REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – 2023-24

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DEVELOPMENTS

[Argentina, preventable maternal death,”obstetric violence”] Britez Arce et. al. v. Argentina. (Inter-American Court of Human Rights, November 16, 2022). Decision in English. Decision in Spanish. Press Release Jan 18, 2023. Comment by CRR. [Earlier: Merits report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Report 236/19, Case 13.002. Report in English-download.)

[Bolivia, rape of a minor, revictimization] Losado v Bolivia (Inter-American Court of Human Rights, November 18, 2022) English press release Jan 19, 2023 Summary in Spanish. Decision in Spanish. The Court held Bolivia responsible for gender and child discrimination, and revictimization of an adolescent victim of sexual violence during the judicial process.

[Colombia, abortion decriminalized] Sentencia C-055-22.  Expediente D-13.956. Demanda de inconstitucionalidad contra el artículo 122 de la Ley 599 del 2000. (Constitutional Court of Colombia, February 21, 2022). Decision in Spanish (414 pages).  Backup decision in Spanish.  Unofficial English translation. 27-page Spanish press release.  English summary of Press Release.  1-page Spanish press release. [Abortion is decriminalized within 24 weeks of gestation, and thereafter permitted on specified grounds.] 

[El Salvador, abortion, anencephaly] Beatriz v. El Salvador, Case 13-378, Report No. 09/20, Inter-Am. C.H.R. (2020) (Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, January 5, 2022): Report in Spanish. Case Summary in Spanish.  Press release in English. [Woman with lupus and kidney failure denied abortion for fetus with anencephaly.] Inter-American Court of Human Rights held hearings in March 2023.

France made abortion a fundamental constitutional right. March 4, 2024. Parliamentarians voted to revise the country’s 1958 constitution to enshrine women’s “guaranteed freedom” to abort. News report in English.

[Mexico, Abortion decriminalized], Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación [Supreme Court], 2023..Review of Constitutional Protection. Amparo en revisión 267/2023. Sept. 6, 2023. Speaker: Justice Ana Margarita Ríos Farjat. Decided September 6, 2023. Official Press release in Spanish.   [Abortion is decriminalized throughout Mexico.]

[Northern Ireland, UN CEDAW] Report of the Inquiry concerning the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, (2018) U.N. Doc. CEDAW/C/OP.8/GBR/1  Original CEDAW 2018 report.  Comments by Clare Pierson. [abortion, a crime in Northern Ireland following sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against Persons Act 1861, was legalized in 2020.]
—Follow-up report submitted by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 16 January 2023, published March 14, 2023 as CEDAW/C/OP.*/GBR/3/Add.1.  Followup report in different formats, English, French and Spanish.  [Among other reforms, Northern Ireland established a Gender Equality Strategy Expert Advisory Panel whose Report of December 2020 is online here]. 

[Peru, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child] Camila v. Peru, Communication No. 136/2021.U.N. Doc CRC/C/93/D/136/2021 (June 13, 2023) Decision online in Spanish, Arabic and Russian.  Decision in English (May 25, 2023, *unofficial draft). Case note by Godfrey Kangaude.  [Child raped by her father. Ruling: Peru violated child rape victim’s rights by failing to guarantee access to abortion and criminally prosecuting her for self-abortion.]

[Peru, child marriage] Ley N.º 31945 to prohibit and eliminate any possibility of marriage with minors under the age of 18 was promulgated on 25 November 2023. Prior to the new legislation, Article 42 of Peru’s Civil Code permitted adolescents to marry from the age of 14 under certain conditions, with consent from at least one parent, despite the minimum legal age of marriage being 18 years for girls and boys. Context in English.

[Poland, ECtHR ruled against fetal abnormality abortion ban] M.L. v. POLAND (Application no. 40119/21) (European Court of Human Rights, December 14, 2023) [Woman forced to travel for abortion of malformed fetus. Court found violation of ECHR Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the ECHR, following a 2020 Constitutional Court ban on legal abortion in case of foetal abnormalities. Press release. Decision of 14 Dec 2023.

