REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – Jan. 2018

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LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

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

 

SCHOLARSHIP:

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

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

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

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

Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective: Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman and Bernard M. Dickens (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014), now also in Spanish (see next entry) and in paperback, 20% discount code PH70.  English edition.  Table of Contents with chapter summaries. 
Abortion Decisions Online
El aborto en el derecho transnacional: casos y controversias,  ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman y Bernard M. Dickens (Mexico: FCE/CIDE, 2016)   En espanol, 2016: Fondo de Cultura Económica y  Libreria CIDE.   Índice con resúmenes de capítulos 1-16
Decisiones Judiciales sobre aborto en línea

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

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

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

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

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

NEWS:

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

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

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

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

JOBS

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

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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 – Dec. 2017

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

DEVELOPMENTS

Bolivia:   decriminalized abortion within 8 weeks of pregnancy for “students, adolescents, or girls” presumably under 18 years old.  National Assembly vote was December 6, 2017.  President will sign.  Press release from Ipas Bolivia.

Ireland:  After months of hearings, special parliamentary committee voted to recommend repealing the controversial “eighth amendment” to the Irish constitution which protects “the right to life of the unborn.”  Referendum promised in early summer 2018.  BBC Report.
See also: Christina Zampas, presentation on Ireland’s international human rights obligations: Video (see 2:27-2:45)  Transcript Oct 4, 2017.  Comment by Christina Zampas.

CALL FOR PAPERS

on Reproductive Health in Latin America (Ethical and Legal Issues welcome), for publication in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetics (IJGO): Re: the XXII FIGO World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Rio de Janeiro in October 2018.  Submit by February 28, 2018 for peer review. IJGO guidelines and call for papers on Latin America

Audre Rapoport Prize for Scholarship on Gender and Human Rights is awarded annually to the winner of an interdisciplinary writing competition on international human rights and gender.   $1000 prize honors the work of Audre Rapoport (1923-2016), who advocated for women in the United States and internationally, particularly on issues of reproductive health.  University students eligible.  Submit by July 1, 2018.
Details and papers by past winners online

SCHOLARSHIP:

[Europe]  Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Europe (France: Council of Europe, Dec 2017), prepared by Leah Hoctor, Adriana Lamačková and Katrine Thomasen, with assistance from Jessica
Boulet, from the Europe Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Overview, Summary and 78-page Issue Paper.

[Slovakia – Discrimination against Roma women in reproductive healthcare]:
Vakeras Zorales – Speaking Out: Roma Women’s Experiences in Reproductive Health Care in Slovakia, by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the [Slovak] Center for Civil and Human Rights (Poradna)  Report online.  Overview.   44-page Report

Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective: Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman and Bernard M. Dickens (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014), now also in Spanish (see next entry) and in paperback, 20% discount code PH70.  English edition from U Penn Press.  Table of Contents with chapter summaries. 
Abortion Decisions Online

El aborto en el derecho transnacional: casos y controversias,  ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman y Bernard M. Dickens (Mexico: FCE/CIDE, 2016)   En espanol, 2016: Fondo de Cultura Económica y  Libreria CIDE.     Índice con resúmenes de capítulos 1-16
Decisiones Judiciales sobre aborto en línea

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

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

JOBS

Jobs and Fellowships Women’s Rights and Reproductive Health, in Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia.  Global Health Corps.  Apply by Jan 17, 2018  for the 2018-2019 fellowships Details online.

Reproductive Health Matters.  Director and Editor-in-Chief.  2-year renewable contract.   Apply by Jan 8, 2018.  RHM Director and Editor Position details.

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

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

Mandatory Waiting Periods and Biased Abortion Counseling in Central and Eastern Europe

Congratulations to Leah Hoctor and Adriana Lamačková of the Centre for Reproductive Rights, whose article has just been published in the Ethical and Legal Issues section of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.  The article addresses the recent retrogressive introduction of mandatory waiting periods and biased counseling and information requirements prior to abortion in Central and Eastern Europe.

Leah Hoctor and Adriana Lamačková,  Mandatory Waiting Periods and Biased Abortion Counseling in Central and Eastern Europe (2017). International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 139 (Nov. 2017): 253–258. 
PDF at Wiley Online Library.    Submitted text online at SSRN.

