Africa: Adolescents’ right to abortion and contraception

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

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

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

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

Full text of this article is online here.

RELATED RESOURCE

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

 

Self-managed abortion: law, policy and medical evidence

Congratulations and thanks to Patty Skuster, Heidi Moseson and Jamila Perritt, whose article was recently published in the “Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health” section of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Prof. Skuster holds the Beck Chair in Law at the Beasley School of Law at Temple University, Dr. Moseson is Senior Research Scientist at Ibis Reproductive Health, and Dr. Perritt is President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health. We are pleased to circulate the abstract of their co-authored article, which is now freely accessible online. 

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

ABSTRACT: People have always and will always find ways to try to end their pregnancies when necessary. Many do so safely without the involvement or direct supervision of healthcare professionals by self-managing their abortions. In 2022, the well-established safety and efficacy of abortion medications prompted WHO to fully endorse self-managed medication abortion as part of a comprehensive range of safe, effective options for abortion care. But despite robust evidence supporting the safety and effectiveness of the self-use of medications for abortion, abortion laws and policies around the world remain at odds with clinical evidence and with the realities of self-managed medication abortion in the present day. The present article considers legal issues related to self-managed abortion and addresses the role of obstetricians, gynecologists, and other healthcare professionals in promoting clinical and legal safety in abortion care through support of self-managed abortion.

RELATED RESOURCES

World Health Organization, Abortion Care Guideline, 2022. Online here.

“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. 

Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health, more than 110 concise articles 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 this blog, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

Italy: Hyper-Regulation of Abortion Care

Congratulations and thanks to Dr. Elena Caruso, whose article on “The Hyper-Regulation of Abortion Care in Italy” was recently published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics‘ “Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health” section, edited by Professors Rebecca J. Cook, Bernard M. Dickens and Charles G. Ngwena. The author, Elena Caruso, is an Italian legal scholar who completed a doctorate in Law at Kent University and who now holds an AMTD Waterloo Global Talent Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. We are pleased to circulate the following abstract of this article, which is now fully available online in both English and Italian:

The Hyper-Regulation of Abortion Care in Italy, by Elena Caruso in International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 163.3 (December 2023):1036-1042.  PDF at Wiley Online.  Italian translation.

ABSTRACT: This paper argues that the current abortion regulation by Law 194/1978 is an inadequate basis for the provision of good quality abortion care and must be reformed. First, the paper explains why Law 194/1978 creates a hyper-regulatory regime that is inconsistent with the best clinical evidence and practices in the field as well as relevant international human rights law, as outlined in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2022 Abortion Care Guideline. Second, it highlights gaps between what the law says and what happens in practice, pointing out how the everyday life of Law 194/1978, especially in the practices of gynecologists, is far removed from international standards of quality abortion care and has yet to comply with international human rights law. Third, it sets out some alternative routes to abortion access “outside” Law 194/1978. Finally, it concludes with some suggestions for a change in the practice of gynecology and a call for the reform of Law 194/1978, in favor of a bodily autonomy model of regulation grounded on decriminalization, demedicalization, dehospitalization, and self-management to ensure compliance with the WHO standards and international human rights law.

The entire paper is now freely available in English and Italian: English article PDF.  Italian translation.

RELEVANT RESOURCES:

Law 194 of 1978: an English translation of this Italian law is online here.

The WHO Abortion Care Guideline: Law and Policy–Past, Present and Future,” by Joanna N. Erdman, in International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics162.3 (Sept 2023): 1119–1124.   PDF at Wiley Online. 

Abortion Law Decisions webpages, now updated in English and in Spanish.

Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health – more than 110 other concise articles 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 this blog, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

Mexico: Supreme Court decriminalizes abortion

Congratulations to Leticia Bonifaz Alfonzo and Rosalba Mora Sierra, whose article on the 2023 decriminalization of abortion by the Mexican Supreme Court was recently published in the “Ethical and Legal Issues” section of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and is now freely available. Leticia Bonifaz Alfonzo, a member of the UN CEDAW committee, is affiliated with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City. Rosalba Mora Sierra is Director of Access to Justice at the General Unit of Scientific Knowledge and Human Rights, Mexican Supreme Court in Mexico City. The article is now freely available online:

Leticia Bonifaz Alfonzo and Rosalba Mora Sierra, “Decriminalization of Abortion by the Mexican Supreme Court,” International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 165.1 (April 2024): 375–381. 
Article and Abstract Online.  Spanish translation of Abstract by CLACAI .

