news

by Adam Easton
Date: 23 September 2009

Source: BBC News

A Polish court has awarded $11,000 (7,400 euros) in damages to a woman likened to a child killer by a Catholic magazine for wanting an abortion. Ms T had been warned by doctors when she became pregnant that she could go blind if she had her baby. She was denied an abortion - which should be allowed in Poland when the health of the mother is threatened - and her eyesight subsequently deteriorated. The court in southern Poland ruled that the Catholic magazine, Gosc Niedzielny, had drawn clear parallels between Ms T's desire to have an abortion and the actions of Nazi war criminals. The judge said it had shown "contempt, hostility and malice" and although Catholics have the right to express their disapproval of abortion and even call it murder, they do not have the right to vilify individuals. The magazine's editor said the ruling was unfair and denied comparing Ms T to Nazi criminals. His lawyers said they would use the principle of freedom of speech to appeal.

Date: 16 September 2009

Source: MTN Press Release

by Martina Devlin
Date: 10 September 2009
Source: The Irish Independent

Martina Devlin was having a tooth drilled when a listener's email was read out on Today FM which was playing in the background. A 28-year-old single Irishwoman explained why she flew to England for an abortion, what happened during that day, and how she felt in the aftermath. She described fainting in the airport as she waited five hours for her return flight to Ireland, and the guilt, shame and secrecy, which added their weight to this daunting experience. If the procedure had been available at home, it would have taken two hours. Instead she caught two flights, underwent an 18-hour day and endured the experience on her own because of the stigma attached to abortion, which remains illegal in Ireland. Her conclusion was that women should not be obliged to travel to another jurisdiction if they decide against continuing with a pregnancy; that the State is shirking its duty towards living citizens as opposed to unborn ones by denying them the option of a termination on home ground.

All three women in that dental surgery were riveted: the dentist, her assistant and Devlin. Motherhood is venerated in Ireland yet even within this context, it seems excessive that laws make motherhood compulsory. In previous years there were DIY abortions, sometimes with disastrous results. More recently, Irish women go to Britain for terminations. Politicians find this convenient, since it saves them from the furore that would be stirred up by legislating for abortion. Tearful, scared and often alone, these women deal with their pregnancies in circumstances made more distressing by an unwillingness to accept that abortions happen, whether they are legalised or not. The abortion debate is coming to the fore again because it is being mobilised in the anti-Lisbon campaign. European law cannot impose abortion if the Lisbon Treaty is passed, but protesters suggest that ratifying the treaty will bring about backdoor admission to abortion. Meanwhile, thousands of Irish women go to Britain to have their abortions, and the Irish State looks the other way.

Date: 4 September 2009
Source: Human Rights Watch

Since the school year opened in August, schools in Gaza have been turning away female students for not wearing a headscarf or jilbab (a long traditional gown), on the basis of new orders from Hamas which appear to have no legal basis. One female student was slapped in front of her schoolmates for not wearing the jilbab. Previously, female students had to wear a long denim skirt and shirt. In July 2009, Hamas initiated a "virtue" campaign, saying they were concerned about increasing "immoral" behaviour in Gaza. Hamas police have been questioning women to determine whether the men they are socialising with in public are close relatives. Hamas police beat up three young men for swimming without shirts. Hamas has now shifted focus to schoolgirls. These rules are inconsistent with Palestine Basic Law which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and expression, and also with international human rights standards, which Hamas has repeatedly committed itself to. Human Rights Watch believes Hamas authorities in Gaza should suspend all orders that violate personal freedoms, including imposition of their Islamic dress code for schoolgirls.

Date: 31 August 2009
Source: IRIN News

FM, aged 48, a mother-of-four in eastern Kenya, remembers clearly the pain of female genital mutilation. Today she is a facilitator for an alternative rite-of-passage organised by the Roman Catholic Diocese and the Catholic Relief Services NGO, using her experience to warn girls about the dangers of the practice.

"Circumcision was something I looked forward to, knowing it would mean I had become a woman at last. I knew that women who were not circumcised never got married and never earned the respect of the community - I saw them discriminated against by their peers, and I didn't want to be like them.

"One day when I was nine years old, my family prepared a large amount of traditional brew and lots of women came to my house to cook a feast. I knew my circumcision was soon because my female relatives had been preparing me for the pain by pinching me in the days before. I and several other girls were stripped naked and wrapped in blankets before being washed; the ladies sang for us as the circumciser cut the girls one by one - she used the same tool.

