Madeleine Anderson
09 Dec 2024
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has called for the decriminalisation of abortion in England, Wales and Scotland. The union urged abortion to be treated as a health matter, rather than a criminal issue, in a statement issued last week.
It is currently a criminal offence for women to obtain an abortion without the approval of two doctors, as outlined in the 1967 Abortion Act, in England, Wales and Scotland.
Femke COLBORNE
Dec 7, 2024
German campaigners are pushing for reform to remove legal hurdles for women seeking an abortion, with emotions running high on the issue as the country heads for early elections.
Under German law, abortion is illegal but tolerated in practice for women who are up to 12 weeks pregnant. However, a woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy must first receive compulsory counselling, followed by a three-day waiting period and many doctors say the process can be complicated as well as traumatic.
By Lais Morais
December 5, 2024
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - When Rebeca Mendes became pregnant, she fought for the right to have an abortion in Brazil. The Supreme Court denied her request to allow it in 2017, so she flew to Colombia to terminate her pregnancy.
Now she is an activist for the right to have safe and legal abortions in a country where they are only allowed in the case of rape, fetal deformation or the mother's life is in danger.
Continued: https://www.yahoo.com/news/brazilian-abortion-activist-had-abroad-130349895.html
The country's abortion law has reduced fertility rates and preventable deaths among girls ages 10 to 14
By Maria Emilia Pianesi
December 4, 2024
Each year, comprehensive abortion care could save the lives of up to nearly 39,000 women and prevent related health complications for 5 million women worldwide. A multicountry survey on the implementation of comprehensive abortion policies in Latin America and the Caribbean found that safe abortions and quality post-abortion care in the region is limited by some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. As a result, the issue remains a major health and policy challenge in the region.
In this context, Argentina has taken a historic step for sexual and reproductive health and rights by legalizing abortion. Law 27.610, Access to Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy and Post-Abortion Care, has been enforced since January 2021. It allows anyone to request an abortion before 14 weeks of pregnancy and entails no time limit in cases of sexual assault or when the life of the applicant is in danger.
Continued: https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/argentinas-abortion-law-three-years-later
The senate became a “theme park” against women’s reproductive and sexual rights.
Fernando Heller, EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es
Dec 3, 2024
Right-wing and far-right politicians launched an offensive against abortion on Monday at an 'ultra' summit in the Spanish Senate, despite the left-wing government's criticism of Spain's right-wing Partido Popular for compromising the neutrality of this state institution.
The Spanish Senate, where Spain’s Partido Popular (PP/EPP), the main opposition force to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's (PSOE/S&D) government, has a majority, hosted the VI Transatlantic Summit Against Abortion, an international forum bringing together 300 representatives of the far-right and right-wing camps from 45 countries.
Fifty years ago the French parliament passed a groundbreaking bill that would eventually decriminalise abortion, championed by health minister Simone Veil, amidst intense opposition.
29/11/2024
By: Sarah Elzas with RFI
After three days of fierce debate, the first draft of the bill was passed on 29 November, 1974. And while the right to abortion has since been enshrined in the French constitution, a world first, the bill’s adoption by the National Assembly half a century ago was far from a given.
Newly elected president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing had promised to decriminalise abortion, but his justice minister, Jean Lecanuet, who was tasked with drafting the legislation, refused to do it for personal, ethical reasons.
November 29, 2024
Cyriacus Nnaji
AS efforts are being made globally to ensure a safer reproductive health system, a Non-Governmental Organisation, Initiative to Resist Institutional Slavery and Exploitation (IRISE) has convened a stakeholders’ meeting to find solution to unsafe abortion practices which are destroying not just the youth but also women of reproductive age.
This much was revealed at a stakeholders’ meeting convened by IRISE on 23th of November, 2024… Leading to the meeting was a survey conducted in October, 2024 aimed to understand community specific factors affecting Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) and the impact of unsafe abortion practices in Oshodi-Isolo.
By Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press
November 27, 2024
A Canadian non-profit that helps women obtain the abortion pill in countries with restrictions says it saw a fourfold increase in U.S. requests after the presidential election.
The majority of inquiries came from women who were not pregnant, suggesting many want the drug on hand in case they need it, says Venny Ala-Siurua, executive director of Women on Web.
Ala-Siurua, based in Montreal, says some women fear abortions could become illegal or harder to access in the U.S. after Donald Trump takes office.
Founded by members of shadowy Catholic organisation Opus Dei, the AFI has become one of Guatemala’s most influential groups
26 November 2024
OpenDemocracy
In the first half of this year, seven girls aged between 10 and 14 gave birth in Guatemala every single day.
Guatemalan law states that these 1,298 girls are the victims of sexual violence. Medical professionals say their pregnancies pose a high risk to their physical and mental health. But the Asociación la Familia Importa (AFI), Guatemala’s most influential anti-abortion organisation, has focused on preventing such girls from having abortions at any cost – and it is succeeding.
Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/afi-guatemala-opus-dei-anti-abortion-restrict-rights-latin-america/
To safeguard individuals’ control over their reproductive health and protect human rights, governments must remove legal barriers that hinder access to self-managed abortion.
November 26, 2024
By Andrés Constantin & Katherine Mayall, Open Global Rights
In the ongoing struggle for reproductive justice, self-managed abortion has emerged as a vital tool for ensuring reproductive autonomy, privacy, and health. Self-managed abortion is the process of ending a pregnancy without direct clinical supervision, often by using medications such as mifepristone and misoprostol. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes that people can safely self-manage abortion using medication abortion pills during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, making this an essential aspect of advancing reproductive rights globally.
Yet, although this practice offers a critical pathway for individuals to exercise control over their reproductive health, legal and policy barriers remain entrenched worldwide, obstructing access to self-managed abortion. This is not simply a health issue—it is a profound human rights violation that demands urgent attention.
Continued: https://www.openglobalrights.org/self-managed-abortion-a-global-human-rights-imperative/
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