REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – April 2017

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DEVELOPMENT

[Croatia, abortion] Constitutional Court reaffirmed that women’s access to abortion is protected under their constitutional rights to liberty, personality, and privacy.  Rješenje Ustavnog Suda Republike Hrvatske, broj: U-I-60/1991 i dr. od 21.veljace 2017.
Decision online in Croatian     Amicus brief in English by CRR

CALLS FOR PAPERS:

“Women’s Human Rights” including theory and activism, for special issue of Canadian Woman Studies/Les cahiers de la femme, guest edited by: Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, Alda Facio, Angela Lytle, Angela Miles, and Patricia Nyaundi.  Submit by April 30, 2017    Detailed call for papers.   Submission guide.

Anti-Discrimination Law Review, newly launched, peer reviewed journal.  Submit papers 6,000-10,000 words. Information for authors.

Call for abstracts  “1997-2017: 20 years after the Oviedo Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine: What are the achieved gains and its potential?” international conference at European University (December 8-9, Nicosia, Cyprus)  Submit 300 word abstract by July 1, 2017.  Flyer with Call for abstracts.    Conference details.

Conference:  “Difficult Conversations: Thinking and talking About Women, Genders and Sexualities Inside and Outside the Academy”  The Seventeenth Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders and Sexualities.  Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y., U.S.A.,  June 1-4, 2017

COURSES:

Summer “Program of Advanced Studies on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law,”
Academy of Human Rights, Washington College of Law, American University, Washington D.C.  Classes start May 30, 2017.  Apply by May 1, 2017.  Details.  Choose from 20 Courses, 9 in English and 11 in Spanish.  Course list.

Summer school on Health Law and Ethics (1 or 2 weeks) The Erasmus Observatory on Health Law / Institute of Health Policy & Management (Erasmus University Rotterdam)  Course details and registration.

RESOURCES

[abortion] “Taking Abortion Rights Seriously: Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt” by Kate Greasley,  The Modern Law Review 80.2 (March 2017): 325-338.  Open access article.

[abortion law – Australia] Children by Choice website highlights Australian abortion law and practice –  Links to recent legal reform bills

[abortion law] Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective: Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman and Bernard M. Dickens (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014), now also in paperback, 20% discount code PH70.  Available from U Penn Press.

[abortion law – Spanish]    El aborto en el derecho transnacional: casos y controversias,  ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman y Bernard M. Dickens (Mexico: FCE/CIDE, 2016)   De venta: Fondo de Cultura Económica y  Libreria CIDE.

[abortion policy] “Towards a non-ethics-based consensual public policy on abortion,” by David Alvargonzález, (philosophy professor in Spain).  The International Journal of Health Planning and Management 32.1 (Jan-Mar 2017): e39-46. Article or Abstract.

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

NEWS

[abortion, Brazil] Petition to Supreme Court of Brazil March 7, 2017, seeks 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.  Press release.

[abortion, Canada – coverage]  Expert panel endorses public coverage for abortion pill (mifepristone + misoprostol), under brand name “Mifegymiso”.  Newspaper report.  Expert recommendations and reasoning

[abortion – Kenya]  Recent cases of women dying while procuring abortion, clinic proprietor arrested. Safe Abortion update.

[abortion, Uruguay]  Judge denies termination of 10-week pregnancy, siding with ex-boyfriend.  Woman miscarried due to stress, mistreatment and public exposure; she plans to sue judge.  News media.    Update from Safe Abortion campaign.

[conscience, Canada]  Doctors, pharmacists push back on medical abortion rules    Colleges of physicians and pharmacists suggest off-label workaround for Health Canada’s restrictions on dispensing the abortion drug Mifegymiso   CMAJ News

[conscience, Canada]  Christian Medical and Dental Society v. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). objecting to rules requiring Ontario doctors to refer patients seeking abortions, etc.  Hearings scheduled June 13-15, 2017   Newspaper report.

[conscience, Ghana] Provider obstruction: a major threat to critical maternal health services in Northern Ghana, Global Doctors for Choice-Ghana study results.

