Africa: Adolescents’ right to abortion and contraception

Congratulations and thanks to Godfrey Dalitso Kangaude, Catriona MacLeod, Ernestina Coast, and Tamara Fetters, whose article, “Integrating child rights standards in contraceptive and abortion care for minors in Africa,” suggests that African countries integrate child rights principles in clinical guidelines and protocols to provide high-quality contraceptive and abortion care for minor girls. The article appeared in the Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health section of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. The full text is available online, and we are pleased to circulate the authors’ abstract.

“Integrating child rights standards in contraceptive and abortion care for minors in Africa,” by Godfrey Dalitso Kangaude, Catriona Macleod, Ernestina Coast and Tamara Fetters, in International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 159.3 (December 2022): 998-1004.   Article online.

Abstract: Minor girls in Africa face challenges in accessing high-quality contraceptive and abortion services because laws and policies are not child-friendly. Many countries maintain restrictive laws, policies or hospital practices that make it difficult for minors to access contraception and safe abortion even when the pregnancy would risk their life or health. Further, the clinical guidelines on contraceptive and abortion care are silent, vague or ambiguous regarding minors’ consent. African states should remedy the situation by ensuring that clinical guidelines integrate child rights principles and standards articulated in child rights treaties to enable health providers to facilitate full and unencumbered access to contraceptive and abortion care for minor girls. A sample of clinical guidelines is analyzed to demonstrate the importance of explicit, consistent and unambiguous language about children’s consent to ensure that health care workers provide sexual and reproductive health care in a manner that respects child rights.

Keywords: child rights; contraceptive and abortion care, Convention on the Rights of the Child; African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child; evolving capacities, WHO abortion care guideline

Full text of this article is online here.

RELATED RESOURCE

Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health, more than 110 concise articles are online here.
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Contributed by: the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca.   See Program website for our Publications,  Research resources, and Reprohealthlaw Blog Commentaries Series.  TO JOIN THE REPROHEALTHLAW BLOG: enter your email address in the upper right corner of this blog, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

 

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – Autumn 2020

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DEVELOPMENTS
Amnesty International’s new institutional policy on abortion, released Sept 28, 2020, has been endorsed by the International Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO). Amnesty Abortion Policy.
Press release. Explanatory note. Key messages. FAQ.

[Poland] Constitutional Tribunal ruled that abortion on grounds of congenital fetal defects is unconstitutional. Sygn. akt K 1/20, October 22, 2020. Decision in Polish. News report in English.

[The Philippines] PINSAN (network of NGOs and individuals) released proposed text of a “decriminalization bill” and an international petition to decriminalize abortion in the Philippines, September 28, 2020.
Proposed legislation. International petition. Bill launch on Facebook with Q & A.

SCHOLARSHIP
Access to Abortion: An Annotated Bibliography of Reports and Scholarship. (Toronto: International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, 2020) 44 pages. Abortion access bibliography.

[abortion] “Why self-managed abortion is so much more than a provisional solution for times of pandemic,” by Mariana Prandini Assis & Sara Larrea, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 28:1 (2020) Article online.

[Africa] “Adolescent sexual and reproductive health and universal health coverage: a comparative policy and legal analysis of Ethiopia, Malawi and Zambia,” by Godfrey Kangaude, Ernestina Coast & Tamara Fetters (2020) Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 28:2, 1-15. Abstract and article. Policy briefs: Ethiopia brief, Malawi brief. Zambia brief.

[Argentina] “A Case for Legal Abortion: The Human Cost of Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Argentina,” (Human Rights Watch, 2020) 77-page report in English. Overview in English. Informe en Espanol.

[Australia] “Advancing Reproductive Rights through Legal Reform: The Example of Abortion Clinic Safe Access Zones,” by Ronli Sifris, Tania Penovic and Caroline Henckels, University of New South Wales Law Journal 43.3 (2020): 1078-1097. Abstract and Article.

[Belgium, Ireland] “Abortion law reform in Europe: The 2018 Belgian and Irish Acts on termination of pregnancy,” by Fien De Meyer – Medical Law International 20.1 (2020): 3-30. Abstract and article.

[India-abortion law] “The MTP 2020 Amendment Bill: anti-rights subjectivity,” by Alka Barua, Anubha Rastogi, V. Deepa, Dipika Jain, Manisha Gupte, and Rupsa Mallik. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters 28.1 (2020). Commentary online.

[India] “Reimagining Reproductive Rights Jurisprudence in India: Reflections on the Recent Decisions on Privacy and Gender Equality from the Supreme Court of India,” by Dipika Jain and Payal K. Shah, Columbia Journal of Gender and Law 39.2 (2020): 1-53. Abstract and PDF access.

[Mexico] “Bioethics training in reproductive health in Mexico,” by Gustavo Ortiz-Millán and Frances Kissling, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 151.2 (November, 2020): 308-313  PDF free access for 12 months.  Submitted Text. 