[Poland, fetal abnormality risk, inadmissible] A.M. and others v. Poland (application no. 4188/21, 4957/21, 5014/21,5523/21, 5876/21, 6114/21, 6217/21, 8857/21) (European Court of Human Rights, May 16, 2023) ruled these 8 cases inadmissible because each applicant could not claim to be a victim of a violation of the ECHR owing to risk of a future violation. Press Release. Decision of 16 May 2023.

[Spain, access to abortion information] Tribunal Supremo de España, Sala Tercera, de lo Contencioso-administrativo, Sección 4ª, S 1231/2022, 3 Oct. 2022 (Rec. 6147/2021)  Decision in Spanish.  Spanish backup copy.  Decision in English.  English backup copy. [The Government cannot block public access to a website containing information or opinions without judicial authorization.  This includes the site of Women on Web, which discusses access to abortion.

[Turkey, abortion for rape victim], [Case of] R.G. [GK], B. No: 2017/31619, 23/7/2020,.July 23, 2020. (Grand Chamber of the Turkish Constitutional Court)   27-page decision in Turkish. Backup copy. Official press release in English. Backup copy.  Comment  in English on IACL/AIDC Blog. Article in English from a Turkish Journal of Constitutional Law  [procrastination after rape victim applied for abortion violated the right to protect one’s corporeal and spiritual existence (provided under Article 17 of Turkish Constitution.

[UK – challenge to fetal abnormality ground for abortion] R (on the Application of Crowter and Ors) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care EWCA Civ 1559 Case No: CA-2021-000314 (UK Court of Appeal (Civil Division) London, 25 Nov., 2022, Judgment summary. Decision online.  [UK legislation allowing abortion for substantial risk of a born child’s serious handicap (such as Down syndrome) is not incompatible with disabled persons’ human rights to respect for their private and family life and to nondiscrimination.] This was an appeal of [2021] EWHC 2536 (Admin) Case No. CO/2066/2020 (High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, London) Sept 23, 2021.  Judgment and summary.    [fetus has no established rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), so UK abortion law allowing legal abortions in cases of severe fetal abnormalities is compatible with ECHR.]

[Venezuela, obstetric violence] Inter-American Court of Human Rights – Case of Rodríguez Pacheco et al. v. Venezuela. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of September 1, 2023. Series C No. 504. Press release in English. Official Summary in Spanish. 82-page judgment in Spanish. Download partial dissent by Judge Sierra Porto. Download: partial dissent by Judge Pérez Goldberg. The Court ruled that Venezuela is responsible for deficiencies in Judicial Proceedings on a Complaint of acts of obstetric violence and medical malpractice that took place in a private hospital.

SCHOLARSHIP

[comparative abortion law] Rebecca J. Cook and Bernard M. Dickens, “Abortion,” in Jan M. Smits, Jaakko Husa, Catherine Valcke and Madalena Narciso, eds., Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law, 3rd ed., (Cheltenham, UK: Elgar Publishing, 2023), 3-11. Abstract online here. Full text and PDF online

[abortion law, Colombia] “The new Colombian law on abortion,” by Isabel C Jaramillo Sierra, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 160.1 (January 2023): 345-350.  Abstract and Article. 

[abortion law and policy] “Self managed abortion: aligning law and policy with medical evidence,” by Patty Skuster, Heidi Moseson and Jamila Perritt, in International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 160.2 (February 2023): 720-725. Abstract and Article.  

[abortion law and policy, guideline] “The WHO Abortion Care Guideline: Law and Policy–Past, Present and Future,” by Joanna N. Erdman, in International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 162.3 (Sept 2023): 1119–1124. Abstract and Article.  WHO Abortion Care guideline, 2022.