[conscience, Italy]:  UN Human Rights Committee Concluding Observations CCPR/C/ITA/CO/6 criticizes Italy for lack of non-objecting doctors.  HRC report in English.
Parliamentary study found that 70% object.  Hospital in Rome advertises for non-objecting doctors. CRUX Catholic newsletter

[conscience, Sweden]: Swedish court upholds ruling against midwife (Grimmark) claiming conscientious objection.  Midwife is funded by wealthy US prochoice alliance  Article by Safe Abortion Women’s Right

JOBS

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

______________
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: Decisions, Publications, News and Opportunities

REPROHEALTHLAW-L
November 5, 2015

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COURT DECISIONS:

KENYA:   High Court: Maternity Hospital Illegally Imprisoned Women, Violated Human Rights.
Millicent Awuor Omuya alias Maimuna Awuor & Another v The Attorney General & 4 Others [2015], Petition No. 562 of 2012, (High Court of Kenya at Nairobi (Constitutional and Human Rights Division).    Court orders Ministry of Health to address discrimination in public hospitals and award compensation to women who were unlawfully detained, CRR Press release.  ‘When Does a Hospital Become a Jail? When You Can’t Afford the Bill”  Open Society comment.  CRR Fact-finding report: “Failure to deliver…”.

UGANDA:  Supreme Court strikes down evasive 2012 Constitutional Court decision and orders it to hear maternal health petition.
The Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development CEHURD  and 3 Others v Attorney General [2015], Constitutional Appeal No. 01 of 2013 (Supreme Court of Uganda at Kampala), Judgments by Kisaakye, JSC and Katureebe, CJ.   Decision and CEHURD comments online,.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS/PARTICIPATION

[abortion] International Seminar on Medication Abortion, Dakar, Senegal, July 12-14, 2016, organized by the IUSSP Scientific Panel on Abortion Research, the STEP UP Research Programme Consortium, and the Population Council Senegal.  Submit abstracts or unpublished papers by November 30, 2015  in English, French or Spanish (working language of meeting will be English). For details, contact seminar organizer Susheela Singh {ssingh} by email at Guttmacher . org

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, EVENTS

[abortion symposium]  “Comment progresse l’accès à l’avortement dans des contextes restrictifs ? Perspectives historiques et internationals,” Journée scientifique Pôle Suds-Ceped-Unige,  Mardi 8 décembre 2015, INED, 133, boulevard Davout  (Salle Sauvy), 75020 Paris, France,      Details online.

[Canada]”The Future of Health Law,”  National Health Law Conference,  University of Ottawa, November 19-21, 2015.  Details online.   Schedule.

Global School of Health Rights Litigation (at national, regional and international levels), intensive course June 13 – 17, 2016 at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC.  hosted by The O’Neill Institute and Harvard FXB.  Course details.

New J.D./LL.M. Program in Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC.  JD/LLM Georgetown.

Summer 2016 Legal Internships in Oakland, CA, USA,  10 week summer program for law students, 2 paid positions available, Law Students for Reproductive Justice (USA)  Summer internship info.

PUBLICATIONS

“Abortion law in Australia: it’s time for national consistency and decriminalization,”  by Caroline M de Costa and Heather Douglas,  Medical Journal of Australia  2015;203(9).  Article online.

Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective:  Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman and Bernard M. Dickens, 16 chapters.  University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014, 482 pages. Introduction by the editors. Table of Cases online  Table of Contents.  Purchase from U Penn Press. A Spanish edition was published in August, 2016.  Ahora disponible en español.

[abortion – mifepristone – Canada]   What is RU 486 (mifepristone) and how does it work? Overview 

[abortion – United Kingdom)  “The decriminalisation of abortion: an argument for modernisation,” by Sally Sheldon, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 2015;35(3):1-32.   Early access.

[CEDAW, human rights] “Why do national court judges refer to human rights treaties? : A comparative international law analysis of CEDAW,” by Christopher McCrudden, American Journal of International Law, forthcoming. Abstract and article online.

[conscience] “Drawing the Line: Tackling tensions between religious freedom and equality.” International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations, 2015. 56-page report

[conscience] “A multinational review of efforts to regulate conscience-based objection to abortion,” by B. Kumar Aksel and W. Chavkin,  Contraception 92 (2015), page 402, broad abstract of study results from 22 countries where abortion legalized.  Available to subscriber institutions.

[El Salvador]  Independent analysis of systematic gender discrimination in the El Salvador Judicial process against 17 women accused of the aggravated homicide of their newborns, by Jocelyn Viterna, Associate Professor Sociology, Harvard University / José Santos Guardado Bautista, Lawyer, El Salvador  Full Report.

[Mexico]  Women and girls without justice: reproductive rights in Mexico:  Advances, unfufilled commitments, setbacks, by Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida (GIRE) / Red de Abogados poe la Defensa de Reproducción Elegida (RADAR)    Español.   English.

