REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – Autumn 2021

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DEVELOPMENTS
ECUADOR Constitutional Court orders decriminalization of abortion in cases of rape. Corte Constitucional, Acción Pública de Inconstitucionalidad, Expediente No. 34-19-IN/21, Decision of April 28, 2021.  Summary in Spanish.  Decision in Spanish.  News report in English.

MALAWI: High Court rejects girl’s application for judicial review of oral abortion refusal. The State (On the Application by HM (Guardian) on behalf of CM (Minor) vs The Hospital Director of Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital & The Minister of Health: Judicial Review Cause Number 03 of 2021 (unreported) (High Court of Malawi, Zomba District Registry) Decision of 15 June 2021.   (Download:) Legal Brief by Lewis Bande and Godfrey Kangaude.  Overview of their brief.

MEXICO: Supreme Court rules that criminalizing abortion is unconstitutional, Sept 7, 2021. Action of unconstitutionality 148/2017, promoted by the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic against the Legislative and Executive Powers of Coahuila, demanding the invalidity of articles 195, 196 and 224, section II of the Penal Code of the State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, contained in Decree 990, published in the local Official Newspaper on October 27, 2017 News report. Press release in Spanish.

NEW ZEALAND: NZ Health Professionals’ Alliance v Attorney-General, [2021] NZHC 2510 (New Zealand High Court)   Decision of September 23, 2021.   Commentary on decision.  News report. The Court upholds sections of the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977 (‘CSAA’), amended in the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, [conscientious objection includes duty of effective referral; and employers must accommodate conscientious objection unless doing so would cause unreasonable disruption.]

SAN MARINO: Referendum, Sept 24, 2021, voted to legalize abortion within 12 weeks’ gestation. BBC news report.

SCHOLARSHIP

[abortion laws] “Legal Epidemiology for a Clearer Understanding of Abortion Laws and their Impact,” by Patty Skuster, Temple Law Review 92.4 (Summer 2020): 917-929. Abstract and article.

[abortion, Ireland, COVID-19, remote consultation] “Early abortion care during the COVID-19 public health emergency in Ireland: implications for law, policy and service delivery” by Allison Spillane and Maeve Taylor, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2021;154: 379–384.  PDF at Wiley online, Free access.

[abortion law, telemedicine] Early Medical Abortion, Equality of Access, and the Telemedical Imperative, by Jordan A. Parsons and Elizabeth Chloe Romanis (Oxford University Press, 2021) Book abstract.

[abortion policy, Amnesty] “Amnesty International’s Updated Policy on Abortion: A Resource for Medical Providers,” by Rada Tzaneva and Jaime Todd-Gher, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 153.2 (May 2021): 363-369. PDF at Wiley online, Free access.

[Africa] Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Africa: Constraints and Opportunities, ed. Ebenezer Durojaye, Grace Mirugi-Mukundi, and Charles Ngwena. (Routledge, 2021) Abstract and Table of Contents. Open Access to entire book.

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

VIDEO RESOURCE
“Shaping the Future of Abortion,” in the Oxford Human Rights Hub Documentary Series. The second episode of Shaping the Future of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, explores the role of human rights law in advocacy, examining successful legal strategies used in South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Kenya and Poland.  Second episode online.

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,  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.

Ireland: Early abortion care during COVID-19

Congratulations and thanks to co-authors Alison Spillane, Maeve Taylor, Caitriona Henchion, Róisín Venables, and Catherine Conlon of the Irish Family Planning Association in Dublin, whose timely article was recently published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics as part of its Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health series. Professor Spillane also teaches at the School of Social Work and Social Policy, in Trinity College, Dublin. The article explains that COVID-19 precipitated the introduction of remote consultation for early abortion in Ireland. This paper explores what this may mean for law, policy and service delivery. We are pleased to circulate the following abstract:

“Early abortion care during the COVID-19 public health emergency in Ireland: implications for law, policy and service delivery” by Alison Spillane, Maeve Taylor, Caitriona Henchion, Róisín Venables, and Catherine Conlon, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2021;154: 379–384.  PDF at Wiley online, Free access.