ABSTRACT: In September 2021, the Mexican Supreme Court issued a decision disallowing any federal or local judicial authority to indict someone for the offense of voluntary or consensual abortion. This decision also declared unconstitutional penalties imposed on medical personnel who facilitate or assist such procedures. Furthermore, the Court decided that limiting access to abortion in cases of rape to a specific time frame was disproportionate. Later on, in September 2023, the Supreme Court confirmed that absolute criminalization of abortion was unconstitutional and declared that the rule supporting criminalization in the Federal Penal Code was without effects. Consequently, healthcare providers who work in public federal health institutions cannot be criminalized for guaranteeing the right to abortion. This article reviews the reasons advanced by the Supreme Court to guarantee the right of reproductive self-determination, as well as the effects of both decisions beyond the decriminalization of abortion by Mexican federal and state legislatures. The paper also examines the scope and limitations of these rulings and identifies the remaining challenges regarding voluntary abortion procedures in Mexico.

The entire article can be read or downloaded here: Article and Abstract Online. 

Spanish translation of Abstract by CLACAI.

OTHER RELEVANT RESOURCES:

The new Mexican decision: 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 in the session of September 6, 2023. Official Press release in Spanish.  Decision in Spanish. 

“Recursos Jurídicos” del RepoCLACAI – For a comprehensive and searchable database of legal resources on abortion care in Latin America, visit the Legal Section of the CLACAI Repository “Recursos Juridicos” online.

Abortion Law Decisions webpages, now updated in English and in Spanish.

Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health – more than 110 other concise articles 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 this blog, then check your email to confirm the subscription.

“Comparative abortion law” by Rebecca Cook & Bernard Dickens

Congratulations and thanks to Professors Rebecca Cook and Bernard Dickens, whose article on comparative abortion law is the first chapter in the 3rd edition of Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law, edited by Jan M. Smits, Jaakko Husa, Catherine Valcke, and Madalena Narciso (Cheltenham, UK: Elgar Publishing, 2023). It is now freely available online. We are pleased to circulate the following abstract:

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. Full text of this chapter is currently online here.

Induced abortion is regulated under restrictive or accommodating provisions of different jurisdictions’ criminal, constitutional and administrative law. Provisions usually fall under discernible patterns. One allows exemptions from prohibition on indications such as danger to a pregnant person’s life or continuing health, pregnancy by rape, or severe fetal impairment. Another permits abortion on request within a specified time and thereafter on specified indications, or before independent fetal viability. An expanding trend is toward decriminalization, regulating abortion without specific criminal penalty as other routine healthcare procedures.

Much can be learned from comparing how courts apply public health, autonomy and equality rationales to interpret constitutions when addressing abortion contests. Courts weigh constitutional values or interests of fetuses, sometimes from conception, against women’s rights, usually upholding rights. Within governing law, health ministries often provide subordinate regulations promoting a better understanding of how abortion laws should apply, for instance to medical (non-surgical) abortion.

In general, comparative abortion law requires microscopic vision to learn how criminal, constitutional and administrative laws are applied in particular national contexts to address the challenges of unwanted pregnancies. It also requires telescopic vision to learn how these laws are diffused, transplanted and received across jurisdictional borders in order to reinforce or disrupt efforts to achieve reproductive justice.

The full text of this article is online here.

RELATED RESOURCES:

“Recursos Jurídicos” del RepoCLACAI – For a comprehensive and searchable database of legal resources on abortion care in Latin America, visit the Legal Section of the CLACAI Repository “Recursos Juridicos” online.

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.   PDF at Wiley Online. 

Abortion Law Decisions webpages, now updated in English and in Spanish.
________________________________________________________________________________________
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 this blog, then check your email box to confirm.

WHO Abortion Care Guideline: Past, Present and Future

Congratulations to Professor Joanna N. Erdman, MacBain Chair in Health Law and Policy at the Schulich School of Law in Dalhousie University, who served as a technical advisor with the WHO’s Department of Reproductive Health and Research and as a member of the Law and Policy Evidence and Recommendation Review Group, and the Guideline Development Group for the 2022 Abortion Care Guidelines. Her article on WHO’s new guideline was recently published in the Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health section of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. We are pleased to circulate the abstract of her article, which is freely accessible online. 

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

Abstract: In the 2022 Abortion Care Guideline, the World Health Organization (WHO) undertook systematic evidence reviews of seven law and policy interventions to assess their health and social impacts. Distinct recommendations were formulated for each. The present article highlights how the Guideline reconceptualizes abortion regulation as a complex structural intervention that shapes clinical care and service delivery and distributes risks and resources within these systems and in the care relations that define them. It then presents the Guideline recommendations and summarizes their evidence base, drawing on recent legal and policy developments to emphasize their real-world significance. The article concludes by anticipating the future of abortion law and policy, focusing on service delivery innovations and diverse care models, drug regulation and the supply of abortion pills, and protective interventions crafted in the context of political crisis and immediate need that serve policy objectives and take regulatory forms different from the past.