[adolescents, Nigeria] “Ethical Issues in Adolescents’ Sexual and Reproductive Health Research in Nigeria”
by Morenike Oluwatoyin Folayan, Bridget Haire, Abigail Harrison, Morolake Odetoyingbo, Olawunmi Fatusi and Brandon Brown,  Developing World Bioethics 15.3 (December 2015), pp. 191–198)  Online for institutional subscribers

World Report on Women’s Health 2015: The unfinished agenda of women’s reproductive health.  International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 131 (Oct 2015):  Supplement 1, online here.   Includes:
—[editorial:] The unfinished agenda of women’s reproductive health, by Chittaranjan Narahari Purandare, Richard M.K. Adanu , Pages S1-S2
—Strengthening accountability to end preventable maternal deaths, by Matthews Mathai, Thandassery R. Dilip, Issrah Jawad, Sachiyo Yoshida, Pages S3-S5
—Adolescent sexual and reproductive health: The global challenges, by Jessica L. Morris, Hamid Rushwan   Pages S40-S42
—What can obstetrician/gynecologists do to support abortion access? by Alice G. Mark, Merrill Wolf, Alison Edelman, Laura Castleman, Pages S53-S55
—Evidence supporting broader access to safe legal abortion, by Anibal Faúndes, Iqbal H. Shah, Pages S56-S59

NEWS:

Brazil:  Brazil: Feminists take the streets against Cunha and Bill 5069/2013, tightening criminal abortion law.   Article online.

International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion issues great e-newsletters monthly, with abstracts of publications for members.   Website online.

[Ireland] “Abortion Pill Bus” on 409-mile tour of Ireland.  newspaper report, another report

[Latin America]  Recently appointed Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro calls for safe, legal abortion in Latin America.  Ipas Press release.

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

JOBS

Advocacy Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean, Global Legal Program, :The Center for Reproductive Rights | Deadline: Open until filled.  Position will be based in Washington DC
Apply as soon as possible.  Job details.

Summer Legal Internships in California, see “Educational” category above.

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

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: Decisions, Calls, Resources and News

 DECISIONS

United Kingdom, Supreme Court ruling in “Scottish midwives” case:
Greater Glasgow Health Board v Doogan & Anor decision of December 17, 2014. [2014] UKSC 68, [2015] SLT 25.
Indirect participants cannot invoke conscientious objection.   17-page decision.  Abstract by law student.

Canada:  College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario – Human Rights policy clarified.  Doctors who object to treatments (abortion, assisted suicide) have duty to refer to non-objecting practitioner.  Policy and FAQ .     Newspaper article

CALLS FOR PAPERS

“Sexuality, Sexual Rights, Sexual Politics”  for Reproductive Health Matters vol. 46, Nov. 2015.  Submit by May 31, 2015. Call for papers .

“Equity in the 21st Century: Problems and Perspectives.” Canadian Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law, Jan 2016 edition.  Submission information.

RESOURCES

Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective:  Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman and Bernard M. Dickens, 16 chapters.  University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014, 482 pages. Introduction by the editors: online through SSRN. Book reviewers should contact Gigi Lamm (glamm {a} pobox. upenn. edu) Includes 16 chapters, Table of Legislation, Table of Cases, also online here, with links to abortion-related decisions in English and/or other languages). Table of Contents online here. Purchase info: link to U Penn Press.

[abortion ban, Nicaragua]  “A Quiet Inquisition”  [documentary film re effects of Nicaragua’s abortion law on women and doctors]directed and produced by Alessandra Zeka and Holen Sabrina Kahn,  Adrenaline Films, 2014.  Review in The Lancet.

[conscience- Australia]  ‘Conscience’ or Discrimination?: Healthcare Providers, Abortion and Moral Obligation, by Former Victorian health services commissioner Beth Wilson. Speech online.

[conscience] Ethical guidelines on conscientious objection in training. International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics  128(1):89-90.  Jan 2015. abstract and guidelines.

“Health Law and Human Rights”  First issue of open access and peer reviewed journal  Canadian Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law (CJCCL) — entire issue 414 pages PDF   includes:
—-[sexual autonomy of persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities]“Love is Just a Four-Letter Word”:   Sexuality, International Human Rights, and Therapeutic Jurisprudence, by Michael L Perlin & Alison J Lynch –abstract.   article online.