Abstract: Early abortion care became available in Ireland in January 2019. Service delivery involves two consultations with a medical practitioner, separated by a mandatory 3-day waiting period. The Model of Care for termination of pregnancy initially required in-person visits. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated significant reductions in in-person interactions in healthcare. A revised Model of Care for termination of pregnancy, issued for the duration of the pandemic, permits delivery of early abortion care by remote consultation. Significantly, this was introduced without amending the 2018 abortion law. The pandemic precipitated a rapid development in the delivery of abortion care that was not anticipated at the time of abortion law reform only 18 months earlier. We outline the work undertaken to maintain access to abortion care in early pregnancy through the lens of a single community-level provider
and explore what these developments may mean for abortion law, policy, and service delivery.

RELATED RESOURCES:

“Legal and Policy Responses to the Delivery of Abortion Care During COVID-19,” by Elizabeth Chloe Romanis & Jordan A Parsons. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 151.3 (Dec. 2020): 479-486  PDF at Wiley online. Submitted Text at SSRN.

Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health – 100+ other concise articles are online here.

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Compiled by: the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca.   See Program website for our Publications,  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 – Autumn 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – Summer 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – Feb/March 2020

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

DEVELOPMENTS

[CEDAW] S.F.M. v. Spain. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women urges reparations to a woman who suffered lasting physical and mental trauma during childbirth, and recommends public policies to combat obstetric violence (verbal or physical abuse or mistreatment during childbirth). CEDAW/C/75/D/138/2018, Decision of 28 Feb 2020. Press release. Decision in Spanish.

[Colombia] Constitutional Court declines to consider anti-choice petition, allowing three exceptions to criminal law against abortion to continue. March 2, 2020. Expediente D-13225, Boletín No. 25:     Decision in Spanish.  News article in English.  Safe Abortion article in English.

[England]: Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has approved “Temporary approval for home use for both stages of early medical abortion” (up to 10 weeks), due to COVID-19 pandemic. Government announcement, March 30, 2020. RCOG Guidance for Health Professionals, version 1, March 21, 2020.

European Court of Human Rights dismisses complaint of conscientious objector who could not secure job as a midwife in Sweden. Case of Grimmark v. Sweden,   App. No. 43726/17, Eur. Ct. H.R. (2020)  Decision online.  Backup copy. Overview by Prof. Bernard M. Dickens.

New Zealand decriminalizes abortion, reclassifying it as a medical procedure, available on request within first 20 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion Legislation Act 2020 (2020/6) received royal assent March 23, 2020. New legislation. News report.

Northern Ireland – will allow abortion on request within 12 weeks, March 31, 2020. “A new legal framework for abortion services in Northern Ireland: Implementation of the legal duty under section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019. UK government document. BBC news report.

[Thailand] Constitutional Court ruled that Criminal Code section 301 concerning penalties for abortion violates the 2017 Constitution sections 27, 28, which endorse equal rights between men and women, as well as the right and liberty of everyone in his/her life and person. Decision of February 19, 2020, summarized in: News report.

SCHOLARSHIP

[Abortion, Australia (NSW)] “Abortion Decriminalisation in New South Wales: An Analysis of the Abortion Law Reform Act 2019 (NSW), by Anna Walsh and Tiana Legge, Journal of Law and Medicine, 30 Nov 2019, 27(2):325-337 Article online.

[abortion, Australia (SA)] “Abortion: A Review of South Australian Law and Practice,” by the Southern Australian Law Reform Institute(SALRI), Report 13 (October 2019), submitted to Attorney General Dec. 5, 2019, recommendations for planned decriminalization. 506-page report. News report.

[abortion, Belgium] “Late Termination of Pregnancy in Belgium: Exploring Its Legality and Scope,” byFien De Meyer – European Journal of Health Law 27.1 (2020): 9-34 Abstract and Article.

[abortion law, Canada] “When there are no abortion laws: A case study of Canada,” by Dorothy Shaw, Wendy V. Norman, Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology 62 (Jan. 2020): 49-62. Abstract and related resources. Article online.