[Nigeria] “The Conflict in Northeast Nigeria’s Impact on the Sexual and Reproductive Rights of Women and Girls.” by Onyema Afulukwe and Chinonye Obianwu (Nairobi: Center for Reproductive Rights and Legal Defence and Assistance Project, 2020) 26 page report.

[Philippines] “Reasons Why We Need to Decriminalize Abortion” by Clara Rita A. Padilla (of EnGendeRights and PINSAN).
Seven reasons op-ed, 22 reasons – full report.

[Surrogacy] “Paid surrogacy abroad does not violate public policy: UK Supreme Court,” by Bernard M. Dickens, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 150.1 (July 2020): 129-133 PDF- Free Access till July 2021.  Submitted Text.

“Transsexuality:  Legal and Ethical challenges,” by Bernard M. Dickens.  International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 151.1 (October, 2020): 163-167 PDF free access for 12 months.   Submitted Text.

US-focused news, resources, and legal developments are available  on Repro Rights Prof Blog. View or subscribe.

JOBS
Links to employers in the field of Reproductive and Sexual Health Law are online here.
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Compiled by: the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca.   See Program website for our Publications,  Information resources, and Reprohealthlaw Commentaries Series.  TO JOIN THE REPROHEALTHLAW BLOG: enter your email address in the upper right corner of our blog, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia: adolescent access and laws

Congratulations and thanks to Godfrey Dalitso Kangaude, Ernestina Coast, and Tamara Fetters, whose multi-country study of “Adolescent Access to Contraception and Safe Abortion” recently released reports on Ethiopia, Malawi and Zambia. Dr. Kangaude is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights, Prof. Coast teaches at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Tamara Fetters works for Ipas as a Senior Researcher. We thank them for this overview of their legal findings, and the link to their new article in Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters:

ACCESS TO ABORTION-RELATED CARE FOR ADOLESCENTS IS LINKED TO ABORTION LAWS

Adolescents seeking abortion-related care in public health systems are restricted by legal and policy environments. A study conducted in Malawi, Zambia, and Ethiopia, in 2018-19, interviewed 313 adolescents who sought safe abortions or post-abortion care in public health facilities, and revealed the challenges they face. Among the adolescent study participants, 98% of Ethiopian, 34% of Zambian and only 4% of Malawian adolescents received abortions safely in health facilities (project webpage). 

Crucially, laws limit services. Malawi allows abortion only when the pregnancy threatens the pregnant woman’s life. Most interviewed adolescents who wanted to terminate a pregnancy in Malawi resorted to clandestine and unsafe abortions (Malawi briefing). In Ethiopia, abortion is available for persons below 18, and 98% of adolescents accessed safe abortion care.  In Zambia, adolescents have wider grounds for accessing safe abortions including circumstances when there is a risk to the life or health of existing children of the pregnant woman (Zambian abortion law).

Laws also indirectly impact access to safe abortion. First, laws are vague about requirements of parental or guardian consent, for instance in Zambia. As a result, and in all three countries, adolescents reported being turned away by health providers because they did not come with guardians. Second, abortion laws are stigmatising. When abortion laws are based on criminalisation – rather than essential healthcare – such laws reinforce abortion stigma. A consequence is that health providers refuse or obfuscate care for adolescents seeking abortion-related care (Zambian briefing).

The Maputo Plan of Action 2016–2030 for the Operationalisation of the Continental Policy Framework for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (Maputo PoA) is an important policy framework in Africa. It aims to implement the SRHR Continental Policy Framework (online here) developed to address SRHR challenges on the African continent, but also implement Africa’s Agenda 2063 as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In ratifying the MPoA, African leaders commit to addressing sexual and reproductive health in their laws and policies, and to radically transform their health systems to tackle pressing challenges such as access to contraception for adolescents and the high prevalence of unsafe abortions. Malawi and Zambia have ratified, while Ethiopia has signed but not ratified the MPoA. Zambia and Malawi are therefore bound to rectify their outdated laws and policies with evidence-based guidance in accordance with the standards set by the MPoA, while Ethiopia’s laws and policies should, at least, not contradict these standards.

Compliance with the MPoA would improve the availability, accessibility and quality of contraceptive and abortion-related care for adolescents. For example, under key strategy number 2 of the MPoA to institute health legislation and policies for improved access to services, countries would remove all legal, regulatory and policies barriers that limit young people’s access to contraceptives and safe abortion. Further, under key strategy number 3 to ensure human rights and gender equality for girls and women, states would enact laws to protect the right every person to make decisions governing their body including whether to continue with a pregnancy.

RELEVANT RESOURCES:

Policy briefs for each country: Ethiopia brief Malawi brief, Zambia brief

“Adolescent sexual and reproductive health and universal health coverage: a comparative policy and legal analysis of Ethiopia, Malawi and Zambia,”
by Godfrey Kangaude, Ernestina Coast & Tamara Fetters (2020) Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 28:2, 1-15. Abstract and article online.

Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Health in Sub-Saharan African Courts. Summaries of 60+ court decisions, 2008-present   Online edition with updates and links to decisions.
Published books – free access PDFs: Legal Grounds I , Legal Grounds II, Legal Grounds III.
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Compiled by: the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca.   See Program website for our Publications,  Information resources, and Reprohealthlaw Commentaries Series.  TO JOIN THE REPROHEALTHLAW BLOG: enter your email address in the upper right corner of our blog, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

Transsexuality: Legal and Ethical Challenges

Congratulations and thanks to Bernard M. Dickens, Professor Emeritus of Health Law and Policy at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, for his latest publication in the “Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health” series of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

“Transsexuality:  Legal and Ethical Challenges,” by Bernard M. Dickens.  International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 151.1 (October, 2020): 163-167 : PDF free access for 12 months.  Submitted Text at SSRN.

Treating patients for transgender transition and surgery poses legal and ethical challenges (including post-castration care, hysterectomy and infertility), all of which are more acute when patients are adolescent. We are pleased to circulate the abstract:

Sex-change procedures,better described as gender-change procedures, involve preparing patients psychologically and surgically for gender transition to treat their gender dysphoria.Physical treatment might include hysterectomy for female to male transition, and post-castration fashioning of an artificial vagina for male to female transition. Conservative opposition to accommodating and recognizing such procedures remains in some countries, and where treated, transgender individuals might face social hostility and oppression. However, human rights laws increasingly provide for transgender non-discrimination and government re-issue of official documents such as birth certificates and social insurance cardsin the changed gender. A UK legal decision required a transgendered male who retained his ovaries and uterus be registered as mother on the birth certificate of the child he bore.Most challenging are decisions on adolescents’ requests for gender transition, especially over parents’ objections. Laws increasingly recognize that legal minors with sufficiently evolved intellectual and emotional capacity can make decisions for themselves.

The Full text is online here: PDF free download for 12 months.  
Submitted Text at SSRN.

RELATED RESOURCES:

Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health – 98 concise articles online.

Key words: Adolescent evolving capacity; Gender dysphoria; Induced infertility;Legal minors; Male motherhood; Sex-change; Transsexuality. transgender.

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Compiled by: the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca.   See Program website for our Publications,  Information resources, and Reprohealthlaw Commentaries Series.  TO JOIN THE REPROHEALTHLAW BLOG: enter your email address in the upper right corner of our blog, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – Summer 2020

SUBSCRIBE TO REPROHEALTHLAW: To receive these updates bi-monthly by email, enter your address in upper right corner of this webpage, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

DEVELOPMENTS
[Argentina, abortion, conscience]  Argentina Ministry of Health issued a protocol expanding hospital abortion access to pregnancies resulting from rape. Raped girls 13 and over can have abortions without parental consent. The protocol also weakens a doctor’s ability to refuse to perform such abortions due to personal objection. New York Times, Dec 12, 2019.

[IACtHR, Ecuador], First standards for protection from sexual violence in schools: Paola del Rosario Guzmán Albarracín et al. v. Ecuador, Case C No. 405 (June 24, 2020) Sentencia en espanol – 85 paginas. Public Hearing Jan. 28 2020.  Resolución (Asuntos) 7 paginas. Reprohealthlaw blog summary.
Case comment in English (10 pages).

Ugandan Constitutional Court declares maternal health a constitutional right. First African court to do so. The Center for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) and 3 Others v Attorney General [2020], Constitutional Petition No. 16 of 2011 (Constitutional Court of Uganda at Kampala). [Maternal health] Decision of August 19, 2020. Reprohealthlaw blogpost. Longer comment with the Court’s twelve “Declarations.”

[United Kingdom, surrogacy] Whittington Hospital NHS Trust (Appellant) v. XX (Respondent) [2020] UK Supreme Court 14. (April 1, 2020) allows paid surrogacy, where legal, in foreign countries. Decision (24 pages). Article by Prof. Bernard Dickens.

WEBINARS
“Access to medical abortion: Global South perspectives,”, with Panelists Dr. Shilpa Shroff, Prof. Dipika Jain, Dr. Sana Durvesh, and Moderator, Sai Jyothirmai Racheria. Organizers: SARJAI and SAIGE. Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, 14:30 (GMT+8, Kuala Lumpur time). Register here for Sept 4.

“Telemedicine, self-managed abortion and access to abortion in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic,” chaired by Mariana Romero (Argentina). Speakers: Jade Maina (Kenya), Maria Mercedes Vivas (Colombia), Wendy V. Norman (Canada), Rodica Comendant (Moldova), Jasmine Lovely George (India), Kinga Jelinska (The Netherlands), Marge Berer (United Kingdom), to be held: Wednesday, September 23, 2020 (2:00-3:30 p.m. British Summer Time). Register here for Sept 23.

“Telemedicine / self-managed abortion is critical to strengthening women and girls’ reproductive rights and reducing maternal mortality” FIGO webinar, chaired by Prof. Dame Lesley Regan (FIGO), with speakers: Ambassador Dr. Eunice Brookman-Amissah (Ghana), Marge Berer (UK), Christina Zampas (Switzerland), Nelly Munyasia (Kenya), Evelyn Odhiambo (Kenya). Will be available in English, Spanish and French. To be held Thursday Sept. 24, 2020 at 15:00-16:30 (British Summer Time). Register for Sept 24.