—-“Putting Health to Rights: A Canadian View on Global Trends in Litigating Health Care Rights” by Bryan Thomas & Colleen M Flood,   – article online.

—-“Notions of Reproductive Harm in Canadian Law: Addressing Exposures to Household Chemicals as Reproductive Torts” by Alana Cattapan, Roxanne Mykitiuk & Mark Pioro-  article online.

—-“Medical Tourism, Access to Health Care, and Global Justice,” by Glenn Cohen – article online.

—-[polygamy] A Cruel Arithmetic: Inside the Case Against Polygamy, by Craig  Jones, book reviewed by Anne Cochrane, book review online.

  —-“Law, Policy, and Reproductive Autonomy, by Erin Nelson:  book note by Leah Seneviratne – book note online.

Reproductive Health Matters issues and translations now 95% free to download online!
—-“Using Law and the Courts” RHM 44 (Nov 2014) online here.
—-“Expanding Access to Medical Abortion” RHM 44 Supplement(Dec 2014)  online here.
—-“Translations of past issues in Arabic, Chinese, French, Hindi, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian
Free translations of RHM.
  —-Supported (Free) subscriptions and free copies of back issues are available to people working in the SRHR field in low and middle-income countries (usually in the Global South) who would otherwise not be able to subscribe.  Free subscriptions,  Free back-issues

[sterilization, HIV]  Involuntary Sterilization of HIV-Positive Women: An Example of Intersectional Discrimination, by Ronli Sifris, (2015) 37(2) Human Rights Quarterly (in press).  Abstract and article online.

NEWS

[Africa] Mozambique decriminalizes abortion to stem maternal deaths. Newspaper report

[Chile] President proposes law to relax abortion restrictions.  Newspaper article.

[El Salvador] Woman released from prison after pardon for miscarriage.  Newspaper article.

[Ireland]  Ruling on brain-dead pregnant woman could clarify Ireland’s abortion laws.  Newspaper article.

[Spain]  Report of the Trial of Dr. Carlos Morin.  Report online.

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

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.

 

Developments, Calls, Resources, News & Jobs

REPROHEALTHLAW BLOG – February, 2014

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:

[Argentina – abortion case] A Supreme Court in Argentina reversed a lower court ruling that had prevented a 14-year-old rape victim from seeking an abortion. News report.

[Bolivia – abortion law] Plurinacional Constitutional Court (TCP) of Bolivia eliminates requirement of judicial authorization for women seeking legal abortion in cases of rape or danger to life or health. Court used human rights arguments based on international human rights law.   Comment from Ipas.   Feb. 5, 2014 decision online (22MB) 62-page decision in Spanish.

[Europe – repro health] PACE adopts progressive Resolution on MDGs ,  January 30, 2014.   The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly unanimously adopted Resolution 1975 (2014) “Stepping up action against global inequalities: Europe’s contribution to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) process”. includes “the guarantee of sexual and reproductive health and rights for women and girls”.  Resolution online.     Debate and speeches.

[Europe  – Moldova] Eremia v. Moldova – The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the State of Moldova‘s failure to protect a woman in a domestic violence case violated the victim’s rights to be protected from torture and inhuman treatment.  Decision online.  Court press release.

CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS:

“Using Law and the Courts” Reproductive Health Matters 22.44 (Nov. 2014). Submissions due  May 2014.  Call for Papers online.

Gender Justice Uncovered Awards – Call for Nominations , Deadline April 30, 2014.  Winners will be announced in June 2014.   Anyone from anywhere in the world may nominate a good, bad, or ugly decision on the Awards’ web site. Submit your nomination by April 30, 2014.  More information.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Abortion Abroad Webinar Series, sponsored by Law Students for Reproductive Justice, Center for Reproductive Rights, and Ipas.  Webinar Series Overview.

—- The Helms Amendment, how it affects women on the ground, and legal issues. Featuring Jamila Taylor, Senior Policy Advisor, Ipas and Aram Schvey, Policy Counsel for Foreign Policy and Human Rights at the Center for Reproductive Rights.  March 4, 2014 Register Helms webinar:

—- “Stigma in the international context” Featuring Kristen Shellenberg, Senior Research and Evaluation Associate at Ipas and Payal Shah, Legal Advisor at the Center for Reproductive Rights March 25, 2014. Register Stigma webinar.