“Abortion in Ireland,” Feminist Review 124.1 (March 2020), Special issue includes:
— Introduction to the Themed Issue,” by Sydney Calkin, Fiona de Londras, Gina Heathcote.
—[Ireland] ‘A Hope Raised and then Defeated’? the Continuing Harms of Irish Abortion Law, by Fiona de Londras
—[El Salvador] ‘Repeal the 8th’ in a Transnational Context: The Potential of SRHRs for Advancing Abortion Access in El Salvador, by Rebecca Smyth
—-[Italy] The Ambivalence of Law: Some Observations on the Denial of Access to Abortion Services in Italy, by Elena Caruso

Abortion Law Decisions webpage, with links to court decisions, updated March 2020, is online here in English… y en Espanol.

[abortion, Mexico] “Abortion Rights and Human Rights in Mexico, by Jennifer Nelson, chapter in Reproductive Justice and Sexual Rights: Transnational Perspectives, ed. Tanya Saroj Bakhru (New York: Routledge, 2019; 264 pp. About the book.

[abortion, U.K.] “Decriminalising Abortion in the UK- What Would It Mean?” ed. Sally Sheldon and Kaye Wellings. (Bristol: Policy Press, March 23, 2020) 112 pages, Open Access book.

Women’s Health and the Limits of the Law: Domestic and International Perspectives, ed. Irehobhude O. Iyioha (Routledge, 2020), Book information. Chapters include:
—“Abortion law in China: disempowering women under the liberal regulatory model,” by Wei Wei Cao
—“Tilted interpretations,: reproductive health law and practice in the Philippines,” by Amparita Sta. Maria
—“On the margins of law: examining the limits of legislative initiatives on maternal mortality in South Africa and Nigeria,” by Arooj Shah, Simisola O. Akintola and Irehobhude O. Iyioha

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

WEBINAR:
“COVID-19: What implications for SRHR globally?” by Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, held March 27, 2020. 100-minute video.

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 – Nov/Dec. 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:
Canada (Ontario): Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada v. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, 2019 ONCA 393, Doc. no. C65397, Decision of May 15, 2019. (Canada: Ontario Court of Appeal)  Decision online.  Case summary by Bernard M. Dickens.

Ecuador:  National Assembly fails to decriminalize abortion for rape victims. Guardian newspaper report.

[U.S. – conscience]  Federal Judge holds Trump-Backed ‘Conscience Rule’ for Health Workers unconstitutional. Nov. 6, 2019  Washington Post Report.

SCHOLARSHIP:

[abortion and miscarriage] “The Law and Ethics of Fetal Burial Requirements for Reproductive Health Care,” by Dov Fox, I. Glenn Cohen and Eli Y. Adashi, JAMA 322. 14(Oct 8, 2019): 1347-8. Abstract and institutional access.

[abortion law, Ireland] “Intersectionality, Repeal, and Reproductive Rights in Ireland,” by Fiona de Londras, forthcoming in: Shreya Atrey and Peter Dunne (eds), Intersectionality and Human Rights, Abstract and chapter.

[conscience] Abortion Care in Ireland: Developing Legal and Ethical Frameworks for Conscientious Provision, by Mary Donnelly and Claire Murray, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 148 (Jan. 2020): 127–132. PDF at Wiley Online for 12 months.  Abstract and article on SSRN.

European Abortion Laws: A Comparative Overview, Center for Reproductive Rights, Nov. 2019. 9-page Fact Sheet,

Feminist Judgments in International Law, ed. Loveday Hodson and Troy Lavers (Oxford: Hart, 2019), 279-302 (511 pages). Publisher’s abstract. About feminist rewrite of ECtHR’s A, B. & C v. Ireland.

[homosexuality] “Nigerian High Court avoided constitutional scrutiny of anti-gay laws : Mr. Teriah Joseph Ebah v. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2014),” Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts, Reprohealthlaw Blog, Dec. 10, 2019 Decision online.    6-page Case Comment by Ovye Affi.

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.

Abortion Care in Ireland: Legal and Ethical Frameworks for Conscientious Provision

Congratulations to Professors Mary Donnelly and Claire Murray of University College Cork’s Law Faculty, for their new publication in the “Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health” section of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. We are pleased to cite their abstract below:

Mary Donnelly and Claire Murray, “Abortion Care in Ireland: Developing Legal and Ethical Frameworks for Conscientious Provision,”   International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jan. 2020; 148: 127–132.  DOI: 10.1002/ijgo.13025. PDF online for 12 months.   Abstract and Submitted Text.

