Understanding The Work Of Abortion Doulas In A Post-Roe V. Wade America

BY MICHAEL-MICHELLE PRATT
SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

The matter of abortion has been a hot button issue since it became a politicized one. With the landmark case of Roe V. Wade on January 23, 1973, abortion became legal, only to be overturned on June 24, 2022. In the forty-nine years between those two dates, the reproductive rights of birthing people were thought to be safe and secure. However, Black women, femmes, and trans people have known this to be a falsehood for some time. This group is aware that they are the most vulnerable when drastic legislative changes occur, but the most influential work happens beyond and outside of legislation. Most of the real work has been happening in mutual aid and abolitionist spaces with the help of Black abortion doulas.

Continued: https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/abortion-doula/

30.09.2023

Commentary

abortion doulas

Ash Williams

Black abortion doulas

Bry Reed

reproductive oppression

‘This is not the endgame’: abortion clinic buffer zones come into effect in Northern Ireland

‘I’ve been spat on, I’ve been abused,’ says former Green Party leader Clare Bailey, who used to volunteer at a private Belfast clinic

Seanín Graham
Sat Sep 30 2023

On one of Belfast’s busiest streets, Clare Bailey is blinking away tears. Looking up at signage attached to a lamp-post around the corner from an NHS clinic providing abortions, she breaks into a smile. Her daughter, Jude, insists on taking her photograph.

It is seven years since Bailey, a former Northern Ireland Green Party leader and Assembly member, tabled a Private Members’ Bill at Stormont calling for the introduction of so-called buffer zones to prevent anti-abortion protests and harassment outside healthcare facilities offering terminations.

Contiuned: https://www.irishtimes.com/health/2023/09/30/this-is-not-the-endgame-abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-comes-into-effect-in-northern-ireland/

Venezuelan Women Fight for Sexual and Reproductive Rights Amid a Humanitarian Crisis

The country has one of the most restrictive laws in the region while girls and women are particularly affected by scarcity, inflation and violence

Victoria Capriles
September 29, 2023

In recent years, the Green Wave movement has swept over Latin America, demanding the legalization and decriminalization of abortion. While it started in Argentina in 2018 –when feminists used the white scarfs traditionally worn by the anti-dictatorship Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo as an inspiration, but changing them to green due to the color being nonpartisan– the movement has been pivotal in achieving the decriminalization of abortion to different degrees in countries like Argentina, Mexico and Colombia. In Venezuela, the Green Wave arrived in 2021. Renamed as Ruta Verde (Green Route), it was supported by grassroots-feminist organizations, more than 25 local NGOs and more than a dozen of independent activists.

Continued https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2023/09/29/venezuelan-women-fight-for-sexual-and-reproductive-rights-amid-a-humanitarian-crisis/

Americas: Brazil can become the next country to step up to guarantee the right to abortion

Amnesty International
September 28, 2023

To mark International Safe Abortion Day on 28 September, Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:

“Despite the green wave’s numerous victories in the Americas over the last few years, the rights gained and the opportunities to expand abortion protections are under attack by anti-rights actors. The overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States last year was a wakeup call for the movement, reminding us once more that the fight to defend and expand our rights must be ongoing.”

Continued: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/09/americas-brazil-right-to-safe-abortions/

Women across Argentina march in defence of abortion rights.

Sep 29, 2023

Thousands marched downtown on Thursday to defend the legalisation of abortion, which "is in danger," according to the demonstrators, if the far right candidate Javier Milei wins the presidential elections next month.

Most of the marchers, including feminist activists and trade union leaders, wore green, the symbolic colour of the struggle for the legalisation of abortion.

Continued: https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/women-across-argentina-march-in-defence-of-abortion-rights.phtml

29.09.2023

Demonstrators across Latin America demand abortion rights

September 28, 2023

Americas Desk, Sep 28 (EFE).- The Day for Decriminalization and Legalization of Abortion drew demonstrations all over Latin America on Thursday to address a lack of protection in countries such as El Salvador, fear of losing rights in Argentina, intense political debates in Brazil and progress in Mexico.

In El Salvador, activists from the Feminist Assembly denounced the total criminalization of abortion as the “greatest expression of violence” against women, who can be accused of aggravated homicide and sentenced to 30 years in prison, even in cases of miscarriage.

Continued : https://www.laprensalatina.com/demonstrators-across-latin-america-demand-abortion-rights/

On International Safe Abortion Day, women demand access to abortion through strong public health systems

On September 28, health and women’s rights activists are mobilizing to demand universal access to safe abortion and an end to the persecution of reproductive justice advocates

September 28, 2023
by Peoples Health Dispatch

On September 28, health and women’s rights activists worldwide commemorate International Safe Abortion Day, warning against the persisting disparities in access to sexual and reproductive health services in different countries. Numerous international treaties and declarations, such as the 1993 Vienna Declaration, advocate for the universal guarantee of access to safe abortion, and international bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO) actively promote this cause, yet countless women continue to face barriers when seeking this essential health care service.

As part of a global call to action, this year, activists are rallying for the universal decriminalization of abortion, improved access to high-quality post-abortion care, the inclusion of medical abortion pills on national essential medicines lists, and an end to the persecution of reproductive justice advocates, among other objectives.

Continued: https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/09/28/on-international-safe-abortion-day-women-demand-access-to-abortion-through-strong-public-health-systems/

28.09.2023

News

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fAktiv

Human Rights Watch

International Safe Abortion Day

Sexual Rights Initiative

Vienna Declaration

World Health Organization

Thousands of women march in Latin American cities calling for abortion rights

By Megan Janetsky & Debora Rey, The Associated Press
Sep 28, 2023

MEXICO CITY — The streets of cities across Latin America were bathed in green Thursday as tens of thousands of women marched to commemorate International Safe Abortion Day.

Latin American feminists have spent decades fighting to roll back strict prohibitions, although there are still few countries with a total ban, like El Salvador and Dominican Republic.

Continued: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/09/28/thousands-of-women-march-in-latin-american-cities-calling-for-abortion-rights/

Widening access to quality abortion care from the grassroots up

Testimonies of how access to quality abortion make a difference in the lives of women and girls

28 September 2023
World Health Organization

This year, International Safe Abortion Day profiles the unstoppable movement that is shaped by the diverse sexual and reproductive health community around the world, dedicated to protecting and promoting access to abortion care that is safe, affordable, timely and dignified.

In a series of captivating stories, the World Health Organization together with IBP Network highlights some important key players in this abortion care movement: local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs). In many parts of the world, these organizations are successfully translating WHO’s research and evidence-based recommendations into concrete actions that support women and girls’ agency and right to health.

Continued: https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/widening-access-to-quality-abortion-care-from-the-grassroots-up

USA – Billboards Throughout South and Midwest Advertise Abortion Access: ‘Pregnant? You Still Have a Choice’

9/27/2023
by CARRIE N. BAKER, Ms. Magazine

For years, right-wing evangelicals have posted billboards along highways and in towns across the U.S. trumpeting their religious views and their anti-abortion beliefs. Now, post-Dobbs, abortion rights supporters are fighting back with their own roadside billboards and mobile digital LED advertising trucks.

Shout Your Abortion recently posted six abortion rights billboards along interstate 55 through five states that have banned abortion—from Memphis, Tenn., to Carbondale, Ill. The billboards include messages like, “God’s Plan Includes Abortion” and “Abortion is Okay: You Know What’s Best for You.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2023/09/27/abortion-billboards/

27.09.2023