RESOURCES

[abortion – Argentina]  Report from La Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC) on the state of enforcement of the Supreme Court’s “F,A.L.” judgement of March 13, 2012 legalizing abortion after rape.  Two years later, eight jurisdictions comply, eight include regulations that may hinder access, and eight do not comply. that “nearly two years after the ruling “F., A.L.”  many jurisdictions still have not created protocols, and many others were given faulty protocols, which generates a situation of intolerable inequality in which access to this right depends on the place of residence.  Detailed summary in Spanish.   Report in Spanish includes comparison chart (53 page Report)

[abortion – Australia] “Manufacturing Mental Illness (and Lawful Abortion): Doctors’ Attitudes to Abortion Law and Practice in New South Wales and Queensland” by Heather Douglas, Kirsten Black, Caroline deCosta,  (2013) 20.3 Journal of Law and Medicine 560-576.  Article online.

[abortion – Ireland] Revised guidelines for doctors in response to new “Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act”.  Revised paragraph #21 on Abortion (page 21) can be read in conjunction with #11 and # 39 on Emergencies and Emergency Situations, #34 on Capacity to Consent and #10 on Conscientious Objection.  Revised Irish medical guidelines.

[abortion – Ireland]  “Peripheral Governance: Administering Transnational Health Care Flows, by Ruth Fletcher, provides “a critical reading of the strategies that the Irish Crisis Pregnancy Agency has adopted in response to women’s practices of travelling for abortion care.”  (2013) 9 International Journal of Law in Context 161-190.  Full text of article now online.

Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective:  Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman and Bernard M. Dickens, 16 chapters.  Forthcoming, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014.  To receive details when it is published, email reprohealth. law\at/ utoronto. ca with subject “abortion book flyer”.

[abortion stigma] new “Sea Change Program” is leading a new approach to culture change around abortion and other reproductive experiences, conducting social science research, developing tools to measure stigma, try new strategies for transforming stigma, partner with advocates and organizations, raise awareness about stigma and increase visibility, connection and support around abortion.   Stigma website.

[Nigeria] Women and Reproductive Health Rights in Nigeria, by Oluwakemi Amudat Ayanleye, OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development  6.5(2013), 127-140. Article online.

NEWS

[abortion – Israel]  Abortion added to healthcare basket in Israel.  The 2014 basket includes abortion for women aged 20-33 without a medical reason for terminating pregnancy.  News report.

[abortion – Spain] Spain’s tough new abortion law advances after secret vote, Proposed law outlawing abortions except in rape cases or where the mother’s health is in danger has been widely criticized.   Guardian: “serious step backwards.”

[contraception]  new World Health Organization guidance on Ensuring human rights in the provision of contraceptive information and services. These guidelines provide recommendations for programmes as to how they can ensure that human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled, while services are scaled up to reduce unmet need for contraception. WHO Contraception Guidance.

[contraception] Scientist Malcolm Potts emphasizes birth control pills’ therapeutic properties. He notes that the Catholic church nearly approved them for contraception on theological grounds.  Op-ed online.

Homosexuality is now legal throughout Europe.  Northern Cyprus becomes last European territory to decriminalize gay sex.  News report.

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

JOBS

Program Officer, Global Development and Population Program, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Menlo Park Calif.  USA.  Hewlett job details.

Program Officer, Safe Abortion Advocacy, Latin America and Caribbean Countries, International Planned Parenthood Federation, IPPF job details.

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

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.

Decision, Calls, Conferences, Resources & Jobs

REPROHEALTHLAW BLOG
January 16, 2014

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.

DECISION:

Canada:  Supreme Court Strikes Down Canada’s Prostitution Laws, unanimous decision.  Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, 2013 SCC 72, Case #34788.  Struck down:  “over-broad” and “grossly disproportionate” laws prohibiting brothels, living on the avails of prostitution and communicating in public with clients.  Parliament has one year (if it wishes) to pass new law as Criminal Code provisions remain in place
Supreme Court decision of Dec. 20, 2013 is online here.
Printable PDF version of 83-page decision is online here.
Legal analysis by Ranjan K. Agarwal, Intervenor
News coverage, key points and context by CBC

CALLS

“Population, Environment and Sustainable Development,” call for papers for Reproductive Health Matters journal, May 2014 – still accepting submissions.  RHM Call for papers online here.

“Using the Law and the Courts,” call for papers for Reproductive Health Matters journal Nov 2014.   RHM Call for papers-scroll down.

Call for Papers,  “Abortion: The Unfinished Revolution.”  Conference: August 7-8,  2014 at the University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada, submit abstract by Jan 31, 2014.
PEI call for papers online here.