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

[Africa, Zimbabwe, rewrite abortion decision, gender equality] Charles Ngwena and Rebecca J. Cook, “Restoring Mai Mapingure’s Equal Citizenship,” In: Rebecca J. Cook, ed., Frontiers of Gender Equality: Transnational Legal Perspectives (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2023). Abstract online.  Book available here. Introduction to the book (by Rebecca Cook).

[gender equality, health, CEDAW GR 24] “Gender Equality in Health Care: Reenvisioning CEDAW General Recommendation 24,” by Joanna N. Erdman and Mariana Prandini Assis, in Frontiers of Gender Equality: Transnational Legal Perspectives, ed. Rebecca J. Cook (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2023). Abstract online in English. Portuguese translation of this chapter. Book available here. Introduction to the book (by Rebecca Cook).

[gender equality] Rebecca J. Cook, “Many Paths to Gender Equality,” Introduction to: Frontiers of Gender Equality: Transnational Legal Perspectives (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2023). Introduction online.

[infertility] “”Human Rights Approaches to Reducing Infertility,” by Payal K. Shah and Jaime M. Gher, in International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.162.1 (July 2023): 368–374.  Abstract and Article. 

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.

______________
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 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 – August 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.

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.

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.

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 – January 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

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Legal access to abortion expanded in July 2018, to comply with Article 14 of the (Maputo) Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. “Women can now legally access abortion – in cases of sexual assault, rape or incest, or when the continuing pregnancy would endanger the mental and physical health of the woman or the life of the woman or the fetus.”  Details from Safe Abortion.

El Salvador: Court frees another woman jailed under anti-abortion laws, BBC News (Dec. 18, 2018).   BBC News article

[U.N. Human Rights Committee]  General comment No. 36 (2018) on  article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to life.” U.N. Doc, CCPR/C/GC/36, October 30, 2018. Advance unedited version.

ABORTION LAW DECISIONS ON THE WEB

Abortion Law Decisions webpages, in English and Spanish, are now updated with new court decisions and alternate links to older decisions. Prepared by our International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, it includes Domestic, Regional and International Jurisprudence.  English edition.   Spanish edition.

SCHOLARSHIP:

[abortion]  “Understandings of self-managed abortion as health inequity, harm reduction and social change,” by Joanna N. Erdman, Kinga Jelinska & Susan Yanow, Reproductive Health Matters 26.54 (Nov. 2018): 13-19.   Abstract and article.

[abortion]  “Re-situating Abortion: Bio-politics, Global Health and Rights in Neo-liberal Times.” Special Issue of Global Public Health 13.6 (2018). Guest Editors: Maya Unnithan and Silvia de Zordo.  Table of Contents with links to articles.

[abortion guidelines – France] “Elective abortion: Clinical practice guidelines from the French College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (CNGOF)”  Christophe Vayssière et al.,et. al. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 222 (March 2018): 95–101  Abstract and article.

[abortion law – Malawi] “The Duty to make abortion law transparent:  A Malawi case study,”  by Godfrey Dalitso Kangaude and Chisale Mhango, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 143 (Dec. 2018): 409–413.   PDF at Wiley online.  Submitted text at SSRN.

[abortion law  – Ireland] “A tough job: recognizing access to abortion as a matter of equality. A commentary on the views of the UN Human Rights Committee in the cases of Mellet v. Ireland and Whelan v. Ireland,” by Katarzyna Sękowska-Kozłowska,  Reproductive Health Matters 26.54 (Nov. 2018): 25-31.  Article online.

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

[abortion laws – sex selection, India and U.S.] Women’s human rights and migration: sex selective abortion laws in the United States and India, by Sital Kalantry, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017, 272 pp.,  Reviewed in International Feminist Journal of  Politics

[abortion policies database] “Global Abortion Policies Database: a new approach to strengthening knowledge on laws, policies, and human rights standards,” by Brooke Ronald Johnson, Jr., Antonella Francheska Lavelanet and Stephanie Schlitt, BMC International Health and Human Rights 18.35 (Sept 2018): 1-5.  Abstract and article.

