Jersey – Abortion limit could be increased to 21 weeks

by Christie Bailey
24 March 2025

THE legal abortion limit in Jersey could rise to 21 weeks. However, terminations after 12 weeks will still not be widely available in the Island because there are “not currently” the facilities and skills required to “safely deliver later-stage terminations”, according to a recently launched consultation.

Proposed changes to Jersey’s Termination of Pregnancy Law were recently set out in the consultation inviting Islanders to give feedback.

Continued: https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2025/03/24/abortion-limit-could-be-increased-to-21-weeks/

24.03.2025

Jersey’s Termination of Pregnancy Law

Illicit Abortions in Morocco Decrease by 50%, Says Expert

The staggering decrease points to the impact of stricter law enforcement, while raising concerns about the safety and health of women forced to seek alternatives.

Hajare Elkhaldi
Mar 23, 2025

Rabat – The number of clandestine abortions in Morocco has dropped by 50%, decreasing from over 200,000 to around 100,000 since the crackdown on doctors accused of performing illegal abortions began in 2018.

The new numbers were recently cited by Professor Chafik Chraibi, president of the Moroccan association for the fight against illegal abortion, in an interview with Medias24.

Moroccan women seeking to get an illegal abortions risk a prison sentence from six months to two years, as well as the risk of an added sentence if they are having sexual relations outside of marriage.

Continued: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2025/03/186865/illicit-abortions-in-morocco-decrease-by-50-says-expert/

23.03.2025

News

Chafik Chraibi

clandestine abortion

Moroccan association for the fight against illegal abortion

Scotland – Police decline to intervene as anti-abortion group ignores buffer zone

March 23, 2025
By Xander Elliards

POLICE did not respond after being called to a fringe group of anti-abortion protesters who were breaching Scotland’s buffer zone regulations.

The Scottish Family Party – who, as well as wanting to see abortion rights rolled back, oppose same-sex marriage, sperm and egg donation, and the clause banning harassment in the Equality Act – held a small-scale protest outside the public entrance to the Chalmers Centre in Edinburgh on Saturday evening.

Continued: https://www.thenational.scot/news/25030333.police-decline-intervene-anti-abortion-group-ignores-buffer-zone/

Laws and ethics must work together to achieve gender equality

Editorial, By Surjit Singh Flora, statetimes_editor
Mar 23, 2025

Female feticide and sex-selective abortion are major issues globally, worsened by medical advancements like ultrasonography and amniocentesis that allow parents to know the fetus’s sex early in pregnancy.

… A 2022 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) highlighted India, China, Azerbaijan, and Vietnam as the countries with the most unfavourable sex ratios. In patriarchal societies, the preference for male children, combined with smaller family sizes and sex-determination technologies, has led to a notable demographic imbalance. This imbalance has worsened issues like the increasing trafficking of women, forced marriages, and overall social instability.

Continued: https://statetimes.in/laws-and-ethics-must-work-together-to-achieve-gender-equality/

23.03.2025

Editorial

PCPNDT Act

sex ratio imbalance

sex selection abortion

sex-selective abortion

Surjit Singh Flora

UNFPA

United Nations Population Fund

Northern Ireland – Retired pastor denies illegal protest at abortion safe access zone in Coleraine

Clive Johnston disputes the charges on a devolution point and under the European Convention on Human Rights

Paul Higgins
Fri Mar 21 2025

A retired church pastor on Friday denied conducting an illegal protest at an abortion safe access zone in a Coleraine hospital.

Appearing on behalf of Clive Johnston at Coleraine Magistrates Court, defence counsel Aaron Thompson entered pleas of not guilty to the two charges on behalf of the 76-year-old retired pastor, revealing that the defendant disputes the charges on a devolution point and under article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2025/03/21/retired-pastor-denies-illegal-protest-at-abortion-safe-access-zone-in-coleraine/

How will Canada lead on sexual and reproductive health and rights in the era of Trump?

Barely two months into his Presidency, Donald Trump has devastated global sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

by Jacqueline Potvin
March 21, 2025

On January 24, Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy (the “global gag rule,”) which restricts US global health funding from going to any non-government organization that provides abortion services, advocacy, or information.

This reinstatement will harm women and people who can become pregnant, limiting their access to important healthcare information and services. Its effects will be exacerbated by wide-sweeping cuts to US Agency for International Development (USAID) funding and staff. These moves come at a time when Canada’s own commitments to global sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), which have recently been strong, may be at risk.

Continued: https://rabble.ca/human-rights/how-will-canada-lead-on-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-in-the-era-of-trump/

New threats to abortion rights hit Puerto Rico as advocates share how to fight back

Abortion is legal in the U.S. territory, but a new wave of anti-abortion proponents are pushing for more restrictions, with some success

by Mariela Santos-Muñiz
March 20th, 2025

Nearly three years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion rights across the country have been dangerously eroded. But the impact on reproductive rights didn’t affect just the 50 states: The case also altered the landscape in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory in the Caribbean made up of about 3.2 million people.

Reproductive rights are still intact in Puerto Rico, as there are legal grounds to support them. The Penal Code considers abortion a crime, but not if it’s performed in the interest of the pregnant person’s health, and the El Pueblo de Puerto Rico vs. Pablo Duarte Mendoza case established that that standard encompasses both the physical and mental health.

Continued: https://prismreports.org/2025/03/20/puerto-rico-abortion-advocates/

Bermuda – Women’s advocates call for better access to abortion

Sarah Lagan, Chief Reporter
Mar 20, 2025

The head of a charity and a former senator have welcomed a Throne Speech pledge to remove abortion from the criminal code.

They agree that more is needed to improve access to and affordability of pregnancy termination.

Juanae Crockwell, the executive director of the Women’s Resource Centre, who previously spoke out on the issue, and Arianna Hodgson, the former senator who pushed the issue of abortion to the fore in September in the Upper House, backed a commitment by the Progressive Labour Party to remove the requirements for a medical committee’s approval for terminations.

Continued: https://www.royalgazette.com/health/news/article/20250320/womens-advocates-call-for-better-access-to-abortion/

20.03.2025

Social Justice Bermuda

Therapeutic Abortion Committee

Women's Resource Centre

Trump’s pardons spark fresh fights over abortion clinic safety

Democratic state lawmakers are trying to bolster protections, but those efforts are imperiled by legal fights.

By Alice Miranda Ollstein and Amanda Friedman
03/19/2025

Abortion rights supporters across the country are scrambling to strengthen protections for clinics in response to moves by the Trump administration that they believe will put providers and patients in danger.

Democratic lawmakers have introduced bills in Illinois, Michigan, New York and elsewhere to restrict demonstrations outside of clinics, increase criminal penalties for people who harass doctors and patients, or allocate more funds for abortion providers to buy security cameras, bulletproof glass and other protections.

Continued: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/19/abortion-clinic-safety-trump-pardons-00234319

Court upholds Polish mayor’s decision to dissolve anti-abortion protest over image of foetus

Mar 17, 2025
Notes from Poland

A court has upheld a decision by the city of Toruń to dissolve an anti-abortion protest because it featured a graphic image purporting to show an aborted foetus.

The organiser of the protest has condemned the ruling, which she says “violates the constitution, the law, freedom of speech and freedom of religion”.

But the city’s mayor welcomed the court’s decision, saying that, while he supports free speech, it must be expressed in a manner consistent with the law and without violating the dignity of others.

Continued: https://notesfrompoland.com/2025/03/17/court-upholds-polish-mayors-decision-to-dissolve-anti-abortion-protest-over-image-of-foetus/

17.03.2025