CONFERENCES

“Task sharing in unwanted pregnancy” FIAPAC bi-annual conference for abortion and contraception professionals,” October 3-4,  2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia   Online poster with list of topics.

FIGO World Congress 2015, Vancouver, BC,  Canada,  Oct 4-9, 2015 [sic].  12-page brochure online here.

RESOURCES:

Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective:  Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman and Bernard M. Dickens, 16 chapters.  Forthcoming, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014.  To receive details when it is published, email reprohealth. law\at/ utoronto. ca with subject “abortion book flyer”.

[abortion, Australia] ‘A Woman’s Right to Choose: Human Rights and Abortion in Australia’ in Paula Gerber and Melissa Castan (eds), Contemporary Human Rights Issues in Australia (Thomson Reuters, 2013) 251-273.   Book description.

[abortion, CEDAW] “A Commentary on L.C. v Peru: The CEDAW Committee’s First Decision on Abortion,” by Charles G. Ngwena,  Journal of African Law 57(2): 310-324.   Abstract and link online here.

[abortion stigma] New abortion stigma network:  INROADS, the International Network for the Reduction of Abortion Discrimination and Stigma –   To learn more, contact:  info\AT/endabortionstigma.org.
New abortion stigma website online here.

[abortion, surrogacy, ova donation] “Reproductive Technologies and Reproductive Justice,” theme of special issue guest-edited by Mytheli Sreenivas in Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies  34.3, 2013 [includes articles re abortion law advocacy in Taiwan, U.S.A. and elsewhere]
Repro Technologies issue online here.

[CEDAW effectiveness]   “International Women’s Convention, Democracy, and Gender Equality” by Seo-Young Cho, forthcoming Social Science Quarterly  Abstract and article online.

Conscientious Objection to the provision of reproductive healthcare – special issue, International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, vol 123, Supp. 3 (Dec. 2013), Conscientious Objection issue, online here, includes:.

— Editorial by Wendy Chavkin, Global Doctors for Choice

–Conscientious objection and refusal to provide reproductive healthcare: A White Paper examining prevalence, health consequences, and policy responses, by Wendy Chavkin, Liddy Leitman, Kate Polin.

— Conscientious objection or fear of social stigma and unawareness of ethical obligations, by Anibal Faúndes, Graciana Alves Duarte, Maria José Duarte Osis.

— Conscientious objection to provision of legal abortion care, by Brooke R. Johnson, Eszter Kismödi, Monica V. Dragoman, Marleen Temmerman.

— Legal and ethical standards for protecting women’s human rights and the practice of conscientious objection in reproductive healthcare settings   by Christina Zampas.
All are in Conscientious Objection issue, online here.

[Conscientious objection]  A list of our Program publications on Conscientious Objection, with links where available, is online here.

[Course syllabi] Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Course syllabus for a course taught by Rebecca Cook and Joanna Erdman, based on the textbook Reproductive Health and Human Rights: Integrating Medicine, Ethics and Law (Oxford University Press, 2003) is licensed for free adaptation by law instructors anywhere in the world.   This RSH Law course syllabus will remain online until August 2014. See also:  Women’s Rights in Transnational Law 2013 course syllabus by Rebecca Cook.  More teaching resources are online here.

[human rights]  The American Convention on Human Rights:  Crucial Rights and their Theory and Practice by Cecilia Medina (Mortsel, Belgium: Intersentia, 2013).  Book description online.

[LGBTQ] World map shows countries where consensual same-sex sexual conduct is criminalized  UNAIDS Info Graphic online.

Reproductive Freedom, Torture and International Human Rights: Challenging the Masculinisation of Torture, by Ronli Sifris.  (Oxford: Routledge, 2014) Book description.

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

JOBS

Program Officer, Safe Abortion and Advocacy, Latin America and the Caribbean, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere.  Job requires Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Law, Political Science, Public Health. IPPF job details here.

Program Associate for Latin America and the Caribbean,  Center for Reproductive Rights.  Apply by Jan. 24, 2014.   CRR job details here.

Other jobs at the Center for Reproductive Rights
Internship at the Nepal office, apply by Jan. 17, 2014
Manager of Policy and Advocacy Research, apply by Jan. 17.
Senior Attorney for Judicial Strategy, apply by Jan. 31.
List and links are online here.