[abortion rights – Argentina] “Federalism, two-level games and the politics of abortion rights implementation in subnational Argentina, by Alba Ruibal, Reproductive Health Matters 54 (Nov. 2018): 137-144.  Article online.

[Europe] “Women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe,” Issue Paper by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights (France: Council of Europe, Dec. 2017).  78-page Issue Paper.

[gender stereotypes – judiciary]  “Background paper on the role of the judiciary in addressing the harmful gender stereotypes related to sexual and reproductive health and rights: A review of case law.”  (Geneva: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, [2018])  in English  and Spanish

“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 144.2 (Feb. 2019): 129-134 | Abstract and article online.

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.

 

 

 

 

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – Sept 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.

DEVELOPMENTS

[UN – CEDAW and CRPD] “Guaranteeing sexual and reproductive health and rights for all women, in particular women with disabilities,”   Joint statement by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 29 August 2018.  Decriminalize abortion, repeal discriminatory health policies and abortion laws that perpetuate deep-rooted stereotypes and stigma and undermine women’s reproductive autonomy and choice.    PDF online.

CALL FOR PAPERS:

“The Impact of Politics on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights,” for publication in Reproductive Health Matters, May 2019.  Submissions due October 31, 2018.  RHM Call for papers

SCHOLARSHIP:

[abortion law – Brazil]    “Brazilian Supreme Court Public Hearing on the Decriminalization of Abortion:   Antecedents, Contents, Meanings” by Sonia Corrêa  (published by Sexuality Policy Watch, 2018)  27 pages PDF     Direct download.

[abortion law – Brazil]  Testimony by Prof. Rebecca Cook . . .against Unsafe Abortion in the Public Hearing of the Brazilian Supreme Court, caso ADPF 442, Brasilia, August 3, 2018.   English original.    em Portugues do Brasil.   Testimonio – Espanol traducido por CLACAI (Consorcio Latinoamericano contra el aborto inseguro).    Uno otro en Espanol.  

[abortion law – El Salvador] “Physicians’ Challenges under El Salvador’s Criminal Abortion Prohibition,” by Alyson Zureick, Amber Khan, Angeline Chen and Astrid Reyes. forthcoming International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, October2018  Early view PDF.   Submitted text online at SSRN.

[abortion law – Malawi] “The Duty to make abortion law transparent:  A Malawi case study,”  by Godfrey Dalitso Kangaude and Chisale Mhango, forthcoming International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics,     Early view PDF.

Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective: Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca Cook, Joanna Erdman and Bernard Dickens (Philadelphia: Univ. Pennsylvania Press, 2014) 20% discount code is PH70.  Abstracts of all 16 chapters.   Spanish edition by FCE/CIDE – 16 abstracts.  Abortion Decisions: Table of Cases in English and Spanish.

[abortion policy] “The Philippines rolls back advancements in the postabortion care policy,” by Melissa Upreti and Jihan Jacob,  International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 142 (August 2018): 255–256.   PDF online.  Submitted text  at SSRN.

[abortion policies] “Access to knowledge and the Global Abortion  Policies Database,”  by Joanna N. Erdman and Brooke Ronald Johnson Jr.  International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, July 2018; 142: 120–124   PDF at Wiley online.   Submitted text at SSRN.

[Africanness, including sexuality],  What is Africanness?: Contesting nativism in culture, race and sexualities, peer-reviewed book by Charles G. Ngwena (Pretoria University Law Press, 2018) 306 pages.  “Part 3: Heterogeneous Sexualities” – chapter abstracts.    Entire book open access at PULP.     Table of Contents.   Overview, Comments from scholars,  PDFs of all chapters.   Podcast on African Rights Talk (2019) 

[Brazil – obstetric care, maternal mortality /morbidity, Alyne case]  “Implementing international human rights recommendations to improve obstetric care in Brazil,” by Alicia E Yamin, Beatriz Galli and Sandra Valongueiro.   International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 143.1 (October 2018): 114-120    Abstract online in English and Portuguese. English PDF for institutional subscribers.

