REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – August 2019

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COLLOQUIUM:

Overcoming Barriers to Safe Abortion in the African Region, 16-17 January 2020, at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights. Details, funding, topics, and Call for Abstracts

DEVELOPMENTS:

El Salvador – Young woman acquitted of aggravated homicide after miscarriage in 2016. Evelyn Hernandez Cruz was released on appeal, July 10, 2019. News report.

Germany: Higher court overturns doctor’s conviction for “advertising” abortion among other health services, in light of recent legal reform. News report, July 3, 2019.

Kenya – Case of “JMM,” a teenager who died in 2015 after botched illegal abortion.  The High Court of Kenya at Nairobi, Constitutional and Human Rights Division, declared that abortion is permitted for rape victims. It also ruled that the Ministry of Health’s 2014 withdrawal of abortion “Standards and Guidelines” and abortion trainings for healthcare professionals, were arbitrary and unlawful. Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida – Kenya) & 3 others v Attorney General & 2 others; East Africa Center for Law & Justice & 6 others (Interested Party) & Women’s Link Worldwide & 2 others (Amicus Curiae) [2019] eKLR, Petition No. 266 of 2015.   Decision of June 11, 2019.   News report.    Press release by Center for Reproductive Rights.

Northern Ireland – U.K. bill to maintain Northern Ireland’s public services during governmental hiatus includes decriminalized abortion and same-sex marriage. Bill was signed into law July 24, 2019, to take effect October 22, 2019. Time Magazine: “After 158 Years.”

United Kingdom: Court of Appeal upholds legality of a buffer zone around a London abortion clinic.  Dulgheriu and Orthova v. the London Borough for Civil Liberties and The National Council for Civil Liberties [2019] EWCA Civ 1490, Case No: C1/2018/1699 Court of Appeal (Civil Division). (Decision of August 21, 2019)  Report by Safe Abortion.

United Nations, International Law Commission, UN 71st session, A/CN.4/L.935 May 15, 2019, adopted new edition of “Crimes against Humanity” treaty, which “removed the outdated definition of gender … [It] affirmed that the rights of women, LGBTIQ persons, and other marginalized groups are protected in international criminal law, which will have ripple effects across national laws and future legal mechanisms for years to come,” according to Jessica Stern et al. New edition of Treaty.

SCHOLARSHIP:

[abortion law, Brazil] “Why is decriminalization necessary?  by the Anis Bioethical Institute (Brasilia, 2019).  The booklet is now available in English, Spanish and Portuguese : scroll down on this webpage.

[abortion law, Chile ] “Criminalisation under scrutiny: how constitutional courts are changing their narrative by using public health evidence in abortion cases,” by Verónica Undurraga, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters 2019;27(1) DOI: 10.1080/26410397.2019.1620552 Article and abstract

[abortion law, Mexico] “Motherhood or Punishment: The criminalization of abortion in Mexico.” English 57-page report, 2019, English executive summary. Based on “Maternidad o Castigo:  La criminalización del aborto en Mexico,”  (Mexico, GIRE, 2018)  Informe de 72 paginas. 

[abortion law – United Kingdom] “Female Autonomy, Foetal Personhood and the English Legal Stance on Abortion Practice,” by Sahra Paula Thomet, Queen Mary Law Journal 10 (2019): 27-50. Institutional Access.

[abortion pill – Canada] “To Solve Abortion Pill Prescription Problems, We need to Rethink the Prescription Itself” by Professor Joanna Erdman, Dalhousie Law School, July 17, 2019 Newspaper Comment.

[age-of-marriage, Mali] “A commentary on the African Court’s decision in the case APDF and IHRDA v Republic of Mali: why socio-cultural endemic factors of a society could never support arguments based on force majeure” by Giulia Pecorella,  International Law Blog, January 14, 2019.  Comment online. Decision PDF.

“Gender Equality, Norms, and Health” 5-part series in The Lancet Vol. 393 provides new analysis and insights into the impact of gender inequalities and norms on health, and opportunities to transform them. ArticlesGender Equality Norms and Health series.