"The pain was indescribable - my whole body hurt, I almost fainted. I bled so much that I had to have special herbs put on the wound to stop the bleeding. I then spent several days alone at home healing. One lady was assigned to me to wash me and feed me and ensure I healed properly. During the healing period, I was taught other things; I was prepared for sex and marriage.

"When I got married, I found it difficult to enjoy sex. Although I had a healthy sex drive, my husband found it very difficult to please me sexually, and I have always felt that something was missing from my sex life.

"Giving birth was terrible. Each time I gave birth, the scarring from my circumcision meant I had severe vaginal tearing and bleeding, and I had to stay in the hospital for about a week after birth, when other women went home the same day they delivered. Giving birth was like being circumcised all over again.

"I would never allow my girls to go through circumcision - the physical effects alone are a terrible and painful burden. My peers who were never circumcised all went on to complete school and have successful careers, but I had been told the most important thing in life is to be married and respected in the community. Many of these women never married, but because of their careers they are respected.

"Today I tell young girls about my own experience so that they can aspire to greater things than just marriage. They should seek education, not the pain and suffering of female circumcision."

By: Jamie Walker
Date: 25 August 2009
Source: The Australian

Two more public hospitals in Queensland reportedly withdrew medical abortion services and a pregnant woman was sent by the state's biggest hospital to Sydney for treatment. This was despite Premier Anna Bligh's bid to appease doctors who want Queensland to decriminalise abortion with a partial rewrite of the existing law.

State cabinet yesterday agreed to amend section 282 of the Queensland Criminal Code to extend the exemption for doctors to perform otherwise banned terminations to so-called medical procedures using abortion drugs such as mifepristone. But the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the concession was not enough. Public hospitals in Rockhampton and Mackay are believed to have joined the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH) in suspending medical abortions, while a service attached to Cairns Base Hospital is also reviewing its legal position.

"They can tinker all they like with section 282 but it does not withdraw the threat of criminal prosecutions," said college president Ted Weaver. "That is really the bottom line here: we would like doctors to be able to practise without the threat subsequently of having criminal charges laid against them." Dr Weaver said more hospitals were set to follow and suspend medical abortion services, which are provided to women with medical complications to their pregnancy or severe fetal abnormalities. These are generally performed later in pregnancy than elective abortions provided in Queensland by private clinics, not public hospitals.

"I know anecdotally that, yes, it already has had an impact on services and those impacts have been conveyed forcibly to the Premier -- she knows," he said. Ms Bligh yesterday ruled out wider reform of Queensland's abortion laws, considered to be the harshest in the country: "None of the parts of the criminal code that relate to termination of pregnancy will be changed by the government. There will be change to another section that provides that where a doctor is prescribing medication, whether it's for chemotherapy or mental illness, they will have the same protections they currently have when performing a surgical procedure."

The move is designed to allay long-standing concern by some doctors that section 282 of the criminal code, allowing abortions to be performed to preserve the life or health of the mother, refers only to surgical procedures. The government disputes that this would make medical terminations illegal, but moved to amend the section to cover them after RBWH last week suspended its service and said women requiring such treatment would most likely be referred interstate.

The move by RBWH and possibly other public hospitals brought to a head a row that has been simmering since Queensland police in March charged a 19-year-old Cairns woman and her boyfriend with criminal offences involving an allegedly self-administered medical abortion. The college backs the push to repeal the offence, under section 225 of the criminal code, of a woman procuring her own miscarriage.

By: Anna Wilkowska-Landowska
Date: 5 June 2009
Source: RH Reality Check

After several years of parliamentary battles, Monaco changed its abortion law in April 2009. The law now allows abortion for cases of severe fetal malformation, pregnancy resulting from a criminal act or when the life or health of the woman is in danger. Two doctors have to certify the risk. Minors need the consent of one parent. Abortions can only be done in a public hospital. The law is extremely restrictive although it represents considerable progress for Monaco, where 90% of the population is formally Catholic. Previously, abortion was only permitted to save the life of a woman, and any person performing an illegal abortion was subject to one to five years imprisonment and a fine. Ireland, San Marino, Malta and Andorra are now the only countries in Europe with a total ban on abortion.

Source: The Wichita Eagle, Reuters

George Tiller was shot to death on 31 May 2009 as he walked into the Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas, where he was a member of the congregation. Tiller has long been a focal point of protest by abortion opponents because his clinic, Women's Health Care Services, is one of three in the US that performs late-term abortions.