SCHOLARSHIP
“Access to Abortion: An Annotated Bibliography of Reports and Scholarship,” prepared by the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, 2nd edition, 2020, 44 pages, (organized by country, focuses on barriers and recommendations, ) Annotated bibliography.

[abortion] “Abortion,” thematic chapter in Comparative Human Rights Law, by Sandra Fredman (Oxford UP, Nov. 2018). Institutional access through Oxford Scholarship Online. About the book.

[abortion, Argentina, Ireland, US] “Argentina’s path to Legalizing Abortion:  A comparative analysis of Ireland, the United States and Argentina,” by  Andrea F. Noguera, Southwestern Journal of International Law 25.2 (2019): 356-392.    Article online.

[abortion, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay ] “Challenges and opportunities for access to legal and safe abortion in Latin America based on the scenarios in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay,” by Beatriz Galli – Cadernos de Saúde Pública, 2020 – SciELO Public Health

[abortion, Brazil] Understanding the sexual and reproductive health needs in Brazil’s Zika-affected region: placing women at the center of the discussion,” by D. Diniz, L. Brito, I. Ambrogi, AB Tavares, M. Ali. International of Gynaecology and Obstetrics 2019; 147: 17 Institutional access

[abortion, India] “Reimagining Reproductive Rights Jurisprudence in India: Reflections on the Recent Decisions on Privacy and Gender Equality from the Supreme Court of India,” by Dipika Jain and Payal Shah. Columbia Journal of Gender and Law 39.2(2020), 1-53. Article online.

[abortion law, India] “A Womb of One’s Own: Privacy and Reproductive Rights,” Arijeet Ghosh & Nitika Khaitan (2017) 52:42/43 Economic & Political Weekly, [1-9], re landmark Aug 24, 2017 privacy decision (Puttaswamy) already helped decriminalize homosexuality, adultery–potentially abortion. Article online.

Human Rights Quarterly is freely available online during the COVID-19 pandemic.  All issues.

[obstetric violence] “Operationalizing a Human Rights-Based Approach to Address Mistreatment against Women during Childbirth,” by Christina Zampas, Avni Amin, Lucinda O’Hanlon, Alisha Bjerregaard, Hedieh Mehrtash, Rajat Khosla, and Özge Tunçalp, Health and Human Rights Journal, 22(1) 2020: 251-264 Article online.

[surrogacy] “Paid surrogacy abroad does not violate public policy: UK Supreme Court,” by Bernard M. Dickens, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 150.1 (2020): 129-133. PDF at Wiley Online.    Abstract and Submitted Text.

[U.S. reproductive decisions] Feminist Judgments: Reproductive Justice Rewritten, ed. Kimberly Mutcherson, Cambridge UP, 2020. Book details.

US-focused news, resources, and legal developments are available  on Repro Rights Prof Blog. View or subscribe.

Violence Against Women’s Health in International Law, new book by Sara De Vido, Manchester University Press, 2020. Abstract and Table of Contents.

JOBS
Links to employers in the field of Reproductive and Sexual Health Law are online here.
______________
Compiled by: the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca.   See Program website for our Publications,  Information resources, and Reprohealthlaw Commentaries Series.  TO JOIN THE REPROHEALTHLAW BLOG: enter your email address in the upper right corner of our blog, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

Ecuador: IACtHR’s first ruling re sexual abuse and death of student

Many thanks to Esteban Vallejo Toledo, a PhD student in Law & Society at the University of Victoria, B.C. Canada, for his detailed analysis and comments on the pioneering decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the first to address state responsibility for the problem of sexual abuse of adolescents in schools.

Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Paola del Rosario Guzmán Albarracín et al. v. Ecuador, Case C No. 405 (June 24, 2020) Sentencia en espanol.   10-page Case Comment in English.

From 2001 to 2002, Paola del Rosario Guzmán Albarracín, a student at a public high school in Guayaquil, Ecuador, was sexually harassed and seduced by the vice-principal, after having requested his help to improve her declining academic performance. When she appeared to be pregnant, the vice-principal urged her to interrupt the pregnancy and requested the school doctor to provide an abortion. The physician agreed to carry out the procedure, but expected Paola to have sexual intercourse with him as a condition. On December 12, 2002, Paola swallowed a lethal dose of white phosphorus and fell ill at school. School authorities did not take effective measures to provide or summon medical assistance or contact her family. Paola’s mother learned of her daughter’s condition thanks to a classmate and went to the school to bring Paola to a hospital. Paola died in hospital the following day. She was 16 years old.

After Paola’s death, her family discovered the acts of harassment, coercion, and sexual abuse that she had suffered.  Although they filed several complaints against the vice-principal and the school, the Ecuadorean justice system neglected the case and failed to conduct a proper investigation and deliver justice. With legal help from a local NGO and the Center for Reproductive Rights, Paola’s family brought her case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which held a public hearing in 2015 and issued a Merits report with recommendations for Ecuador. When Ecuador failed to comply, the Commission submitted the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which held 8 hours of public hearings in January 2020.