This article celebrates the remarkable changes which have occurred in the provision of abortion care in Ireland following the vote to remove the restrictive Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland in May 2018. However, it also identifies ways in which the emerging legal, ethical and clinical landscape is still impeding the conscientious provision of abortion care. It argues that in order to address these impediments, more attention needs to be paid to the ethical context for conscientious provision. This requires political leadership as well as ongoing leadership by professional bodies to develop both the clinical and the ethical guidance for conscientious provision.

Key Words: Abortion, Abortion law reform, Conscientious provision of abortion, Ethical guidance for conscientious abortion provision, Ireland

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The full text is available online. PDF online for 12 months.      Abstract and Submitted Text on SSRN.

Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health – 90+ concise articles.

Conscientious Objection / The Right to Conscience, updated May 9 2019 Annotated Bibliography online
______________
Compiled by: the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca.   See Program website for our Publications,  Information resources, and Reprohealthlaw Commentaries Series.
TO JOIN THE REPROHEALTHLAW BLOG: enter your email address in the upper right corner of our blog, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – Oct 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:

Australia – Abortion decriminalized September 26, 2019. New South Wales (NSW), the last remaining state where it was illegal, legalized abortion up to 22 weeks for any reason, and up to birth with medical committee review. BBC Report.

[homosexuality] “Botswana High Court decriminalizes homosexuality. Letsweletse Motshidiemang v Attorney General,” [2019] MAHGB-000591-16, Decision of June 11, 2019. (High Court of Botswana). Decision online.   Case comment by Kutlwano Pearl Magashula, Other African court cases from our “Legal Grounds” series.

Mexico: Supreme Court abortion ruling upholds human right to health in the case of “Marisa”/”Jane Doe”:  Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación, Primera Sala, Amparo en Revisión 1388/2015  May 15, 2019. Decision in Spanish.   English translation. Videos from Harvard conference with 2 Mexican SC judges. Expert blogposts by Court clerks: Adriana Ortega on “risk to health” in the decision; David García Sarubbi: on Fundamental right to health and judicial review; Patricia del Arenal Urueta, on “Rights” discourse in Mexico. Estefanía Vela Barba, LL.M., comments on gender perspective, international law, and a path to decriminalization. Overview of these resources.

[Northern Ireland] Sarah Ewart v  NI Departments of Justice and Health, October 3, 2019. (High Court of Belfast)  Court followed the ruling of the UK Supreme Court  that  Northern Ireland  abortion law is incompatible with ECHR Article 8 in relation to fatal foetal abnormality (“FFA”).  Court also ruled that applicant Ms Ewart has standing to bring a challenge to the current legislation.  Official summary. 

[Northern Ireland] Abortion decriminalized by the United Kingdom, October 22, 2019, in absence of devolved Northern Irish government. Regulations for abortion provision must be in place by March 2020. Same sex weddings also legalized. First weddings in February 2020. BBC report.

[Tanzania, child marriage] Attorney General vs Rebeca Z. Gyumi (Civil Appeal No.204 of 2017) [2019] TZCA 348; (23 October 2019) High Court of Appeals upheld 2016 decision that Third party consent to marriage of girls under 18 is unconstitutional.] 52-page Decision online.  Blog about 2016 decision. Article about 2016 decision.

SCHOLARSHIP

[abortion and human rights] “Extending the Right to Life Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: General Comment 36,” by Sarah Joseph, Human Rights Law Review 19.2 (June 2019): 347–368. Institutional access.

[abortion law, Ireland] “The Last Holdout: Ireland, the Right to Abortion and the European Federal Human Rights System” by Federico Fabbrini. iCourts Working Paper Series, No. 142, 2018. Abstract and article.

[abortion law, Ireland] “‘The Only Lawyer on the Panel’: Anti-Choice Lawfare in the Battle for Abortion Law Reform,” by Fiona de Londras and Máiréad Enright. Forthcoming in Kath Browne & Sydney Calkin, “After Repeal: The Future of Women’s Reproductive Rights” (Zed Books, 2019) Submitted text.