“Integrating Gender Perspectives  in Gynaecology and Obstetrics: Engaging Medical Colleges in Maharashtra, India,” by Sangeeta Rege,  Padma Bhate-Deosthali, Pravin Shingare, Srinivas Gadappa, Sonali Deshpande, Nandkishore Gaikwad, and Shailesh Vaidya, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 146 (2019): 132–138    PDF at Wiley Online.  Submitted text at SSRN.

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.
______________
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.

Chile: Conscience strategy against legal abortions

Many thanks to Verónica Undurraga and Michelle Sadler, professors of law and medical anthropology (respectively) at the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Santiago, Chile, whose comments on the recent Chilean Constitutional Court decision have been published in Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters:

“The misrepresentation of conscientious objection as a new strategy of resistance to abortion decriminalisation,” by Verónica Undurraga and Michelle Sadler, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters 27.2 (2019):17–19.  Article online.

On January 18, 2019, the Chilean Constitutional Court forced the expansion of conscientious objection rights into the newly enacted law that decriminalizes abortion under three grounds.[1] The original bill, passed by the legislature in 2017 had restricted the right to health professionals; the  Constitutional Court upheld that bill, but added institutions and non-professional staff working in the surgical ward as holders of the right to object.[2]  The Court grounded institutional conscientious objection not only on the freedom of conscience clause of the Constitution, but also on the freedom granted to educational institutions, the freedom of association, and the protection of “intermediate groups” (any formal or informal association between the individual and the State).

The protection of intermediate groups, together with the doctrine of the subsidiary state, must be understood in the context of a Constitution that was enacted under the Chilean dictatorship, reacting to what it understood as the threat of a Marxist totalitarian state. The neoliberal economic logic inherited from that military era now influences the provision of health care in Chile.  Guided by this logic, still embedded in the Constitution, the Court argued that private providers of gyneco-obstetric services are not obliged to provide abortion in the first place, and therefore it declared unconstitutional a prohibition of invoking conscientious objection that the Ministry of Health had imposed on private health institutions that hold agreements with the State to provide gyneco-obstetric services.  Thus, the Court argued that the right to conscientious objection is applicable to private institutions holding State contracts, those being the only ones that cannot refuse to provide the service without special legal permission.

Moreover, some voices in the medical profession are altering  the nature of conscientious objection by conflating the personal moral nature of conscience with technical and ethical standards of the profession, arguing that abortion is a clinically inappropriate or non-beneficial treatment for patients, and claiming that doctors neither need to perform abortions nor refer the patient to a willing provider. 

It is too early to evaluate the impact of the Court’s decision on the provision of abortion by private institutions, or whether erroneous understandings of conscientious objection will expand among practitioners.  Therefore, women’s rights advocates are monitoring the situation (despite barriers to information), and educating health care providers on the legal duties of objectors to ensure women’s timely access to the procedure.

[1] Tribunal Constitucional [Constitutional Court,  2019, STC Rol N° 5572-18-CDS / 5650-18-CDS (acumuladas).  2019 Decision in Spanish.  Backup copy. [expands conscientious objection to other institutions.]

[2] Tribunal Constitucional [Constitutional Court,  2017,  STC Rol N° 3729(3751)-17 CPT. 2017 Decision in Spanish.  Accompanying documents.  Amicus Submissions.    Síntesis en Espanol.
English translation of decision with Synthesis and Table of Contents for both English and Spanish editions. Synthesis in English.   I-CONnect Symposium in English.

[3] Abortion Law Decisions webpage, based on the Table of Cases in Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014), is now updated with more than 145 court decisions, with links to full text where possible. English list. Spanish list.
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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 – February 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:

[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.

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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.

 

 

 

 

Symposium on Chilean Constitutional Court’s Abortion Decision

Congratulations to the International Journal of Constitutional Law‘s I-CONnect Blog, which features a special symposium as we approach the one-year anniversary of the Chilean Constitutional Court’s abortion decision of August 28, 2017. The symposium was published over six days, including the following Introduction. by Professor Marta Rodriguez de Assis Machado,* Full Professor of Law at the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) Law School, São Paulo, Brazil, who convened this important symposium for the benefit of the I-CONnect community and indeed for the entire field.