On June 24, 2020, the Inter-American Court issued an 85-page ruling in Spanish. In his 10-page analysis in English, Esteban Vallejo Toledo emphasizes that IACtHR decisions are not only viewed as a form of reparation, but also as legal norms that directly affect national legal orders. As such, from a legal perspective, the Court’s final decision on sexual violence in educational settings will contribute to improving the legal orders of Ecuador, and of other member states of the Inter-American System of Human Rights.

The Court concluded that: (1) Ecuador had violated Paola’s rights to life, integrity, dignity, and education. Likewise, Ecuador had not prevented acts of violence against adolescent women and had abstained from implementing policies to do so; (2) Ecuador had infringed rights to judicial protection, and equality before the law; (3) Ecuador had contravened the right to psychological and social integrity of Paola’s mother and sister, who suffered trauma and social stigma, then spent decades struggling for justice. On the other hand, (4) Ecuador could not be proven responsible for alleged acts of torture, nor cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, because extreme sexual violence could not be proven, and because a negligent autopsy had left Paola’s presumed pregnancy and hence her obstructed abortion unproven.

To endorse and complement the recommendations already presented by the Commission in 2018, the Court ordered Ecuador to: (1) provide any physical and mental health support needed by Paola’s relatives; (2) publicize the Court’s decision; (3) publicly acknowledge its responsibility; (4) grant a senior high school degree to Paola; (5) institutionalize an official day against sexual violence in schools; (6) implement policies to prevent harassment and sexual violence within schools as well as protocols to investigate cases of harassment and sexual violence within schools and to protect victims and witnesses; (7) provide comprehensive monetary reparations to Paola’s family; and (8) submit a progress report to the Court within one year.

It is hoped that this important first decision will raise awareness and prompt important reforms to protect children and teenagers from sexual violence in Ecuador and throughout the Americas.

RELEVANT RESOURCES:
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Paola Guzmán Albarracín and Family Members v. Ecuador (Paola Guzmán Albarracín y familiares v. Ecuador). Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Caso 12.678, Audiencia en espanol 19 Oct 2015. Informe 2018 (en espanol). Merits Report in English, 2018.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Paola del Rosario Guzmán Albarracín et al v. Ecuador, Case C No. 405 (June 24, 2020) Public hearing Jan 28, 2020. Resolución of 27 Jan. 2020. Sentencia en espanol, 24 June, 2020. Case comment in English.

“First standards for protection from sexual violence in schools: Inter-American Court of Human Rights – Guzmán Albarracín et al v. Ecuador,”  by Esteban Vallejo Toledo, Case Comment (10 pages)
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Compiled by: the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca.   See Program website for our Publications,  Information resources, and Reprohealthlaw Commentaries Series.  TO JOIN THE REPROHEALTHLAW BLOG: enter your email address in the upper right corner of our blog, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

Ob-Gyn duties to Refugees and migrants

Congratulations to Prof. Margit Endler and colleagues on the Committee for Human Rights, Refugees and Violence Against Women of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), who recently published an article in the “Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health” section of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

“Sexual and reproductive health and rights of refugee and migrant women: gynecologists’ and obstetricians’ responsibilities,” by Margit Endler, Taghreed Al Haidari, Sameena Chowdhury, Jan Christilaw, Faysal El Kak, Diana Galimberti, Miguel Gutierrez, Atziri Ramirez‐Negrin, Hemantha Senanayake, Rubina Sohail, Marleen Temmerman, and Kristina Gemzell Danielsson, for the FIGO Committee for Human Rights, Refugees and Violence Against Women, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 149.1 (April 2020): 113–119. PDF at Wiley Online.   Abstract and Submitted Text.

Abstract:
Ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services is Target 3.7 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Refugee and migrant women and children are at particular risk of being forgotten in the global momentum to achieve this target. In this article, we discuss the violations of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of particular relevance to the refugee and migrant reality. We give context‐specific examples of denial of health services to vulnerable groups; lack of dignity as a barrier to care; the vulnerability of adolescents; child marriage; weaponized rape; gender‐based violence; and sexual trafficking. We discuss rights frameworks and models that are being used in response to these situations, as well as what remains to be done. Specifically, we call for obstetricians and gynecologists to act as individual providers and through their FIGO member societies to protect women’s health and rights in these exposed settings.

The full text of this article can be freely downloaded by anyone for one year: PDF at Wiley Online. 
After that year, researchers who lack institutional access can download:
Submitted Text through SSRN.