[CEDAW]”The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women” by Rebecca J. Cook and Cusack, Simone Cusack.  In Tara Van Ho and Nigel Rodley, eds, Research Handbook on Human Rights Institutions and Enforcement (Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, Forthcoming).  Submitted text archived online.

[conscience]  Unconscionable: When Providers Deny Abortion Care  Report of the International Women’s Health Coalition, 2018, based on the first global meeting on the topic of “conscientious objection,” held in Montevideo, Uruguay in August 2017.    8-page report.

[intersex, gender] “Management of intersex newborns: Legal and ethical developments,” by Bernard M. Dickens, forthcoming International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2018.   Early View PDF.

[self-managed abortion] “Understandings of self-managed abortion as health inequity, harm reduction and social change,” by Joanna N. Erdman, Kinga Jelinska and Susan Yanow. Forthcoming in Reproductive Health Matters. Early view PDF.

[strategic litigation] Seeking Social Change in the Courts: Tools for Strategic Advocacy, by Mónica Roa with Barbara Klugman (Women’s Link Worldwide, 2018) practical tool for advocates from all social justice fields who are interested in using the courts and understanding “strategic litigation”  160 pages, PDF online..

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES:

“The Right to Conscience” – An Annotated Bibliography.   (Toronto: International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program,
Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, 2018)  Conscience bibliography

Indications for abortion: new annotated bibliographies:

• Fetal Anomaly:  Annotated Bibliography on legal aspects of fetal anomaly and their implications for counseling, service delivery and abortion laws and policies (Toronto: International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, 2018).  Fetal anomaly bibliography
• Rape-related abortion:  Legal and policy dimensions of rape-related abortion services (Court decisions, Treaty resources, policy guidance and publications. ) (Toronto: International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, 2018).  Rape or Incest bibliography 
  
• Causal Violacion y/o incesto:  Selección de doctrina y jurisprudencia latinoamericanas sobre Causal violación y/o incesto en casos de aborto (Rape or Incest bibliography in Spanish)  (Toronto: El Programa Internacional de Derecho en Salud Sexual y Reproductivas Facultad de Derecho, Universidad de Toronto, 2018)

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.

 

Physicians’ Challenges under El Salvador’s Criminal Abortion Prohibition

Congratulations to Alyson Zureick and her colleagues Amber Khan, Angeline Chen and Astrid Reyes at New York University for their new publication in the Ethical and Legal Issues section of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.  A PDF of the published text is now online.  We are pleased to circulate the abstract to REPROHEALTHLAW subscribers.

Alyson Zureick, Amber Khan, Angeline Chen and Astrid Reyes “Physicians’ Challenges under El Salvador’s Criminal Abortion Prohibition.” International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 143 (Oct. 2018) : 121–126.
Early view PDF online.   Submitted text  at SSRN.

El Salvador’s criminal abortion law—one of the few in the world that prohibits all abortions and that is actively enforced against women—harms women’s health and undermines the ethical duties of Salvadoran physicians and the standing of the medical profession. Under the criminal abortion regime, physicians are incentivized to disclose their patients’ confidential medical information, in violation of their ethical duties, and public health care facilities have become sites of criminal investigation. These investigations target women not only for illegal abortions but also for miscarriages and obstetric emergencies. The ban further prevents physicians from providing medical care that is often necessary to preserve a woman’s life or health. Finally, by criminalizing women’s pregnancy outcomes, the regime undermines the country’s recent public health improvement efforts and compounds the marginalization of women and girls from its most vulnerable communities, in violation of the state’s international human rights obligations.

