Southern Africa College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ECSACOG) and FIGO’s Advocating for Safe Abortion Project – was hosted in Rwanda.

The COP is comprised of sexual reproductive health champions from 10 national OBGYN societies – Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique – that came together to leverage their clinical expertise and resources to address the scale of unsafe abortion in the Eastern, Central and Southern Africa region.

Continued: https://www.figo.org/news/east-central-and-southern-africa-obgyns-inspire

Poland’s de facto abortion ban risks lives, says MEP

By Clara Bauer-Babef and Eleonora Vasques | EURACTIV.com
Nov 18, 2022

While technically allowed in some cases, abortion in Poland may as well be forbidden, putting women’s lives at risk, said Robert Biedron, EU lawmaker and leader of the Polish opposition party Nowa Lewica on Thursday (17 November).

Two years ago, Poland’s constitutional court approved a highly-restrictive new law that de facto banned abortion. Only 107 legal abortions were performed in 2021, approximately 90% less than in previous years, according to figures published by the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/polands-de-facto-abortion-ban-risks-lives-says-mep/

Updated family planning guide promotes empowerment, health and wellbeing – WHO

Wider access to self-administered contraceptives and the use of digital technologies by providers are just two of the tangible measures outlined in the latest edition of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidance on family planning.

15 November 2022

WHO’s updated landmark Family Planning Handbook, launched on Tuesday, informs health workers on protecting access to family planning services during emergencies, and provides policy makers with the most current information on contraceptive options.

“Family planning promotes self-actualization, empowerment, as well as health and wellbeing, and reduces maternal and infant deaths through the prevention of unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion”, said Pascale Allotey, WHO’s Director for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.

Continued: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/11/1130592

15.11.2022

Featured

News

family planning

Family Planning Handbook

Pascale Allotey

World Health Organization

How the US scrapping of Roe v Wade threatens the global medical abortion revolution

Medical abortions are a global success story, and not one that will be easily derailed by the legislative backsliding in the US. Time, now, to close the access gaps, report Sally Howard and Geetanjali Krishna

BMJ 2022; 379
doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o2349 (Published 19 October 2022)

Sally Howard, Geetanjali Krishna

In 2021, a 20 year old woman in Hyderabad, India, discovered she was pregnant.
A well educated, city girl, she was nevertheless afraid of the stigma attached
to unmarried pregnancy and did not know if she could legally terminate the
pregnancy. Around the same time, another young couple living together in
Bengaluru were in a similar predicament.

“Both women were not ready for a child but completely clueless about the
options they had, and the gestation period up to which abortion is legally
allowed in India,” says Anusha Pilli, a doctor who practises privately in
Hyderabad. Pilli helped both women to get medical abortions before their first
trimesters ended.

Continued: https://www.bmj.com/content/379/bmj.o2349