Related Resources
Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health: 90+ concise articles online. _____________
Compiled by: the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca.   See Program website for our Publications,  Information resources, and Reprohealthlaw Commentaries Series.  TO JOIN THE REPROHEALTHLAW BLOG: enter your email address in the upper right corner of our blog, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

Female genital mutilation/cutting in Africa: Legal and educational deterrence

Congratulations to Satang Nabaneh of the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights, at the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa, and Adamson S. Muula, of the Africa Center of Excellence in Public Health and Herbal Medicine (ACEPHEM), Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Malawi in Blantyre, whose article, recently published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, suggests that female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM) can be progressively deterred in African countries, by legal and educational means, where there is a will to apply them:

Satang Nabaneh and Adamson S. Muula, “Female genital mutilation/cutting in Africa: A complex legal and ethical landscape,”  InternationalJournal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2019; 145: 253–257,  PDF at Wiley Online. Submitted text at SSRN.

Abstract:  While international and regional human rights instruments have recognized FGM/C as one of the most prevalent forms of violence against women and girls, in many African states female genital mutilation/ cutting (FGM/C) is a deeply entrenched cultural practice. There is a consensus against FGM, as evidenced by its criminalization in several African countries. The mere fact that the practice continues despite legislative measures to protect women and girls against FGM raises the question whether we can legislate change. The present article summarizes the trends and effectiveness of FGM criminalization in Africa including prohibition on medicalization of FGM. Against the backdrop of emerging debate on medicalization of FGM as a harm reduction strategy, the article also examines its complex legal and ethical implications. The article argues that while criminalization may not be the best means of stopping FGM, it creates an enabling environment to facilitate the overall strategy of African governments to eradicate the practice.

Key words: Female genital mutilation; female genital cutting; human rights; medicalization; alternative rites of passage; medical professionals; criminalization

Published article:
“Female genital mutilation/cutting in Africa: A complex legal and ethical landscape,” (online for 12 months): PDF at Wiley Online.   Submitted typescript.

RELATED RESOURCES:

“Circumcision, Female,” by Mahmoud F. Fathalla, in:  Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics, ed. Henk ten Have  (Switzerland: Springer International, 2016) Article online.  Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics.

“Female Genital Cutting (Mutilation/ Circumcision): Ethical and Legal Dimensions,” by  R. J. Cook,  B.M. Dickens, and M.F. Fathalla (2002) 79 International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics : 281-287. Abstract and article.  

—-Turkish translation:  “Kadın Sünneti (Sakatlama/Sünnet): Etik ve Hukuki Boyutlar,” trans. Mustafa Erçakıca, Beykent Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, Volume II, No: 4, December 2016, p. 111-121.  Turkish translation  online.

“Female Genital Cutting (Circumcision/Mutilation):  Case study from Reproductive Health and Human Rights: Integrating Medicine, Ethics and Law (Oxford University Press, 2003):  scanned chapter online

“Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health“: 90+ concise articles are online here.
__________________
Compiled by: the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca.   See Program website for our Publications,  Information resources, and Reprohealthlaw Commentaries Series.
TO JOIN THE REPROHEALTHLAW BLOG: enter your email address in the upper right corner of our blog, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – March 2019

SUBSCRIBE TO REPROHEALTHLAW: To receive these updates monthly by email, enter your address in upper right corner of this webpage, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

DEVELOPMENTS:

[El Salvador] Supreme Court ordered release of another three women serving 30 years for alleged abortions.  News report, March 7, 2019.   Report from Safe Abortion.

[Germany]  In February 2019, the Bundestag revised the Criminal Code provision that prohibits the so-called “advertising” of abortions. Providers can now publicly announce, e.g. on websites, that they provide abortion care. News report, Feb 21, 2019.

[Isle of Man] In January 2019, the Abortion Reform Act 2019 allows abortion on a woman’s request in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.  Abortion at 15-23 weeks’ gestation in cases of sexual assault, severe fatal impairment, or risk to the woman’s health.  effective May 2019.  Abortion Reform Act 2019.

Kenyan High Court upholds human and constitutional rights to maternal dignity and reproductive healthcare:   J O O (also known as J M) v Attorney General & 6 others [2018] Petition No 5 of 2014, (High Court of Kenya at Bungoma).  March 22, 2017.  Case summary by Naitore Nyamu.     Court decision.    Legal Grounds III online.

Pakistan Court Orders Implementation of Measures to Address Obstetric Fistula
CRR Press Release.

SCHOLARSHIP:

Mahmoud F. Fathalla, “Abortion and Public Health Ethics,” in: The Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics, ed.  Anna C. Mastroianni, Jeffrey P. Kahn, and Nancy E. Kass, Oxford Handbooks Online,  February 2019.  Article online.

[abortion law, Argentina]  “Constitutional Dialogues and Abortion Law Reform in Argentina: What’s Next?” by Paola Bergallo, featured on I-CONnect Blog, Feb. 27, 2019.  Article online.

[abortion law, El Salvador] “Restricted abortion law in El Salvador,” by Anibal Faúndes and  Marina Padilla de Gil, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 145.1(April 2019):136. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.12759. Epub 2019 Feb 1. Article online.

[abortion law, Scotland] “Challenging Home Abortion in Scotland: Society for the Protection of Unborn Children v Scottish Ministers,” by Robert Brett Taylor and Adelyn L M Wilson, Edinburgh Law Review 23.1 (Jan 2019): 103-110   Introduction online.