The Chilean Constitutional Court’s Abortion Decision: Five Perspectives

an  I-CONnect Symposium 

convened and introduced by Marta Rodriguez de Assis Machado

Last August, the Chilean Constitutional Court ruled on the constitutionality of Bill No. 9895-11. The Bill sought to decriminalize the voluntary interruption of pregnancy on three legal grounds: when the woman is at “risk to life”; when the embryo or fetus has a congenital pathology that is incompatible with independent extrauterine life; and when the pregnancy is the result of a rape. The law had been approved in Parliament one year prior, with strong support from President Michelle Bachelet and feminist social movements that have for years campaigned against the country’s very strict legislation on the issue–one of the few countries in the world at the time that still prohibited abortion in all circumstances.

In a new front in the battle over the constitutionalization of abortion in Latin America, some Senators brought before the Court two petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Bill. The petitioners based their claim mainly on Article 19, No. 1, Paragraph 2 of the Chilean Constitution, which protects the life of the unborn. They also questioned the parts of the Bill that regulated conscientious objection, allowing it for individual doctors and medical staff, but obliging medical institutions to guarantee that the woman will have access to the procedure carried out by non-objecting professionals.

In a majority decision, the Court dismissed the petition and recognized the constitutionality of each of the three grounds.

According to the Court, the unborn cannot be protected without regard to the rights of women. Moreover, the Constitution does not authorize the State to endanger the life of the pregnant woman, nor does it require her to bear duties beyond what is required of any other person.

On the other hand, the Court partially accepted the objection raised by the petitioners regarding conscientious objection by medical institutions. According to the Court, conscientious objection can legitimately be raised by legal entities or private associations. The Court extended to such institutions the same freedom of thought that the Constitution grants to individuals.

There remains much to be discussed, both on the importance of the ruling as a judicial precedent and on the hurdles to its implementation.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Court’s judgment, we are pleased to bring together five different views on the decision, addressing its progressive features and also its downsides, ambivalences and challenges. We are thankful to the following scholars for their contributions to this special symposium. Their perspectives were published in the 5-day symposium:

1. Blanca Rodriguez-Ruiz, University of Seville, Spain:
   “Door Opened and Left Ajar,”  I-CONnect blog, August 1, 2018.
2. David Kenny, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland:
   “Constitutional Constraints on Abortion Regulation: Chile and Ireland,” I-CONnect blog, August 2, 2018.
3. Gabriela Rondon, Sinara Gumieri and Luciana Brito, researchers at Anis – Institute of Bioethics, Brazil,
   “Lessons for Neighboring Latin American Courts,” I-CONnect blog, August 3, 2018.
4. Isabel C. Jaramillo Sierra, coordinator of the Research Group on Law and Gender (IDEGE), Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia. Founding member of RED-ALAS.
   “Finding and Losing Women in Abortion Law Reform: The Case of the Chilean Constitutional Decision on Law 21030,“ I-CONnect blog, August 4, 2018.
5. José Manuel Díez de Valdez, Director of the Centre of Constitutional Justice, Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile,
   “More Questions than Answers,” I-CONnect blog, August 5, 2018.

We are also extremely grateful to the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program of the University of Toronto for providing an unofficial English translation of the full decision of August 28, 2017, freely available in English here.  I am grateful as well to Linda Hutjens, Sergio Verdugo and Veronica Undurraga who helped to put this symposium together.

The full decision and related materials are available in Spanish at the following weblinks:   Decision in Spanish.    Summary in Spanish.   Accompanying documents.    Other submissions.

Suggested Citation: Marta Rodriguez de Assis Machado, Introduction to I-CONnect Symposium–The Chilean Constitutional Court’s Abortion Decision: Five Perspectives, Int’l J. Const. L. Blog, July 31, 2018,   http://www.iconnectblog.com/2018/07/introduction-to-i-connect-symposium-the-chilean-constitutional-courts-abortion-decision-five-perspectives/

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*Marta Rodriguez de Assis Machado is also a Researcher at the Brazilian Centre of Analysis and Planning – CEBRAP; Global Fellow at the Centre on Law and Social Transformation, Norway; and Fellow at the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, University of Toronto.
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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.