Protesters blockaded Tiller's clinic during Operation Rescue's "Summer of Mercy" protests during the summer of 1991, and Tiller was shot by Rachelle Shannon at his clinic in 1993 and wounded in both arms. Shannon remains in prison for the shooting. His clinic was subsequently heavily fortified and Dr Tiller often travelled with a bodyguard. Tiller's clinic was severely vandalised earlier in May 2009, causing thousands of dollars of damage. Tiller and his clinic have faced continuous threats and lawsuits. A Wichita jury ruled in March that he was not guilty of illegal abortion on 19 criminal charges he faced for allegedly violating a state law requiring an "independent" second physician's concurring opinion before performing later term abortions. Dr Tiller had reported aborting more than 2,600 viable fetuses since the second-opinion law took effect in 1998. He faced a number of other legal challenges, including two separate grand jury investigations. Both ended without charges. Scott Roeder, 51, is being charged with first-degree premeditated murder and aggravated assault. Roeder matches the description of a man who vandalised the clinic twice in the month prior to the killing - including the day before Tiller was killed. [1]

Tiller's murder was one of more than 60 threats and incidents of violence in 2009, according to the National Abortion Federation, who believes the attacks are eroding women's access to abortion. 20% of nearly 700 free-standing US abortion clinics experienced violence over the last year, and there have been 1,400 reports in 2009 of hate mail and/or harassing phone calls to clinics, the highest level in a decade.In recent years, U.S. clinics have been bombed, set on fire, threatened with anthrax and acid, and physicians have been stalked and patients harassed. Door locks at clinics have been glued for protection, and patients must sometimes run through shouting protesters to enter. Many abortion opponents have denounced the violence and condemned Tiller's killing. But some say extreme methods are justified, and Operation Rescue, which maintained a "Tiller Watch" on its website before the doctor's murder, is promoting a training course for the "pro-life warrior" to spur new teams of community activists. The violence and threats, combined with legislated restrictions in various states, are frightening providers and hindering women, said Dionne Scott, spokeswoman for the Center for Reproductive Rights. [2]

1. Finger S. George Tiller shot to death at Wichita Church. The Wichita Eagle, 31 May 2009.
2. Gillam C. Threats, violence seen eroding US abortion rights. Reuters, 14 June 2009.

Date: 28 May 2009
Source: Latin American Herald Tribune

Members of the Coalition for Women's Health in Mexico City before the headquarters of the main political parties against laws approved in some states that "promote the rights of an embryo over those of women." Since October 2008, lawmakers with the right-wing governing party, PAN, and the centrist PRI with some support from other parties, have amended several state constitutions to give legal personhood to embryos such that women who have an abortion could be put in jail, and women who use the morning-after pill, intra-uterine devices, or assisted reproduction, could also be affected. The protest demands that the political parties explain why they are supporting those initiatives to make clear to society who is supporting the rights of women and who is not.

According to the Coalition for Women's Health, 13 Mexican states have adopted laws granting personhood to fetuses. Mexico City, where the leftist PRD governs, is the only jurisdiction to have decriminalised abortion in all circumstances up to 12 weeks.

Date: 29 May 2009
Source: Women on Waves

Anti-abortion groups in Chile announced they will attempt to close down the safe abortion hotline that was launched on 28 May 2009. This would be a severe violation of the constitutional right to freedom of Information.

Red Mujeres Chile launched the hotline "Aborto: Información Segura", marking the International Day of Action for Women's Health. The launch took place in a plaza in central Santiago, Chile. The hotline will give information about the safe and effective use of Misoprostol to induce an abortion. The hotline is supported by Women on Waves (Netherlands) and the Coordinadora Juvenil por la Equidad de Género (Ecuador). In the previous weeks, members of the network were trained in-depth about the use of Misoprostol, and have been working out legal strategies and expanding their support-network to make the hotline as effective as possible. Numerous women are already calling the hotline.

Chile has one of the highest rates of abortion in Latin America. Between 120,000 and 160,000 women have abortions every year, representing about 1 in 3 pregnancies.

For more information:
Press inquiries: +56 984668855
Women needing help in Chile: 08-8918590.
www.womenonwaves.org/set-1936-en.html

By: James Wagoner
Date: 8 May 2009
Source: Advocates for Youth

President Obama released the first budget of his presidency which included the elimination of all funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programmes. Studies have shown that these programmes are ineffective despite the $1.5 billion the U.S. government has spent on them. Abstinence-only programmes often contain false or misleading information about condoms and contraception.