A number of Central and Eastern European countries have recently enacted retrogressive laws and policies introducing new pre-conditions that women must fulfill before they can obtain legal abortion services. Mandatory waiting periods and biased counseling and information requirements are particularly common examples of these new prerequisites. This article considers these requirements in light of international human rights standards and public health guidelines, and outlines the manner in which, by imposing regressive barriers on women’s access to legal abortion services, these new laws and policies undermine women’s health and well-being, fail to respect women’s human rights, and reinforce harmful gender stereotypes and abortion stigma.

Key words: Abortion; Abortion counseling; Central and Eastern Europe; Discrimination; Human rights; Informed consent; Waiting periods

The published article is online in PDF at Wiley Library.
Full text, as submitted, is online at SSRN.
Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health: 80 other concise articles.

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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.

Eslovaquia: “Los derechos de las mujeres en las sentencias sobre aborto” por Adriana Lamačková

[For Abstracts of original English edition, click here]

El aborto en el derecho transnacional: Casos y controversias fue publicado en agosto de 2016 por el Fondo de Cultura Económica y el Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas.  Los primeros cinco capitulos  exploran “Valores Constitucionales y Regímenes Normativos” ilustrando como las cortes constitucionales europeas abandonaron la presunción de que los derechos de las mujeres están en conflicto con el feto. El capitulo de Reva Siegel “La constitucionalización del aborto” (resumen aqui) provee un panorama de esta tendencia, seguido por dos capítulos de países específicos. A continuación se encuentra el resumen del segundo de ellos.

Adriana Lamačková   “Los derechos de las mujeres en las sentencias sobre aborto del Tribunal Constitucional de Eslovaquia, Capítulo 3 en El aborto en el derecho transnacional: Casos y controversias, editoras/es  Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman, y Bernard M. Dickens (FCE/CIDE, 2016) págs. 82-106. Ahora disponible en español  y en inglés.

En 2007, el Tribunal Constitucional de la República Eslovaca falló que el aborto a petición de la mujer esta en consonancia con la obligación constitucional de proteger la vida humana por nacer.¹ La cuestión de la compatibilidad entre una ley de aborto liberal y el derecho a la vida no es nuevo en el derecho constitucional europeo. Una vez terminado el socialismo de Estado, los tribunales constitucionales de Europa Central, incluidas Alemania, Hungría y Polonia, cuestionaron y respondieron esta cuestión.² Sin embargo, el tribunal eslovaco es el único de la región que validó el aborto a petición haciendo referencia a ambas obligaciones del Estado, tanto de proteger la vida humana por nacer como de respetar el derecho de las mujeres a la autodeterminación reproductiva. Validando nuevamente la congruencia del régimen de consejería con el derecho a la vida del feto, esta sentencia es especialmente significativa en la región puesto que no considera la protección de la vida del feto como el único, o incluso el principal, derecho en las normativas constitucionales sobre el aborto. El derecho de las mujeres a la autodeterminación reproductiva goza de la misma posición plena y equitativa en el orden constitucional. Lamaĉková atribuye este cambio jurisprudencial a que la corte utiliza el equilibrio como marco analítico, según el cual se validan diversos derechos y principios constitucionales, sin que ninguno de ellos anule por completo a los otros, favoreciendo la concesión en vez de la regulación absoluta.  La sección final del capitulo describe brevemente el desarrollo legislativo posterior al fallo, los cambios en el discurso y los argumentos antiaborto relacionados con el fallo en el contexto eslovaco.

El tercer capitulo de El aborto en el derecho transnacional: Casos y controversias ilustra como los valores constitucionales pueden usarse para reformas las leyes de aborto en el mundo. El fallo del tribunal eslovaco, al conceder pleno reconocimiento y efectividad a los derechos de las mujeres, refleja un cambio fundamental en la regulación constitucional europea del aborto, también explorado en capítulos anteriores como “La constitucionalización del aborto,” por Reva Siegel, y “El aborto en Portugal: Nuevas tendencias en el constitucionalismo europeo” por Ruth Rubio-Marín.