Chile: Constitutional Court abortion decision – now in English!

Congratulations and thanks to the legal translators* of the landmark 2017 abortion decision in Chile.  In this 294-page ruling, the Constitutional Court of Chile upheld the constitutionality of new government legislation that would remove the criminal prohibition on procuring an abortion on three grounds:  when there is imminent risk to the life of the mother, in case of fatal fetal disease, and in cases of rape.  It also made  important revisions to the law, extending conscientious objection beyond “professional” participants, and allowing conscientious objection to be invoked by institutions.

Our new English translation, online here, will allow a wider range of international scholars and advocates to examine and comment upon the text of Chile’s abortion bill, with access to the petition of unconstitutionality, the State’s responses, the final judgment of the majority, and the arguments and reservations of dissenting judges.

Constitutional Court of Chile (Tribunal Constitucional de Chile)  STC Rol N° 3729(3751)-17 CPT.   English Decision: 149 pages
which includes a Table of Contents for both English and Spanish editions. 
Original Decision in Spanish: 294 pages, 

OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH PDF   149-pages
Citation and Acknowledgments     (p. 1)
Table of Contents to English and Spanish print versions     ( 2-7)
Background
Impugned articles of the abortion Bill     (8-14)
Petitioners’ arguments and State responses      ( 14-17)
Alleged Constitutional Conflicts     (17-25)
International Law Aspects     (25-26)
Public Hearings and Reviews      ( 26-29)
Decision of the Majority
Brief Summary  (p. 30)
1:  Decriminalization of abortion on three grounds     (30-69)
2:  Conscientious Objection     (69-72)
Dissents:
1: Decriminalization of abortion on three grounds   (73-98)
2: Conscientious Objection      (98-118)
Reservations and Partial Concurrences:
1: Decriminalization on three grounds     (118-124;  124-131)
2: Conscientious Objection      (131-132,  132-133, 133-141)
Official Syntheses:
1: Decriminalization on three grounds     (143-145)
2: Conscientious Objection       (146-149).

*This unofficial translation, sponsored by the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, Canada, was completed in March 2018, with many thanks to our valiant team of translators and editors: Maria Belén Saavedra, Claudia Sarmiento, Diego Garcia-Ricci, Eleana Rodriguez, Christopher Campbell-Duruflé, Olimpia Boido, Carlos Herrera Vacaflor, Mercedes Cavallo, and Esteban Vallejo-Toledo.

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – March 2018

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.

SCHOLARSHIP:

“Abortion by telemedicine in Northern Ireland: patient and professional rights across borders,” by Tamara Hervey and Sally Sheldon. Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly (2017) 68.1: 1-33    Article online.  Submitted Text.

Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective: Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman and Bernard M. Dickens (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014),  Table of Contents with chapter summaries.     Table of Cases.   English edition. now  in paperback, 20% discount code PH70. —–Spanish edition:  El aborto en el derecho transnacional: casos y controversias,  ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman y Bernard M. Dickens (Mexico: FCE/CIDE, 2016)   En espanol, 2016: Fondo de Cultura Económica y Libreria CIDE.   Índice con resúmenes de todos capítulos    Tabla de jurisprudencia.

Abortion Law Decisions online, a Table of Cases with links.  English.   Spanish.

[abortion law, South Korea]  A critical assessment of abortion law and its implementation in South Korea, by Hyosin Kim & Hyun-A Bae, Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 24.1 (2018): 71-87, Abstract and article.

“Access to Abortion in Cases of Fatal Fetal Abnormality: A New Direction for the European Court of Human Rights?” by Dr. Bríd Ní Ghráinne,  and Dr Aisling McMahon,  (March 12, 2018). 31-page working paper

[Africa] Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts  (Pretoria, Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), 2017).  PDF 228 page book.  Previous volumes online at CRR.      Printed edition from PULP.
Online edition with links to decisions and updates.

Breaking Ground 2018: Treaty Monitoring Bodies on Reproductive Rights, 3rd edition, by the Center for Reproductive Rights, summarizes United Nations jurisprudence, especially the standards being adopted on reproductive health information and contraception, maternal health care, and abortion.  54 page report.