[abortion law – telemedicine, Europe]  “Abortion by telemedicine in the European Union,” by Tamara K. Hervey and Sally Sheldon,  International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 145 (2019): 125–128.  Abstract.  PDF at Wiley Online.

[abortion law – travel] Abortion across Borders:  Transnational Travel and Access to Abortion Services,  ed. Christabelle Sethna and Gayle Davis, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019.  360 pages.  Detailed overview, Author bios, Reviews, and Contents.

[abortion law, United Kingdom]  “UK Abortion Law: Reform Proposals, Private Members’ Bills, Devolution and the Role of the Courts,”  by Robert Brett Taylor and Adelyn L.M. Wilson,  Modern Law Review 82(1) (2019): 71–104.   Abstract and article.

[abortion law, United Kingdom] “The Abortion Act (1967): a biography” by Sally Sheldon , Gayle Davis, Jane O’Neill and Clare Parker,  Legal Studies 39.1 (March 2019): 18-35   Abstract and article.

Conscientious objection and access to abortion in the case CGIL v. Italy, decided by the European Committee of Social Rights, by Sara de Vido,  Hitotsubashi Journal of Law and Politics 47 (2019), pp.45-55.  Abstract and article.

[female circumcision]  “Circumcision, Female,” by Mahmoud F. Fathalla,  Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics, ed. Henk ten Have  (Switzerland: Springer International, 2016)  Abstract and article.   Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics.

[HIV transmission, stigma] “Expert Consensus Statement on the Science of HIV in the Context of Criminal Law” by F. Barré-Sinoussi et al.  Journal of the International AIDS Society  21 (2018): e25161  Expert Consensus Statement.      Overview in JIAS editorial.

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Links to employers in the field of Reproductive and Sexual Health Law are online here.

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Compiled by the Coordinator of the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca For Program publications and resources, see our website, online here. TO JOIN THIS BLOG: enter your email address in upper right corner of this webpage, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

 

 

 

 

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – February 2019

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DEVELOPMENTS:

[abortion] Ireland – The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act was signed into law, effective January 1, 2019.  Medical Council also deleted four of the five paragraphs dealing with abortion from its guide on professional conduct and ethics because they conflicted with the Act.  Newspaper article.

[abortion -Northern Ireland] UK Supreme Court had ruled in June ([2018] UKSC 27 (7 June 2018)  On appeal from: [2017] NICA 42)  that violation of European Convention on Human Rights could not be decided without at least one complainant.  On January 30, 2019,  Sara Ewart, who had once travelled for abortion of a fatally impaired fetus, launched a case that could find Northern Ireland’s abortion law in breach of the UK’s human rights commitments. She is supported by Amnesty International.  News article.  Amnesty International press release.

[conscience – institutional] Chile, Constitutional Court upheld an unconstitutionality claim against the government’s new Regulations about the scope of “institutional” conscientious objection for private facilities and clinics.  STC Rol N° 5572-18-CDS / 5650-18-CDS (acumuladas). January 18, 2019.   Spanish decision  English news report.

[conscience]   Norway: Supreme Court upholds rights of doctor who refused to insert IUD.  Two cases: I. Sauherad municipality (Counsel Frode Lauareid) v. A, Norges Kristelige Legeforening (intervener) (Counsel Håkon H. Bleken), II. A, Norges Kristelige Legeforening (intervener) (Counsel Håkon H. Bleken) v. Sauherad municipality (Counsel Frode Lauareid, HR-2018-1958-A (case no. 2018/199), 11 October 2018 (Supreme Court of Norway) Judgment online in English – official translation.      Newspaper article.

[stigma] US:  Vending Machines Offer Emergency Contraception Without the Stigma introduced in 2012, now at several campuses, including Stanford University.   News report.

SCHOLARSHIP:

[abortion access]  Crossing Troubled Waters: Abortion in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Prince Edward Island, ed. Colleen MacQuarrie, Fiona Bloomer, Claire Pierson and Shannon Stettner (Charlottetown, PEI, Canada: Island Studies Press, 2018). 288 pages.      Table of Contents.  Publisher’s web page.

[abortion law]   “Criminal law and the risk of harm: a commentary on the impact of criminal laws on sexual and reproductive health, sexual conduct and key populations,” by Veronica Birga, Luisa Cabal, Lucinda O’Hanlon & Christina Zampas.   Reproductive Health Matters, 26.52 (2018): 33-37 Article online.

[abortion law, Argentina] Federalism, two-level games and the politics of abortion rights implementation in sub-national Argentina, by Alba Ruibal, in Reproductive Health Matters 26:54 (Nov. 2018): 137-144.   Article in English with abstracts in English. French & Spanish.

[abortion law, Argentina] “Legal obstacles and social change: strategies of the abortion rights movement in Argentina,” by Alba Ruibal and Cora Fernandez Anderson, in Politics, Groups and Identity,  preview November 2018, 17 pages.  Institutional access.   Abstract from Safe Abortion.