With this budget, President Obama fulfilled his campaign promises to return to science-based policies and to cut programmes that do not work. The question now is whether congress will follow through on this. As the budget process moves forward, it must be ensured that there is no "back door" route for these programmes to receive funding, and that support is built for comprehensive sex education that takes a holistic approach to the issues facing young people's sexual health.

By: Jon Boone
Date: 13 April 2009
Source: The Guardian (UK)

Sitara Achakai, a leading female Afghan politician, was shot dead after leaving a provincial council meeting in Kandahar, which her colleagues had begged her not to attend. Sitara was attacked by two gunmen as she arrived home in a rickshaw - a vehicle she chose rather than an armoured Humvee to avoid attracting attention, but which also made her easier prey. The Taliban, whose spiritual home is Kandahar, claimed responsibility.

Achakai was a women's rights activist who had organised a "prayer for peace" with 1,500 attendees on International Women's Day 2008. She was secretary of the provincial council, which, until her death, had four female members in the 15-strong body. She returned home to Kandahar in 2004 after many years living in Germany, and was aware of the danger she was in.

Taliban militants target anyone associated with the Afghan government and last month launched an assaut with four suicide bombers on the provincial council building in Kandahar, killing 17 people. There have been many other attacks on women in the province including the assassination in 2006 of the head of the province's women's affairs department, the killing of a top policewoman, and acid thrown in schoolgirls' faces for attending school.

By: Jonathan Watts
Date: 8 April 2009
Source: The Guardian (UK)

China will build or maintain a clinic in every one its 700,000 villages over three years as part of a 850bn yuan (£84.5bn) revamp of the health care system. Basic medical coverage and insurance will be extended to 90% of the population, almost one third of whom currently meet their own health care costs. The health ministry will train 1.4 million doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners to staff village clinics and half a million health care workers in towns and cities. The government plans to build 2,000 county hospitals and build or renovate 3,700 community clinics and 11,000 health service centres in urban areas. 40% of the costs will be covered by the central government, and the rest by local authorities, with priority given to impoverished areas in central and western China.

This investment aims to upgrade neglected medical care in the countryside. In the 1960s, the government raised an army of "barefoot doctors" and the health of China's rural population was a proud boast of the Communist party. But market reforms of the late 1970s eradicated the rural co-operative insurance system and most farmers could not afford treatment, leading to clinic closures. Large health inequalities exist between rich cities and poor rural areas which have sparked protests, including a riot by 2,000 protesters in Guangan province in 2006.

Date: 23 January 2009
Source: The White House

Here is the exact text of the memorandum ending the Mexico City Policy:

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE, THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SUBJECT: Mexico City Policy and Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151b(f)(1)), prohibits nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive Federal funds from using those funds "to pay for the performance of abortions as a method of family planning, or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions." The August 1984 announcement by President Reagan of what has become known as the "Mexico City Policy" directed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to expand this limitation and withhold USAID funds from NGOs that use non-USAID funds to engage in a wide range of activities, including providing advice, counseling, or information regarding abortion, or lobbying a foreign government to legalize or make abortion available. The Mexico City Policy was in effect from 1985 until 1993, when it was rescinded by President Clinton. President George W. Bush reinstated the policy in 2001, implementing it through conditions in USAID grant awards, and subsequently extended the policy to "voluntary population planning" assistance provided by the Department of State.

These excessively broad conditions on grants and assistance awards are unwarranted. Moreover, they have undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning programs in foreign nations. Accordingly, I hereby revoke the Presidential memorandum of January 22, 2001, for the Administrator of USAID (Restoration of the Mexico City Policy), the Presidential memorandum of March 28, 2001, for the Administrator of USAID (Restoration of the Mexico City Policy), and the Presidential memorandum of August 29, 2003, for the Secretary of State (Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning). In addition, I direct the Secretary of State and the Administrator of USAID to take the following actions with respect to conditions in voluntary population planning assistance and USAID grants that were imposed pursuant to either the 2001 or 2003 memoranda and that are not required by the Foreign Assistance Act or any other law: (1) immediately waive such conditions in any current grants, and (2) notify current grantees, as soon as possible, that these conditions have been waived. I further direct that the Department of State and USAID immediately cease imposing these conditions in any future grants.

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE, January 23, 2009.