[Chile] Landmark abortion law ruling by Constitutional Court of Chile, August 28, 2017 is now in English with its official synthesis and a table of contents.   Decision translated to English    Amicus curiae briefs also in English:  (1)  decriminalization of abortion Spanish and English;   (2) conscience and conscientious objection:  Spanish  and English.
Spanish Decision “Descargar Sentencia”.   Accompanying documents.  Submissions.      Síntesis.

“The Costs of Conscience,” by Micah Schwartzman, Nelson Tebbe, and Richard Schragger (March 2018) Virginia Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper No. 2018-14.  Abstract and article. 

FIGO Bioethics Curriculum:  Introduction to Principles and Practice of Bioethics: Case Studies in Women’s Health, now in Spanish.  Table of Contents and List of Case Studies.   Curriculum in English.  Curriculum in Spanish

“Reproductive Autonomy of Women and Girls under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,”  by Prof. Charles Ngwena, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 140.1 (Jan. 2018):128-133.  PDF online for 12 months.    Submitted Text.

Reproductive Health and Human Rights:  Integrating Medicine, Ethics and Law, (Oxford University Press, 2003)  Portuguese, 602 pages and Spanish (both now free online).    English  (through Oxford Scholarship Online)  French paperback.     Case Studies in Arabic online

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

NEWS:

Ireland:  May 25th 2018 date for Referendum on abortion “Voters will be asked if they want to repeal article 40.3.3 – known as the eighth amendment – which since 1983 has given unborn foetuses and pregnant women an equal right to life . . . enshrining a ban on abortion in the country’s constitution.”  If repealed, government will allow abortion within 12 weeks of pregnancy. Guardian newspaper

Paraguay’s harsh abortion law endangers adolescents.  Raped 14-year-old girl with pregnancy complications dies during caesarean section to save baby.  Human Rights Watch report

 

JOBS

Links to 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 – Jan. 2018

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.

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

Africa:  Madagascar – New Family Planning Act enacted Jan. 18, 2018 sweeps away the old colonial-era policy that prohibited any promotion of contraception, and recognizes reproductive health and family planning as basic human rights says Family Planning 2020.   However, planned inclusion of therapeutic abortion “sabotaged” at Senate level.   Summary by Safe Abortion.   News report in French.

 

SCHOLARSHIP:

Abortion by telemedicine in Northern Ireland: patient and professional rights across borders, by Tamara Hervey and Sally Sheldon. Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly (2017) 68.1: 1-33    Article online. 

[abortion law, conscientious objection, Chile]   “A critical review of conscientious objection and decriminalisation of abortion in Chile,” by Adela Montero and Raúl Villarroel,  Journal of Medical Ethics, preview online Jan. 6, 2018 

[abortion law in Sweden, Norway and Finland]  Dropping the ball or holding the line? Challenges to abortion laws in the Nordic countries, Heli Askola (Faculty of Law, Monash University)  Women’s Studies International Forum 66 (Jan-Feb 2018): 25-32.
Institutional access

[abortion Law, Uruguay]  Legal barriers to access abortion services through a human rights lens: the Uruguayan experience,” by Lucía Berro Pizzarossa, Reproductive Health Matters 26.52 (2018): preview online Jan. 17, 2018

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 Spanish (see next entry) and in paperback, 20% discount code PH70.  English edition.  Table of Contents with chapter summaries. 
Abortion Decisions Online
El aborto en el derecho transnacional: casos y controversias,  ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman y Bernard M. Dickens (Mexico: FCE/CIDE, 2016)   En espanol, 2016: Fondo de Cultura Económica y  Libreria CIDE.   Índice con resúmenes de capítulos 1-16
Decisiones Judiciales sobre aborto en línea

[Africa] Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts  (Pretoria, Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), 2017).  PDF 228 page book.  Previous volumes PDF online at CRR.      Printed edition from PULP.
Online edition with links to decisions and updates.

FIGO Bioethics Curriculum:  Introduction to Principles and Practice of Bioethics: Case Studies in Women’s Health.  Table of Contents and List of Case Studies    Curriculum in English.  Curriculum in Spanish    Ahora en Español!