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

The REPROHEALTHLAW Blog is compiled monthly by the Coordinator of the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, University of Toronto, Canada.  Email:  reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca. For Program publications and resources, see our website, online here.
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Australia: Human Rights & Abortion Laws

Congratulations to Dr. Ronli Sifris, whose chapter advocating Australian abortion law reform has recently been published. Since completing her doctorate in 2011, she has been a full-time academic at Monash University’s Faculty of Law.  She can be emailed at ronli.sifris {at} monash.edu.

‘A Woman’s Right to Choose: Human Rights and Abortion in Australia’ in Paula Gerber and Melissa Castan (eds), Contemporary Human Rights Issues in Australia (Thomson Reuters, 2013) 251-273.

Abstract:

This book chapter considers the right to abortion and adopts the position that a woman has a right to choose to terminate an unwanted pregnancy pursuant to internationally recognised human rights norms. It then focuses specifically on the Australian law regulating this issue and explores the law relating to abortion in Australia through a “pro-choice” lens. The discussion begins by noting that abortion is a crime in the majority of Australian jurisdictions and by critiquing the categorisation of abortion within the criminal law paradigm. The criminalisation of abortion is problematic for a number of reasons. For example, it contravenes the notion that the right to terminate a pregnancy falls within existing human rights norms, it increases the stigma attached to abortion, and it undermines the need for certainty and clarity in the law. The chapter then proceeds to consider the law relating to abortion in the different Australian jurisdictions, and to evaluate these laws from a “women’s rights” perspective. Following this discussion of Australian law in general, it then delves into the most recent substantive reform of abortion legislation (the 2008 amendments to Victoria’s legislative framework) and argues that, from the perspective of the human rights of women, this legislation represents a giant step forward which nevertheless does not go far enough.

Contemporary Human Rights Issues in Australia, in which this chapter appears, is now available for purchase.
Book description  from publisher Thomson Reuters.

We look forward to seeing the new book by Ronli Sifris,  Reproductive Freedom, Torture and International Human Rights: Challenging the Masculinisation of Torture.
Book description from publisher Routledge.

Developments, resources, news, scholarships & opportunities

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DECISIONS AND CASES

CEDAW decision:  S.V.P. v. Bulgaria, CEDAW, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/53/D/31/2011 held state accountable for inadequate legal protections and failure to exercise due diligence re girl (“V.P.P.”) subjected to sexual violence and molestation by adult neighbour.
CEDAW decision dated November 24, 2012, online. 
Case summary by Simone Cusack online.  

Inter-American Court of Human Rights – El Salvador Government being sued over treatment of Beatriz and Criminalization of Abortion.  Lawsuit filed November 29, 2013 by the Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion in El Salvador, the Feminist Collective for Local Development, CEJIL (Center for Justice and International Law), and Ipas Central America.
English article online.   Spanish article online.

United States – Catholic hospitals:  American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing US Catholic bishops for hospital directives below standard of care for pregnant woman.  Press release online.

RESOURCES

[abortion]  “Reductions in abortion-related mortality following policy reform: evidence from Romania, South Africa and Bangladesh,” by Janie Benson, Kathryn Andersen and Ghazaleh Samandari  Reproductive Health 8.39 (2011). Abstract and Article online here.

[abortion, health, human rights.] New book:  Health and Human Rights by  Thérèse Murphy, (Oxford: Hart Publishing 2013)  includes chapter on reproductive rights:  “The Dignity of Choice” pp. 159-187.  Book details online.

[abortion – Ireland] Ruth Fletcher’s submission to the Oireachtas Abortion Hearings (May 21, 2013)
available in Human Rights in Ireland blog May 22, 2013
8 minute radio spot – MP3 file May 21, 2013
Other abortion posts on Human Rights in Ireland blog.

[abortion – Ireland – women forced to travel]  “Peripheral governance: administering transnational healthcare flows,” by Ruth Fletcher, in International Journal of Law in Context 9 (2013):160-191,  doi:10.1017/S1744552313000074  Abstract online.

[abortion- mifepristone (RU-486) not approved in Canada] “Medical abortion in Canada:  Behind the Times,” by Sheila Dunn and Rebecca Cook.   Canadian Medical Association Journal, Nov. 25, 2013
Early view extract online.
Globe and Mail newspaper article.    Toronto Star newspaper article.

[conscientious objection]   “Let Conscience Be Their Guide? Conscientious Refusals in Health Care” Bioethics special issue,
Table of Contents with full text access for institutional subscribers.