[abortion law, Argentina]”Federalism and subnational legal mobilization: feminist litigation strategies in Salta, Argentina,” by Alba Ruibal,  Law & Society Review,  32-page preview 29 October 2018. Institutional access.    Abstract from Safe Abortion.

[abortion law – Brazil]  Constitutionalizing Abortion in Brazil, by Marta Machado and Rebecca J. Cook, Revista de Investigações Constitucionais / Journal of Constitutional Research, vol. 5, n. 3 (set./dez. 2018) pp.185-231.  Abstract and Article PDF.   Also at SSRN.

[abortion law – Brazil and Mexico]  “Constitutionalism and rights protection in Mexico and Brazil: comparative remarks,“ by Francisca Pou Giménez, in Revista de Investigações Constitucionais / Journal of Constitutional Research, vol. 5, n. 3 (set./dez. 2018) pp 233-255  Abstract and article PDF.

[abortion law, Dominican Republic]  “It’s Your Decision.  It’s Your Life:  Total criminalization of abortion in the Dominican Republic.”  interviews, plus legal overview and recommendations.  (Human Rights Watch, Nov 19, 2018).   84 pages. English PDF    Spanish PDF.   Online in English.    Overview with 5-minute video.

[abortion law -Ireland]  “Abortion, the Irish Constitution, and constitutional change” by David Kenny, Revista de Investigações Constitucionais / Journal of Constitutional Research, vol. 5, n. 3 (set./dez. 2018) pp. 257-275.   Abstract and Article PDF.

[abortion law, Mexico] “Maternidad o Castigo:  La criminalización del aborto en Mexico,”  (Mexico, GIRE, 2018)  [Report in Spanish:] Informe de 72 paginas.  For executive summary in English, see: Motherhood or Punishment: The criminalization of abortion in Mexico:  English summary.

[abortion law] “Northern Ireland and Abortion Law Reform,” by Kathryn McNeilly, Fiona Bloomer and Claire Pierson,  Queen’s University, Ulster University and University of Liverpool, Sept. 2018, open access, 8 pages.  Briefing Paper.

[adolescents]  “(De)Criminalizing Adolescent Sex: A rights-based assessment of age of consent laws in Eastern and Southern Africa,” by Godfrey Dalitso Kangaude and Ann Skelton, SAGE Open (Oct-Dec 2018): 1 –12.   Article online.   Abstract.

[conscience]  “Objection ladies! Taking IPPF-EN v. Italy one step further, by Emmanuelle Bribosia, Ivana Isailovic and Isabelle  Rorive, in:  Integrated Human Rights in Practice:Rewriting Human Rights Decisions, ed. Eva Brems and Ellen Desmet (Cheltenham, UK:  Elgar, 2018).  Abstract and previous version.

[conscience]  “Religious Refusals and Reproductive Rights,” by Louise Melling, chapter 14 in:  The Conscience Wars: Rethinking the Balance between Religion, Identity, and Equality, ed. Susanna Mancini and Michel Rosenfeld (Cambridge, UK:  Cambridge University Press, 2018)  pp. 375-391.   Institutional Access.

[conscience]  “Seeking to square the circle:  Conscientious objection in Reproductive Healthcare” by Emmanuelle Bribosia and Isabelle  Rorive, chapter 15 in:  The Conscience Wars: Rethinking the Balance between Religion, Identity, and Equality, ed. Susanna Mancini and Michel Rosenfeld (Cambridge, UK:  Cambridge University Press, 2018)  pp. 392-413.  Institutional Access.    Abstract and previous version

 

[gender stereotyping, I.V. v. Bolivia, sterilization]  “The human rights impact of gender stereotyping in the context of reproductive health care,” by Ciara O’Connell and Christina Zampas,  International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 144 (2019):  116–121.  PDF online here.

[maternal health] Impact of reproductive evolutionary mismatch on women’s health and the need for action and research, by Mahmoud F. Fathalla, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 144 (Feb. 2019): 129–134.  Institutional Access.  

[New book] Beyond Virtue and Vice:  Rethinking Human Rights and Criminal Law
ed.  Alice M. Miller and Mindy Jane Roseman,  Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019)  360 pages. Book information.
Intro and chapters 1 and 3 online.
Chapters about abortion law include:
ο    “Abortion as Treason: Sexuality and nationalism in France” by Mindy Jane Roseman
ο    “Criminal Law, Activism and Sexual and Reproductive Justice: What we can learn from the sex selection campaign in India,” by Geetanjali Misra and Vrinda Marwah
ο    “Harm Production: An argument for decriminalization,”  by Joanna N. Erdman

JOBS

Links to employers in the field of Reproductive and Sexual Health Law are online here.

Senior Vice President, Global Legal Program, Center for Reproductive Rights, New York, USA.    Job details and application form.

______________
Compiled by the Coordinator of the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca For Program publications and resources, see our website, online here. TO JOIN THIS BLOG: enter your email address in upper right corner of this webpage, then check your email to confirm the subscription.