“Freedom of conscience in Europe?  An analysis of three cases of midwives with conscientious objection to abortion,” by Valerie Fleming, Beate Ramsayer, Teja Škodič Zakšek, Journal of Medical Ethics (2018) 44: 104-108  Article online.

Portuguese edition online: Reproductive Health and Human Rights:  Integrating Medicine, Ethics and Law, (Oxford University Press, 2003)  English  (Oxford Scholarship Online)  en Francais    en Portugues, 602 pages\.  Spanish / Español    Case Studies in Arabic

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

NEWS:

New “Framework Convention on Global Health Alliance“ aims to facilitate a coordinated global treaty for the Right to “the highest attainable level of health.”  For an overview, see: “Turning the Right to Health into the Lived Reality for Everyone” by Dr. Martin Hevia (Founding Chair):  Overview online.

Canada:  Court dismisses anti-abortion group’s injunction request about refusal of Canada Summer Jobs funding.  News report.

Germany:  Doctor fined 6000 euros for illegally “advertising” abortions, having listed “abortion” among other medical specialties on her website.   It is illegal to advertise abortion services in a way that is to one’s own economic advantage.  News article.  Section 219a of the German criminal code, in German.     See new comment by Stephanie Schlitt, “Criminal prohibition of abortion “advertising” restricts information provision,” Brief comment.     Detailed comment.

Ireland:  Government announces referendum on the 8th Amendment of the Constitution which limits abortion access, following recommendations of the Joint Committee of the Irish Parliament (the Oireachtas).  Jan. 30, 2018 news.  Comment by Christina Zampas.
Comment by Mercedes Cavallo.

JOBS

Links to 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 — Sept 2017

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
[Chile] Abortion legalized in three cases: when the woman’s life is at risk, when the fetus will not survive the pregnancy, and in case of rape).  New law ruled constitutional by the Constitutional Court of Chile on August 28, 2017:  Decision in Spanish -295 pages.  Accompanying documents.  Other Submissions  Newspaper report in English.  Decision summarized in English.

India: Supreme Court Allows Rape Survivor to Terminate Her 31-Week-Old Pregnancy, despite 20-week limit under Medical Termination of Pregnancy law, based on medical advice re health of mother, including trauma from rape.
Newspaper report.   Decision online.  Baby died 2 days after caesarean.

RESOURCES

[abortion] The Responsibility of Gynecologists and Obstetricians in providing safe abortion services within the limits of the law, by Anibal Faúndes,  International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 139.1 (Oct 2017): 1-3.  Wiley Online.

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 in paperback, 20% discount code PH70.  English edition from U Penn Press.  Table of Contents with chapter summaries.  Table of Cases
—El aborto en el derecho transnacional, 2016: Fondo de Cultura Económica y  Libreria CIDE.    Índice con resúmenes de capítulos

[Africa]  Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts, published by Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) in 2017, 228 pages.   New Online edition with links to decisions.    Flyer with Table of Contents.    Download whole book

[Canada] After Morgentaler: The Politics of Abortion in Canada, by Rachael Johnstone, UBC press, 2017, 196 pages.  Based on this doctoral thesis in Political Science.   Purchase options.

“Conscientious Objection to Abortion and Accommodating Women’s Reproductive Health Rights: Reflections on a Decision of the Constitutional Court of Colombia from an African Regional Human Rights Perspective,” by Charles G Ngwena,  Journal of African Law 58.2 (October 2014) 183 – 209.  Abstract and article now online.      

[conscience] “The Conscience Wars in Historical and Philosophical Perspective: The Clash between Religious Absolutes and Democratic Pluralism,”  by Michel Rosenfeld, in  (Susanna Mancini & Michel Rosenfeld, eds.) The Conscience Wars: Rethinking the Balance between Religion, Identity, and Equality (Cambridge University Press 2018)   58 Pages online.

[stigma: abortion, sex work] “Perfectly Legal, but Still Bad: Lessons for Sex Work from the Decriminalization of Abortion,” by Jula Hughes, University of New Brunswick Law Journal 68 (2017): 232-252   Abstract and article at SSRN

NEWS

Northern Ireland:  Medical professionals will no longer face prosecution if they refer women to clinics in England and Wales for abortions  Newspaper report.

