TAG: abortion laws

“These things are dangerous”: Understanding induced abortion trajectories in urban Zambia

Unsafe abortion is a significant but preventable cause of global maternal mortality and morbidity. Zambia has among the most liberal abortion laws in sub-Saharan Africa, however this alone does not guarantee access to safe abortion, and 30% of maternal mortality is attributable to unsafe procedures.

Unsafe Abortion Is Common In Tanzania and Is A Major Cause of Maternal Death

In the first nationally representative study of the incidence of abortion and the provision of postabortion care in Tanzania, researchers found that clandestine abortion is common and is a major contributor to maternal death and injury. The study, conducted by researchers at the U.S.-based Guttmacher Institute and Tanzania’s National Institute for Medical Research and Muhimbili […]

Health, Human Rights and the Zika Virus

To fight Zika we must fight poverty and powerlessness and ensure that women enjoy their rights.

A new bill aims to make Brazil’s abortion law even tougher

The rise of Zika and its troubling possible link to head deformities in babies have certainly reignited the debate over Brazil’s abortion law.

From Sketchy Pills To Upscale Clinics: Illegal Abortion In Brazil

Marina” got pregnant at the age of 20 when she was living in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Abortion is illegal in the country, except in rare circumstances, but she knew she had to terminate. “I was young and ambitious,” said the now-31-year-old, who describes herself as upper middle-class. “I had so many career and travel plans. I couldn’t just become a mother at that point.”

African Commission Calls on Uganda to Ensure The Right to Legal Abortion and Access to Reproductive Health Services

The government of Uganda should stop impeding access to medical abortion and reproductive health services, according to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights—a regional body charged with ensuring African states comply with their human rights obligations under regional and international human rights treaties.

Guyana: Midwives, nurses & pharmacists can provide abortion pill

In Guyana, Madam Justice Roxane George has interpreted its Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1995 to permit midlevel providers to deliver nonsurgical/medication abortion of not more than eight weeks. This now means that medexes (persons trained above midwives, but below doctors, who serve in remote areas), midwives, nurses and pharmacists can provide the abortion […]

Chile House of Deputies passes abortion bill

Yesterday, 17 March, the House of Deputies of the Chilean Congress passed the abortion law reform bill tabled by President Michelle Bachelet and her coalition colleagues over one year ago, following a heated debate.

Tackling Zika: Have We Learned Our Lesson on Rights?

The Zika virus outbreak and the increase of babies being born with birth defects seemingly linked to the mosquito-transmitted disease have generated a series of prescriptions from governments of the most affected countries about what people need to do and not do. These include asking women to delay pregnancies—until 2018 in El Salvador, for example.

Life and Death in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a dangerous place to be pregnant. It has one of the highest rates of maternal death in the world, second only to Afghanistan in the Asia Pacific region. Only slightly more than 50 percent of women give birth in a facility or with the help of a skilled birth attendant, […]

The sexual politics in February 2016

In February, there were good news to report from both Haiti and Europe. In the case of Haiti, the Penal Code reform is underway and the draft document approved by a committee of juridical experts includes a provision that legalizes abortion on the basis of public health concerns and freedom of women. Although this is […]

Haiti: Legal abortion is proposed in the Penal Code reform

During a restitution workshop of the draft of the new Code of Criminal Procedure which will replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, from 1835, which will allow Haiti, according to members of the Presidential Commission for its implementation, to reach the level of requirements and unavoidable challenges that characterize our society, once the vote by […]