[abortion law, Mexico] “The Mexican Supreme Court’s latest abortion ruling:  In between formalities, a path to decriminalization.” by Estefanía Vela Barba, Reprohealthlaw Commentaries Series, October 31, 2019.  Full comment

[abortion law, Mexico and Latin America] “Abortion Battles in Mexico and Beyond: The Role of Law and the Courts,” proceedings of conference by the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, held October 4, 2019, Videos of all presentations

[African sexual, racial and cultural diversity] Charles Ngwena interviewed on Africa Rights Talk: Aug. 19, 2019: (26-min. podcast) about his book, What is Africanness? : Contesting nativism in culture, race and sexualities (Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), 2018) 306 pages. Download Free PDF or order paperback.

[child marriage, Tanzania] “The analysis of child marriage and third party consent in the case of Rebeca Z. Gyumi v Attorney General Miscellaneous Civil Case no 5 of 2016 Tanzania High Court at Dar es Salaam,” by Norah Hashim Msuya, Ph.D, [2019] De Jure Law Journal 52 (2019): 295-315 Article online.

[conscience] “Selective Conscientious Objection in Healthcare, by Christopher Cowley in The New Bioethics 25.3 (2019): 236-247 ( Part of a special issue on Conscience in Healthcare) Abstract and Article.

“Post-abortion care:  Ethical and Legal Duties,” by Bernard M. Dickens, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2019; 147: 273–278.   PDF at Wiley Online.    Submitted text at SSRN. FIGO guidelines and other resources.

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

JOBS

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

Abortion Across Borders: Transnational Travel and Access to Abortion Services

Congratulations to the editors and authors of a new book, Abortion across Borders Transnational Travel and Access to Abortion Services, who examine how restrictive policies force women to move both within and across national borders in order to reach abortion providers, often at great expense, over long distances and with significant safety risks.  Taking historical and contemporary perspectives, contributors examine the situation in regions that include Texas, Prince Edward Island, Ireland, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Eastern Europe.  Throughout the book, they take a feminist intersectional approach to transnational travel and access to abortion services that is sensitive to inequalities of gender, race, and class in reproductive health care. This multidisciplinary volume raises challenging logistical, legal, and ethical questions while exploring the gendered aspects of medical tourism.   To request an examination or review copy,  see online here.  We are pleased to circulate the full Table of Contents:

Christabelle Sethna and Gayle Davis, eds., Abortion across Borders:  Transnational Travel and Access to Abortion Services,  Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019.  360 pages.  Detailed overview, Author bios, Reviews, and Contents.

Table Of Contents

Introduction:
Christabelle Sethna

Part I. Flight Risks

1. Sherri Finkbine Flew to Sweden: Abortion and Disability in the Early 1960s
Lena Lennerhed

2. From Heathrow Airport to Harley Street: The ALRA and the Travel of Nonresident Women for Abortion Services in Britain
Christabelle Sethna

3. The Trans-Tasman Abortion Travel Service: Abortion Services for New Zealand Women in the 1970s
Hayley Brown

Part II. Domestic Transgressions

4. All Aboard the “Abortion Express”: Geographic Variability, Domestic Travel, and the 1967 British Abortion Act
Gayle Davis, Jane O’Neill, Clare Parker, and Sally Sheldon

5. A Double Movement: The Politics of Reproductive Mobility in Ireland
Mary Gilmartin and Sinéad Kennedy

6. Tales of Mobility: Women’s Travel and Abortion Services in a Globalized Australia
Barbara Baird

7. Don’t Mess with Texas: Abortion Policy, Texas Style
Lori A. Brown

8. Trials and Trails: The Emergence of Canada’s Abortion Refugees in Prince Edward Island
Cathrine Chambers, Colleen MacQuarrie, and Jo-Ann MacDonald

Part III. Democratic Transitions

9. Abortion Travel and the Cost of Reproductive Choice in Spain
Agata Ignaciuk

10. “The Import Problem”: The Travels of Our Bodies, Ourselves to Eastern Europe
Anna Bogic

11. Abortion and the Catholic Church in Poland
Ewelina Ciaputa

12.  Beyond the Borders of Brexit: Traveling for Abortion Access to a Post-EU Britain
Niklas Barke

Abortion across Borders:  Transnational Travel and Access to Abortion Services, 

Book Overview, Author bios, Reviews, and Contents.

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

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – February 2019

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DEVELOPMENTS:

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

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

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

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

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

SCHOLARSHIP:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

JOBS

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

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

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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.