RELATED RESOURCES:

World Health Organization, Abortion Care Guideline, 2022. Online here.

See also: “Self managed abortion:  aligning law and policy with medical evidence,” by Patty Skuster, Heidi Moseson and Jamila Perritt, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 160.2 (February 2023): 720-725. . PDF at Wiley Online.  

Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health, more than 110 concise articles 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.

International migrants’ right to sexual and reproductive health care

Congratulations and thanks to Professor Y.Y. Brandon Chen, a legal scholar who teaches at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law. Professor Chen’s recent article in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics‘ section on Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health notes that international law protects migrants’ right to access sexual and reproductive health care, so violation of this right by governments will attract condemnation from human rights treaty bodies, such as the UN Human Rights Committee’s 2018 ruling in the case of Toussaint v. Canada. We are pleased to circulate the following abstract.

Y. Y. Brandon Chen, “International migrants’ right to sexual and reproductive health care,” International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2022;157: 210–215.  PDF at Wiley online.. 

Abstract: International migration puts people’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH), particularly those of women and children, at increased risk. However, many international migrants are denied access to timely and adequate SRH information, goods, and services by governments and/or service providers. This article reviews relevant international human rights treaties to argue that the barriers faced by migrants in accessing SRH care constitute violations of international law. It is well established that migrants are guaranteed access to SRH care as a part of their right to health, as well as the rights enjoyed by vulnerable populations. Increasingly, hindrance of migrants’ access to SRH care is also recognized as a threat to their rights to life and equality with non- migrants. The case of Toussaint v Canada illustrates how governments may be held accountable by human rights treaty monitoring bodies when they fail to respect and fulfill migrants’ right to SRH care.

Keywords: health care access, international migrants, migrant women, non-discrimination, right to life, sexual and reproductive health and rights.

RELATED RESOURCES

“Sexual and reproductive health and rights of refugee and migrant women: gynecologists’ and obstetricians’ responsibilities,” by Margit Endler, T. Al Haidari, S. Chowdhury, J. Christilaw, F. El Kak, D. Galimberti, M. Gutierrez, A. Ramirez-Negrin, H. Senanayake, R. Sohail, M. Temmerman, K. Gemzell Danielsson, (On behalf of the FIGO Committee on Human Rights, Refugees and Violence against women). International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics149.1 (April 2020): 113–119. PDF at Wiley Online.   Submitted Text at SSRN.

Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health, more than 100 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,  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.  

New book: Advancing SRH and Rights in Africa

Congratulations to Ebenezer Durojaye, Gladys Mirugi-Mukundi, and Charles Ngwena, whose co-edited book, was recently published by Routledge. Ebenezer Durojaye is Professor and Head of the Socio-Economic Rights Project at the Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape, South Africa; Gladys Mirugi-Mukundi is a researcher in the same project; and Charles Ngwena is Professor of Law, Center for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. We are pleased to circulate the abstract and Table of Contents of this open-access book, showing the wide range of authors and subjects covered.

Ebenezer Durojaye, Gladys Mirugi-Mukundi and Charles Ngwena, eds., Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Africa: Constraints and Opportunities (Routledge, 2021), 268 pages. Entire book is online and downloadable.

This book explores recent developments, constraints and opportunities relating to the advancement of sexual and reproductive health and rights in Africa.

Despite many positive developments in relation to sexual and reproductive health in recent years, many Africans still encounter challenges, for instance in poor maternity services, living with HIV, and discrimination on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation or identity. Covering topics such as abortion, gender identity, adolescent sexuality and homosexuality, the chapters in this book discuss the impact of culture, morality and social beliefs on the enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health and rights across the continent, particularly in relation to vulnerable and marginalized groups. The book also explores the role of litigation, national human rights institutions and regional human rights bodies in advancing the realization of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the region. Throughout, the contributions highlight the relevance of a rights-based framework in addressing topical and contentious issues on sexual and reproductive health and rights within Sub-Saharan Africa. This book will therefore be of interest to researchers of sexuality, civil rights and health in Africa.

