TAG: abortion

Brazil: Abortion lawsuit at the Supreme Court

On March 7, a lawsuit (ADPF 442) was filed at the Brazilian Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of Penal Code’s articles 124 and 126 that criminalize abortion. The petition was presented by the left-wing party PSOL and the feminist NGO Anis, because, as pointed out by the professor of criminal law Luciana Boiteux, a […]

Latin America’s Gender Ideology Explosion

While it would be nice to report that the phrase is merely a malapropism, it is a very deliberate concept spawned by conservative religious groups. “Gender ideology” is becoming the catch-all metonym of a growing global movement opposing gender equality, abortion,

Sexual Politics in February and early March 2017

There are many events to be reported in regard to abortion rights in February and early March 2017. The most important comes from Brazil where potential regressions on abortion rights have been registered in recent years. A lawsuit was filed at the Supreme Court, on March 7th, by a political party (PSOL) and the feminist […]

Uruguay: Young woman denied a legal abortion may take legal action against judge

A judge in the city of Mercedes, Soriano, has ruled against a woman having an abortion who was booked for the abortion on 23 February. The ruling came after her ex–partner tabled an amparo asking the court to delay the abortion so that he could challenge her decision. The judge agreed to hear the case […]

Annual Report 2016: International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion

In 2016, membership of the Campaign increased by 25% to 1,132 members in 113 countries. We coordinated and promoted the biggest and most influential International Safe Abortion Day on 28 September to date, calling for decriminalisation of abortion, a moratorium on prosecutions, and universal access to safe abortion. We also gathered hundreds of signatures from […]

Croatia: Constitutional Court upholds abortion rights

The Constitutional Court decision rejected claims made by conservative groups and individuals that allowing women access to abortion on request was unconstitutional. In its decision, the court reaffirmed that women’s access to abortion is protected within their constitutional rights to liberty, personality, and privacy.

Introduction of medical abortion methods in Zambia

After two years, 25 of 28 sites provided abortion services, caring for more than 13,000 women during the intervention. For the first time, abortion was decentralized, 19% of all abortion care was performed in health centres. At the end of the intervention, all providing facilities had managers supportive of continuing legal abortion services. When asked about the impact of medical abortion provision, a number of providers reported that medical abortion improved their ability to provide affordable safe abortion.

Petition to Supreme Court of Brazil seeks decriminalization of abortion

A petition was filed today, 7 March 2017, with the Brazilian Supreme Court which calls for the decriminalization of abortion on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. The petition was filed by the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL), with support from Anis – Institute of Bioethics.

Abortion incidence and unintended pregnancy in Nepal

Despite legalization of abortion and expansion of services in Nepal, unsafe abortion is still common and exacts a heavy toll on women. Programs and policies to reduce rates of unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion, increase access to high-quality contraceptive care and expand safe abortion services are warranted.

Uganda’s Abortion Rate: decreased since 2003, but Unsafe Procedures persist

An estimated 314,300 Ugandan women had abortions in 2013, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the U.S.-based Guttmacher Institute and Uganda’s Makerere University. This translates to a rate of 39 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–49, a significant decline from the rate in 2003, which was 51. The study also found that […]

Access to misoprostol through community-based advocacy in Kenya and Tanzania

This initiative proves that, even where abortion is legally restricted and socially stigmatized, community-based organizations can publicly and openly share information about misoprostol and refer it to women by using innovative and effective strategies, without political backlash

Sexual Politics in January 2017

In January, the first and foremost events to be reported are avalanche of draconian and regressive policy measures adopted in the chaotic first two weeks of the Trump administration. Though buried beneath the impact of outrageous closure of borders and decisions about trade agreements – which are subject to contradictory interpretations — gender and sexuality […]