Keywords: Abortion legislation; Criminalization, El Salvador, International human rights, Medical ethics, Reproductive health, Public hospitals.

Full text PDF is now accessible:   Early view PDF online.

Submitted text  can be downloaded through SSRN.

_______________________________________

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, June 2016

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

“Ireland’s abortion laws subjected a woman to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, according to a  landmark decision from the United Nations Human Rights Committee.”
Center for Reproductive Rights, CRR press release.   UN Press Release, June 9, 2016.  Newsmedia reports.  Decision CCPR/C/116/D/2324/2013 online.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY IN AFRICA – SCHOLARSHIPS

Master’s degree (LLM/MPhil) in Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa,  University of Pretoria, South Africa, Two-year program starts in Jan. 2017.   Blended learning course with online interaction and residential block-weeks in Pretoria, South Africa. Two contact sessions will be scheduled every year (four contact sessions over the two year period).   Apply by 31 Oct 2016. Up to 15 full scholarships available for African citizens.  African LLM/MPhil details.

RESOURCES

[abortion, U.K. and U.S.] “With advances in embryo research, it’s time to bring abortion law out of the Victorian age,” by Sally Sheldon. Kent Law School, Kent University, Canterbury, BioNews 853 (May 31, 2016)  Article online.

[conscientious objection – institutions] Contracting Religion, by Elizabeth Sepper,  in:  Law, Religion, and Health in the United States, ed. Holly Fernandez Lynch, I. Glenn Cohen, & Elizabeth Sepper (Forthcoming: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2017). (Draft chapter online).

[fetal abnormality, microcephaly, Brazil]  Special issue of Cadernos de Saúde Pública 32.5 (2016) Rio de Janeiro includes a special thematic section:
“Zika and Pregnancy”  Table of Contents with links to translations.
— “Zika virus and women,” by Debora Diniz (English and Portuguese)
— “The debate on abortion and Zika: lessons from the AIDS epidemic,” by Thais Medina Coeli Rochel de Camargo, (English and Portuguese)
— “Women’s reproductive rights and the Zika virus epidemic,” by Jacqueline Pitanguy (English and Portuguese)
— “Comment on the paper by Pitanguy,” by Florencia Luna (English and Spanish)
— “Ensuring a rights-based health sector response to women affected by Zika” by Paige Baum, Anna Fiastro, Shane Kunselman, Camila Vega, Christine Ricardo, Beatriz Galli, and Marcos Nascimeno (English and Portuguese).
— “Comment on the article by Baum et al.,” by Ana Cristina González-Velez
(English and Spanish)
— “Zika and reproductive justice,” by Alexandra Minna Stern (English)

[fetal abnormality, microcephaly] “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the Time of Zika in Latin America and the Caribbean,” by Ana Langer, Jacquelyn M. Caglia andClara Menéndez, Studies in Family Planning 47.2 (June 2016): 179-181.  Online version.

Law and Policy updates are issued monthly by International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion.  To receive the electronic newsletter, click “Join the Campaign”

[maternal deaths, Uganda]: “Why the Constitutional Court should rule on the right to health,” by Michael Addaney in AfricLaw blog,  June 3, 2016  AfricLaw blogpost,

[stereotyping] “Emerging from the Shadows: Substantive Equality and Article 14 of
the European Convention on Human Rights,” by Sandra Fredman, Human Rights Law Review 16 (2016): 273–301   Advance access.

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

NEWS

[El Salvador]  Sentenced to 40 Years After a Miscarriage, Maria Teresa Rivera was freed May 20,2016 News report in English.   News report in Spanish

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

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.

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.

 

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates: Decisions, Resources and Opportunities

REPROHEALTHLAW BLOG

January 28, 2015

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 developments in 2014, month-by-month overview by FIAPAC, is online here.

Argentina – groups file suit due to state’s failure to comply with 2012 “FAL” Supreme Court ruling allowing access to abortion to cases of rape.  News report.  

