Top visual byOreofe Morakinyo,Open Democracy
NORTH AMERICA
Guttmacher Institute Policy Analysis, On the 20th anniversary of medication abortion, anti-abortion politicians are trying to ban it, by Megan K Donovan, Laura Cross, 28 September 2020. “The abortion pill – this one advancement in medicine haschanged the landscapeof how people obtain and experience abortion in this country. Beyond its exceptionally safe and effective track record, what makes this method particularly significant is how convenient and private it can be – and how radically it could expand access to abortion care if freed from politically motivated restrictions.”
Huffington Post UK, How politics and bureaucracy halted the promise of the abortion pill [in the USA], by Melissa Jeltsen, HuffPost US, 28 September 2020. Interview with Cindy Pearson, National Women’s Health Network on fighting for FDA approval of mifepristone in the 1990s, including the anti-abortion violence that frightened the FDA into imposing non-medically necessary restrictions.
Gynuity Health Projectswrote a special newsletter for 28 September celebrating all those around the globe who work tirelessly to provide safe abortion services and the date as the 20th anniversary of the approval of mifepristone in the United States. They point out that regimens have become much more user-friendly, with fewer clinic visits, pills taken at home, the route of misoprostol administration now by mouth, the gestational age limit increased, and health workers such as nurse practitioners now commonly provide the abortion medications.
Stat, The FDA approved the abortion pill 20 years ago. It’s time to make it available via telehealth, by Ushma D Upadhyay. 24 September 2020
EUROPE
Pressemitteilung: Berlin feiert den internationalen Safe Abortion Day, by Sexuelle-Selbstbestimmung Germany, 28 September 2020.
Abortion remains difficult to access in Germany.Press releaseby Women on Waves, 28 September 2020.
Lacuna. Abortion Without Borders: Feminists across Europe unite against Poland’s restrictive laws, by Claudia Torrisi, 28 September 2020. See thePolish language versionof this story here.
Open Democracy. Abortion Without Borders: a bold, feminist reply to Poland’s draconian laws, by Claudia Torrisi, 28 September 2020
Mouvement français pour le planning familial. France: L’avortement : une solution et un combat, 28 September 2020. La crise sanitaire exacerbe les inégalités sociales et économiques. Les droits sexuels et reproductifs sont toujours les premiers attaqués et remis en question au plan national comme international. Le droit à l’avortement, droit humain et fondamental pour disposer librement de son corps et de sa vie, a été au cœur de ces attaques contre les droits des femmes.
Pledge Times, In Austria, a unique museum in the world dedicated to contraception and abortion, by Bhavi Mandalia, 28 September 2020. (Aussi disponsible en français aFranceTVInfo.fr)
KIT NL. The Dutch approach to abortion: leading or lagging in guaranteeing women’s rights? by Lisa Juanola, KIT SRHR Advisor, Irene de Vries, KIT Advisor on SRHR, Maternal and Newborn Care, 28 September 2020.
Metro UK, If you don’t like abortion, don’t have one, by Rose Stokes, 28 September 2020. “Today, on International Safe Abortion Day, which aims to shine a light on the uneven rights of women worldwide to access safe abortions, it’s hard not to reflect on the damage that ignorance has on the lives of women, both at home and abroad.”
ASIA
Rappler, Philippines: Why we need to decriminalize abortion, by Claire Padilla, 28 September 2020. “The restrictive, colonial, and archaic 1930 Revised Penal Code abortion law has never reduced the number of women inducing abortion. It has only endangered the lives of hundreds of thousands of Filipino women who have made personal decisions to induce abortion for various reasons (economic – 75%; too young, under 25 years old – 46%; health reasons – one-third; rape – 13%) but are unable to access safe abortion services.”
Times of India, Why is the woman missing from the abortion debate? by Vinoj Manning, Aisha Aggarwal, 28 September 2020.The whole world except for the woman continues to debate the politics of abortion, the legality and morality of abortion. Let us pause and think about the woman who deserves a respectful termination if she chooses not to continue her pregnancy.
Thomson Reuters Foundation, Young people key to safe and legal abortion in Bangladesh, by Tasnia Amed, Nujhat Jahan Khan, 28 September 2020. For young people, allies and pro-choice advocates,the recent rulingof the High Court of Bangladesh asking why the abortion related sections of the Penal Code should not be obliterated inspires a new found hope to fight for the right to safe and legal abortion.
CommonHealth’s Blog, Access to safe abortion in South Asia during COVID 19: A crisis or an opportunity, by Dr Shilpa Shroff, 28 September 2020.
LATIN AMERICA
Border Report, ‘Global action’ day behind push for legalized abortion in Mexico, by Salvador Rivera, 22 September 2020. Several groups in the city of Tijuana have pledged to demonstrate on 28 September demanding access to safe, free and legal abortions, which is illegal in many parts of Mexico and many other countries around the world. One woman named Cristal said the day of “global action” march will shed light on what she called “the need for the right to an abortion”.