—Editorial by volume editors Carolyn McLeod and Jocelyn Downie (pages ii–iv)

—“Am I My Profession’s Keeper?  by Avery Kolers, (pp. 1-7).

—“Conscientious Refusal and Health Professionals: Does Religion Make a Difference?” by Daniel Weinstock, pp. 8-15

—“Justification for Conscience Exemptions in Health Care” by Lori Kantymir and Carolyn McLeod (pp 16-23).

—“A Neglected Aspect of Conscience: Awareness of Implicit Attitudes” by Chloë Fitzgerald (pp 24–32).

—“Welcome to the Wild, Wild North: Conscientious Objection Policies Governing Canada’s Medical, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Dental Professions,” by Jacquelyn Shaw and Jocelyn Downie (pp 33–46).

[emergency contraception and conscientious objection, Italy]    “Whose Self-Determination? Barriers to Access to Emergency Hormonal Contraception in Italy” by  Emanuela Ceva and Sofia Moratti, Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 23.2 (2013): 139-67. Abstract and article online here.

[ethical and legal issues in reproductive health] Full texts of concise papers on Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health, published in the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology since 1999.  Wide range of topics,  including vitro fertilization, access to reproductive health information, applying human rights to maternal health, WHO guidance on safe abortion and harm reduction.   Full texts online on our website.

[health and human rights] Book:  Advancing the Human Right to Health, ed. Jose M. Zuniga, Stephen P. Marks, Lawrence O Gostin (Oxford University Press, 2013)  includes chapters on Brazil, China, Ghana, Haiti, Japan, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States; also includes:
—“Advancing the right to health through litigation,” by Oscar A Cabrera and Ana S. Ayala
—“The right to health in post-apartheid era South Africa,” by Charles Ngwena, Rebecca Cook, and Ebenezer Durojaye    Book details online here.

[reproductive health, MDGs] “New development paradigms post-2015 for health, SRHR and gender equality, includes experiences from Brazil, India, Kenya, Lao PDR, Mexico, Nigeria,  South Africa and Uganda,  all in current issue of Reproductive Health Matters 21.42 (Nov. 2013).
Articles and Table of Contents are online here.

NEWS

[abortion – Australia, New South Wales (NSW)] – Decriminalise abortion: pro-choice in practice is not the same as legal protection by Prof. George Williams, Professor of Law at University of NSW.  “Zoe’s Law” (now a bill) would protect the unborn fetus.  Comment in the Sydney Morning Herald.

[abortion] “Israel’s Secular-Religious Abortion Compromise”  discusses legal context.  Online news article.

[emergency contraception – levonorgestrel] European authorities involved in the process decided to include the following statement in the levonorgestrel labeling: ‎”In clinical trials, contraceptive efficacy was reduced in women weighing 75 kg or more and levonorgestrel was not effective in women who weighed more than 80 kg.”

[Europe] Estrela report on SRHR sent back to European Parliament by FEMM.   Briefing paper for Dec 10, 2013 vote.

Russia:  Putin signs law banning abortion advertisement in Russia.  News article online.

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

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

“CEDAW for Change” Institute: May 24 – 31, 2014 in Toronto, Canada. Weekend workshop on the UN human rights system (May 24-25), followed by a five-day intensive on CEDAW (May 27-31). Details are online here.

International Women’s Human Rights Education Institute 2014 August 4 – 15, 2014 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Course limited to 30 students– First come, first served. Application period starts January 1, 2014.  Details are online here.

Master of Health Science (MHSc) in Bioethics Program at the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics. Program is course-based, no thesis, 2 years, part-time in modular format for busy professionals. Apply by March 1, 2014.  Details are online here.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS

Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) Fellowship Program, at at Georgetown University in Washington DC.  Application deadline is January 14, 2014. Details are online here.

Visiting Fellows Program at Harvard Law School 2014-15, for human rights scholars or practitioners anywhere in the world. Apply by January 15, 2014.  Details are online here.

Gordon F. Henderson Post doctoral Fellowship  May 2014-May 2015, at The Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa.  Apply by Jan. 31, 2014.  Details are online here.  For more info. call  613-562-5800, ext 3462 or email psimons{at}uottawa.ca.

Columbia Law School – Center for Reproductive Rights Fellowship 2014-2016,  for recent law school graduates interested in careers in teaching law – Deadline has been extended to February 28, 2014.    Details are online here.

JOBS
Links to other 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.