Botswana – Landmark ruling gives Freedom of Expression to African LGBT advocacy group:
Thuto Rammoge and 19 others v Attorney General [2014] MAHGB-000175-13 (High Court of Botswana) November 14, 2014  Decision online.  Abstract by Law student.

Canada:  New Brunswick (province) removes barriers to abortion.  Press Release.

El Salvador – Woman exonerated from 30-year sentence for abortion; provides hope for another 16 imprisoned women.  News report.

Ireland – Brain dead woman kept alive (against family wishes) in the interests of her 18-week fetus, must be withdrawn from life support.
P.P. v Health Service Executive, [2014 No. 10792P]  29-page judgment delivered December 26, 2014, High Court of Ireland.  29-page decision.  Analysis by Mairead Enright

 

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.
Table of Contents online here.   Introduction by the editors: online through SSRN.
Table of Cases with links to decisions, online here, Purchase from: U Penn Press.
A Spanish translation is in progress.  To be notified when it is published, send your email address to reprohealth.law at utoronto.ca with subject line “Spanish abortion book”

Abortion policies and reproductive health around the world, by  United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 2014. 52-page report online.

[abortion – U.S. (book)] Every Third Woman in America: How Legal Abortion Transformed our Nation, by David Grimes,  Lulu, 2014. First 29 pages including Contents,  Purchase or download book.

[abortion] Storehouse for Abortion Law and Policy, from Ipas,  links advocates and policymakers to publications: primary human rights documents, World Health Organization recommendations, materials by expert organizations, and key journal articles in the following categories:  Drafting abortion laws; Health and life grounds, Provider authorization, Conscientious Objection, Medical abortion, Adolescent rights, Privacy and confidentiality, and Right to Life.   Online here.

[African Women’s Protocol]  “Policing bodies, punishing lives: The African Women’s Protocol as a tool for resistance of illegitimate criminalisation of women’s sexualities and reproduction” by Jaime Todd-Gher, (2014) 14.2 African Human Rights Law Journal 735-756.  Online here. 

[consent] Types of Consent in Reproductive Health Care, by Bernard M. Dickens and Rebecca J. Cook.  International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 128 (2015) 181–184.  abstract and full text.

[ethics – pre-natal screening]  Bioethics 29.1  (Jan 2015) several articles abstracted online, including:
–“Psychological Aspects of Individualized Choice and Reproductive Autonomy in Prenatal Screening”  by Jenny Hewison, pp 9-18  abstract
–“Prenatal Screening, Reproductive Choice, and Public Health”  by Stephen Wilkinson, pp. 26-35  abstract
–“Prenatal Screening: An Ethical Agenda for the Near Future” by Antina de Jong, pp. 46-55   abstract

[human rights] “Advancing sexual health through human rights: The role of the law” by  Eszter Kismödi, Jane Cottingham, Sofia Gruskin & Alice M. Miller.  Global Public Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice.  2014, pp. 1-16.  Online here.

[Maternal mortality, Brazil, CEDAW] “Human Rights and Maternal Health: Exploring the Effectiveness of the Alyne Decision” by Rebecca Cook.  Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, Spring 2013,103-123, Original text in English.  Republished in Spanish.  New edition in Portuguese:  “Direitos humanos e mortalidade materna: explorando a eficácia da decisão do Caso Alyne. Interesse Público [Recurso Eletrônico], São Paulo , v. 16, n. 86, jul./ago. 2014.   Full text in Portuguese.  Republished in Portuguese journal.

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

 OPPORTUNITIES

—  EDUCATION

MHSc in Bioethics,  University of Toronto, accepting applications till March 1, 2015   Factsheet,   Website.

Graduate Programs in Law at the University of Toronto, application deadlines online.

— JOBS

Executive Director, Center for Women’s Global Leadership, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA.  Job Details 

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