RT Live, 28 Septiembre: Reivindican el derecho al aborto legal el Día Internacional del reclamo.
Reporting the legal situation and what was happening on 28 September across Latin America:
Efecto Cocuyo.com, “Se debe abrir el debate sobre la despenalización del aborto”, dijo Selene Soto de Women’s Link”, texto porMaría Victoria Fermín Kancev, 28 Septiembre 2020. In Venezuela, in the midst of a complete humanitarian emergency, there is a reality that no one is talking about, but that occurs daily: the practice of abortion in unsafe conditions, that puts the lives of women at risk.
DiarioTortuga.com, Argentina: Lanzan Carta al Presidente y Diputadxs y Senadorxs, Exigiendo «Aborto Legal» Para 2020, 27 Septiembre 2020.
Pausa, Argentina: Carta al Congreso y a Alberto Fernández: «Es urgente, es prioridad: Aborto Legal 2020», 27 de septiembre 2020. Within the framework of the Day for the Legalisation of Abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean, which is commemorated every September 28, the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe and Free Abortion of Argentina sent an open letter to the President and the National Congress, in which they urgently demand the legalization of voluntary abortion in the Congress of the Nation.
Infobae, Argentina: “En situación de pandemia, legalizar el aborto es más urgente que nunca”, by Martha Rosenberg, 27 September 2020. In a pandemic situation, legalisation of abortion is more urgent than ever.
The Guardian UK. Argentina: President under pressure to keep election promise on abortion, by Uki Goñi, 28 September 2020. Pro-choice campaigners are renewing pressure on president Alberto Fernández to make good on his electoral pledge to legalise abortion in Argentina. More than 1,000 public figures, writers, journalists and artists added their names to an advert published in three Argentinian newspapers on Sunday, calling for the government to keep its commitment.
AFRICA
Chronicle.co.zw, Safe abortion is health care, by Edinah Masiyiwa, Executive Director, Women’s Action Group, Zimbabwe. It is time we pass effective laws and policies that promote women’s choices when it comes to keeping or terminating a pregnancy especially now when it is so difficult for many women and girls to access sexual and reproductive health and rights in the Covid-19 era. We also cannot afford to keep seeing policy agreements passed that are never fulfilled…. Yet, to date, the region is not fulfilling its promises as it grapples to supply basic services such as contraceptives. The low access is resulting in an increase in unwanted pregnancies and no doubt an increase in unsafe abortion.
The Independent UK. Uganda: Experts cautious as activists push for access to abortion drug, 28 September 2020. Activists are calling for easing of restrictions on dispensing the abortion drug mifepristone, as the world commemorates International Safe Abortion Day. Fatumah Nakalembe, an outreach officer at Community Health Rights Network (COHERINET), who promote sexual and reproductive health and rights, says that with restrictions on access to drugs that can safely help in pregnancy termination, many women and girls resort to using crude methods that end up costing them their lives. She said during the lockdown instituted to halt the spread of Covid-19 early this year, they would get calls from women who needed post-abortion care after using sticks and wires to abort, but couldn’t get to health facilities because of transport challenges. She said that they decided to train lay community liaison officers through online sessions to be able to administer drugs like mifepristone to women, when continuing with the pregnancy was harmful.
GLOBAL
World Health Organization News release, International Safe Abortion Day. HRP works towards the prevention of unsafe abortion in the context of Covid-19, 28 September 2020. During the current pandemic, International Safe Abortion Day is a timely reminder that access to legal and safe abortion is fundamental to every person’s right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. “Eliminating unsafe abortion is one of the key components of theWHO Global reproductive health strategy,” explained Ian Askew, Director of HRP and the WHO Department of SRH. “Covid-19 is teaching us so many lessons about digital health, self-management and opportunities for better service delivery to achieve this – now, in future, and in future healthcare emergencies.”
Accessing Abortion During a Pandemic– Where Are We Now?, by Safe Abortion Action Fund, 28 September 2020
FIGO.org, International Safe Abortion Day – Zambia DJ shows support, 30 September 2020. Community Radio Youth DJ, Nchimunya Chadukwa, whilst spinning his records interviewed Dr Whyson Munga, an Ob-Gyn at the Women and Newborn Hospital at Lusaka’s University Teaching Hospital. He wanted to learn more about the reproductive rights of adolescents, better understand the issue of current statistics on early pregnancies in young people and the impact of unsafe abortion on them, and why access to safe abortion services is a fundamental human right of all women/girls in Zambia. The idea of the radio programme stemmed from advocacy training by FIGO in June. Local community-based, youth organisations and doctors agreed to jointly host a radio programme. It was felt that to reach out to a young audience, it would be interesting for young people themselves to run the show.
FIGO News, FIGO supports strengthening access to telemedicine/self-managed abortion, by Jameen Kaur, Advocating for Safe Abortion Project, 28 September 2020. On the 100th anniversary of the first law to legalise access to abortion, FIGO stands in solidarity with the international safe abortion campaign calls to strengthen access to telemedicine/self-managed abortion.