The Open Access version of this book, available online here, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
Ebenezer Durojaye, Gladys Mirugi-Mukundi and Charles Ngwena

2. Abortion and ‘conscientious objection’ in South Africa: The need for regulation
Satang Nabaneh

3. Addressing Maternal Mortality through decriminalizing abortion in Nigeria: Asking the “Woman Question”
Ibrahim Obadina

4. Mainstreaming the ‘Abortion Question’ into the Right to Health in Uganda
Robert Nanima

5. Barriers to Access to Contraceptives for Adolescent Girls in Rural Zimbabwe as a Human Rights Challenge
Michelle Rufaro Maziwisa

6. It Takes Two to Tango! – The Relevance and Dilemma of Involving Men in the Realisation of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Africa
Sibusiso Mkwananzi

7. Positive Approaches to Childhood Sexuality and Transforming Gender Norms in Malawi
Godfrey Dalitso Kangaude

8. Addressing Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation (FGC/M) in The Gambia: Beyond Criminalisation
Ebenezer Durojaye and Satang Nabaneh

9. In Search of a Middle Ground: Addressing Cultural and Religious Influences on the Criminalisation of Homosexuality in Nigeria
Adetoun T Adebanjo

10. A Case for Removing Barriers to Legal Recognition of Transgender Persons in Botswana
Kutlwano Pearl Magashula

11. Advancing the Rights of Sexual and Gender Minorities under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights: The Journey to Resolution 275
Berry D. Nibogora

12. Lessons from Litigating for Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in Southern Africa
Tambudzai Gonese-Manjonjo and Ebenezer Durojaye

13. Experiences from the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights KNCHR) on the Promotion and Protection of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
Shatikha S. Chivusia

14. Monitoring implementation of the sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescent children: the role of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
Ayalew Getachew Assefa

Open Access Book:
Read Full Book – Open Access Opens in new tab or window

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

India: Reimagining Reproductive Rights Jurisprudence

Congratulations to Dipika Jain and Payal Shah, whose 2020 article recently appeared in the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law. Dipika Jain is a Professor of Law and Executive Director of the Centre for Health Law, Ethics, and Technology at Jindal Global Law School. Payal K. Shah, recently acting as Regional Director for Asia at the Center for Reproductive Rights, is now a Reproductive Health Law Fellow in the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law. We are pleased to circulate the authors’ abstract and a link to their paper:

“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 article online.

Despite the significant impact of decisions around pregnancy, including abortion, on a woman’s future life and enjoyment of her other human rights, the Indian judiciary has yet to clearly articulate the link between reproductive autonomy and gender equality. In the Puttaswamy decision, the Supreme Court’s recognition of the right to reproductive choice is rooted within the constitutionally protected right to privacy. While the right to privacy has been the basis for ground-breaking judgments on reproductive rights globally, feminist legal theorists have voiced significant critiques as to the limits of privacy, specifically its potential to achieve reproductive autonomy and equality. We explore the applicability of these critiques in India, including concerns voiced by legal scholars regarding the limitations of the right to privacy as a tool for meaningful enjoyment of reproductive autonomy or gender equality as a whole.

The post-Puttaswamy decisions of Navtej Johar [on homosexuality] and Joseph Shine [on adultery] mark a shift in jurisprudence, with the Supreme Court relying on equality-based arguments to reject societal stigmatization and discrimination against the marginalized group in question. In both cases, the court set forth a framework to understand how the rights to privacy, equality, and non-discrimination on the basis of sex and gender intersect. This intersection of rights gives rise to an obligation of states to eliminate laws that reflect discriminatory gender stereotypes, including those pertaining to sexuality. Limits on the right to abortion indirectly or directly marginalize women by controlling their right to bodily autonomy and denying them privacy and equality. Hence, we argue that these cases demonstrate the potential success of arguments for reproductive rights based on equal citizenship.

We first lay out the legal framework and jurisprudence of reproductive rights in India before the Puttaswamy decision. We then explore the benefits of having a constitutionally recognized right to privacy and how it can advance reproductive rights. We also examine the drawbacks of using a privacy-based analysis as a foundation for reproductive rights due to its vulnerability to restriction on grounds of compelling state interest. Further, this we engage with feminist critiques of privacy rights as well as equality-based approaches and argue for a framework that takes into consideration meaningful choice and structural barriers to the exercise of reproductive autonomy. We critically examine judgments from comparative and international law that have a strong basis in the right to equality to reflect on how recognition of reproductive rights as an issue of gender justice—beyond just individual choice—could strengthen Indian reproductive rights jurisprudence. In other words, we argue for a reimagination of reproductive rights within an equality framework. Finally, we conclude that the use of an equality-based framework could significantly benefit pregnant persons’ right to reproductive autonomy.

The full text can be freely downloaded through this webpage.]

RELATED REPORTS by Payal K. Shah:

Securing Reproductive Justice in India: A Casebook, Center for Reproductive Rights, 2019 (co-authored with Mrinal Satish and Aparna Chandra) 520-page casebook, and chapters by topic.

Ensuring Reproductive Rights: Reform to Address Women’s and Girls’ Need for Abortion After 20 Weeks in India, Center for Reproductive Rights, 2018. 56-page report.

Reproductive Rights in Indian Courts, Center for Reproductive Rights, 2016. 4-page briefing.
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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.