International news and resources for advocacy:  International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion.

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

______________
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.

Chile: Constitutional Tribunal upholds constitutionality of new abortion law

Many thanks to Carlos Herrera Vacaflor, LL.M., for providing the following overview of this historic decision in Chile.

Tribunal Constitucional Chile, STC Rol N° 3729(3751)-17 CPT,  Requerimientos de inconstitucionalidad presentados por un grupo de Senadores y Diputados, respecto de normas del proyecto de ley que regula la despenalización de la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo en tres causales, correspondiente al boletín N° 9895-11.  Decision in Spanish: 295 pages.  Accompanying documents.  Other Submissions
New: English Decision: 149 pages includes a Table of Contents for both English and Spanish editions.

On August 21, 2017, the Constitutional Tribunal of Chile, in a 6 to 4 ruling, upheld the constitutionality of a Bill (now enacted into law) that decriminalizes abortion in three cases: rape, fatal fetal impairment and when a woman’s life is in danger.

The Tribunal based its ruling on the following guiding principles, among others. On the basis of international human rights treaties ratified by Chile and national legal developments on maternity, the Tribunal recognized that pregnancy affects the physical and psychological integrity of a woman, since a fetus occupying a woman’s body causes physical and physiological transformations.  Furthermore, the Tribunal stated that criminal law on abortion imposes severe restrictions on rights, and leads to social and legal condemnation of individuals. The Tribunal, given such punitive power, recognized that criminal law should only be considered as an instrument of last resort, in order to limit the restrictive effect the law has on rights.

The Tribunal interpreted “threat to the life of the woman” as a risk to her life (riesgo vital). Only the physician who provides the abortion is needed to diagnose the risk to the woman’s life; no further examinations are required, lest the provision of care be delayed. Abortion is also decriminalized when the fetus carries a fatal congenital or genetic impairment impeding its survival outside the womb. The Tribunal maintained that since the Bill requires that two specialist physicians diagnose the disease of the fetus, these professionals must avoid decisional paralysis that could put a woman in greater danger. In cases of rape, the Tribunal considered constitutional the limits on access to abortion: for girls under the age of 14, abortion must be performed before 14 weeks of gestation; if the victim is older than 14, before 12 weeks of gestation.

The Tribunal also recognized, by an 8 to 2 vote, the constitutionality of institutional conscientious objection. The Tribunal found institutional conscientious objection also constitutional. Given the lack of uniformity on whether artificial legal “persons” (such as hospitals or clinics) have a right to conscience and religion in the Inter-American System of Human Rights, the Tribunal decided to elaborate its own position. The Tribunal considered it arbitrary to limit the scope of conscientious objection only to professionals intervening in abortion care. It argued that freedom of conscience and religion is protected for all persons in the Constitution and that, under comparative case law, educational institutions and private associations have been recognized as conscientious objectors in the context of education.

Full texts of Decision and Submissions:  Decision in Spanish -295 pages.  Accompanying documents.  Other Submissions     New: English Decision: 149 pages includes a Table of Contents for both English and Spanish editions. 

Chilean law professors who addressed the Court included:
Prof. Veronica Undurraga  presentation  in Spanish.
Prof. Lidia Casas Becerra   presentation in Spanish, at minute 42.

Amicus curiae brief re: International consensus on abortion law with respect to decriminalization, by Joanna Erdman and Rebecca Cook:
Spanish and English briefs in one PDF.

Amicus curiae brief re conscience and conscientious objection by Prof. Bernard M. Dickens:  English PDF    Spanish PDF.

“Chile Celebrates its First Steps Towards Fulfilling Abortion Rights,” by Lidia Casas and Lieta Vivaldi, on Health and Human Rights Journal website.   Blogpost in English

Symposium — 5 scholars comment on Constitutional Court abortion ruling:   Symposium   The Introduction to the symposium is Introduction,   Part I,   Part II,  Part III, Part IV, and   Part V.

Press Release from Center for Reproductive Rights.  Online in English.

Newspaper report in English.

——————————

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REPROHEALTHLAW Updates — July/August 2017

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
[Chile] Abortion legalized in three cases: when the woman’s life is at risk, when the fetus will not survive the pregnancy, and in case of rape).  New law ruled constitutional by the Constitutional Court of Chile on August 28, 20176:  STC Rol N° 3729(3751). Requerimientos de inconstitucionalidad presentados por un grupo de Senadores y Diputados, respecto de normas del proyecto de ley que regula la despenalización de la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo en tres causales, correspondiente al boletín N° 9895-11.  Tribunal Constitucional Chile.  Decision in Spanish -295 pages.  Accompanying documents.  Other Submissions  Newspaper report in English.    Overview by Carlos Herrera, LL.M.
Many Chilean law professors addressed the Court, including:
   Prof. Veronica Undurraga  presentation online.
Prof. Lidia Casas Becerra   presentation begins at minute 42:00

 

[United Nations – CEDAW] General Recommendation 35,  Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, (CEDAW) concerns gender-based violence against women, updating General Recommendation 19 (1992). e.g.: “Violations of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as forced sterilizations, forced abortion, forced pregnancy, criminalisation of abortion, denial or delay of safe abortion and post-abortion care, forced continuation of pregnancy, abuse and mistreatment of women and girls seeking sexual and reproductive health information, goods and services, are forms of gender-based violence that, depending on the circumstances, may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” (Art. 18)  Calls for repeal of ” legal provisions that discriminate against women,”(Art. 31) including “legislation that criminalises abortion” (31a).  Advance Unedited version of Gen. Rec. 35, 24 July 2017

CALL FOR PAPERS:
Feminist Legal Theory Collaborative Research Network, for the Law and Society Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, June 7-10, 2018, on the theme: “Law at the Crossroads”  500-word abstracts due Sept 17, 2017 Submission link.   Detailed call for papers  Pre-formed panels or ideas are welcome at:  2018lsacrn at gmail.com.

RESOURCES
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 Spanish (see next entry) and in paperback, 20% discount code PH70.  English edition from U Penn Press.  Table of Contents with chapter summaries. 
Table with links to many Abortion Decisions.

El aborto en el derecho transnacional: casos y controversias,  ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman y Bernard M. Dickens (Mexico: FCE/CIDE, 2016)   En espanol, 2016: Fondo de Cultura Económica y  Libreria CIDE.     Índice con resúmenes de capítulos 1-5
Tabla de Casos/Jurisprudencia en línea con enlaces a muchas de las decisiones judiciales

[abortion law] Amicus curiae brief on international legal consensus  on abortion law reform, non-arbitrariness and proportionality, and grounds and procedural protections. 20 pp, submitted to the Tribunal Constitucional of Chile by Professors Joanna Erdman and Rebecca Cook, August 10, 2017.   Spanish and English PDF

[abortion law, Ireland] “The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013: Suicide, Dignity and the Irish Discourse on Abortion”, by Claire Murray, Social and Legal Studies 25.6 (Dec 2016): 667-698   PDF online.  Accepted version.

[abortion, Uganda] “Access to safe abortion in Uganda: Leveraging Opportunities through the Harm Reduction Model” by Moses Mulumba, Charles Kiggundu, Jacqueline Nassimbwa and Noor Musisi Nakibuuka, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 138 (Aug. 2017): 231–236. doi:10.1002/ijgo.12190   PDF temporarily online for 12 months.  Submitted text online at SSRN.

[Africa] “The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and the Woman Question”, by Ebenezer Durojaye and O. Oluduro, Feminist Legal Studies (2016) 24: 315-336  Abstract and article.

[conscientious objection] Amicus curiae brief  on conscientious objection by Professor Bernard Dickens submitted to the Tribunal Constitucional of Chile, August 10, 2017  English PDF     Spanish  PDF

NEWS
[abortion drug, Canada]: “Mifegymiso” (a combination of two abortion pills: mifepristone and misoprostol RU-486), approved by Health Canada in 2015, is now available free of charge in Ontario through pharmacies by prescription from physicians and nurse practitioners  News article.

International news and resources for advocacy:  International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion.

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

______________
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.