El aborto en el derecho transnacional: casos y controversias es disponible en español    en inglés   y dos capítulos en portugués: Capítulo 2.    Capítulo 4
Descargar: Reseña del libro en Andamios, por Diego Garcia Ricci      
Introducción y Prólogo.
Índice con resúmenes de otros capítulos

Tabla de Casos/Jurisprudencia en línea con enlaces a muchas de las decisiones judiciales
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El aborto en el derecho transnacional: casos y controversias

Resumen aqui

      

por Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman
y Bernard M. Dickens, (editores)
(México, FCE/CIDE 2016).

El debate jurídico y judicial sobre el aborto ha tenido, a lo largo del siglo XX y principios del XXI, importantes revoluciones en su abordaje teórico y práctico, que son expresión de estrategias de sectores sociales, religiosos y políticos que en ocasiones resultan contrapuestas.

Éste es un completo balance dinámico sobre las nuevas transiciones actuales y posibles y los desarrollos jurídicos más significativos a nivel transnacional en el tema del aborto, y da cuenta del nuevo desarrollo conceptual que concibe la idea de que no sólo la sanción penal, sino también la amenaza de la sanción penal, ponen en riesgo derechos fundamentales de las mujeres.

“…. Libro de gran actualidad y de avanzada … los autores tratan el tema del aborto con maestría desde las más variadas vertientes como pobreza, marginación, exclusión social, salud pública, penalización y derechos humanos….es y seguirá siendo lectura obligada para operadores jurídicos, sociólogos, economistas, políticos pero sobre todo para cualquier persona interesada en el tema.”

Olga Sánchez Cordero,  Ministra en retiro de la
Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (México)

Introducción y Prólogo a la edición en español,

Tabla de Casos/Jurisprudencia en línea con enlaces a muchas de las decisiones judiciales

De venta en línea y en librerías del Fondo de Cultura Económica.

Oportunidad: Si desea escribir una reseña para alguna revista académica latinoamericana,  por favor escriba a  reprohealth . law @ utoronto . ca para solicitar una copia del libro.

SUMARIO:

Prólogo a la edición en espanol, por Víctor Abramovitch

Introducción, por Rebecca J. Cook,  Joanna N. Erdman, y Bernard M. Dickens

VALORES CONSTITUCIONALES Y REGÍMENES NORMATIVOS

La constitucionalización del aborto, por Reva B. Siegel     Resúmen aqui

El aborto en Portugal. Nuevas tendencias en el constitucionalismo europeo, por Ruth Rubio Marín     Resúmen aqui      PDF en português.

Los derechos de las mujeres en las sentencias sobre aborto del Tribunal  Constitucional de Eslovaquia, por Adriana Lamačková   Resúmen aqui

El principio de proporcionalidad en el control de constitucionalidad de las normas sobre aborto, por Verónica Undurraga   Resúmen aqui   y PDF em português

Un enfoque funcionalista al derecho comparado del aborto, por Rachel Rebouché  Resúmen aqui

JUSTICIA PROCESAL Y ACCESO LIBERALIZADO

El giro procesal: el aborto en el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos, por Joanna N. Erdman  Resumen aqui

La lucha contra las normas informales que regulaban el aborto en la Argentina, por Paola Bergallo   Resumen aqui

El papel de la transparencia en la reforma de leyes y prácticas del aborto en África, por Charles G. Ngwena   Resumen aqui

INTERPRETACIÓN Y REIVINDICACIÓN DE LOS DERECHOS

El marco de referencia médico y el aborto medicamentoso temprano en el Reino Unido.  ¿Cómo puede un Estado ejercer control sobre la ingesta de una píldora? por Sally Sheldon   Resumen aqui

El derecho a la conciencia, por Bernard M. Dickens    Resumen aqui

El sexo, las mujeres, y el inicio de la vida humana en el constitucionalismo católico, por Julieta Lemaitre Ripoll     Resumen aqui

El aborto en el debate público brasileño. Estrategias jurídicas del embarazo anencefálico, por Luís Roberto Barroso  Resumen aqui

Nepal, hacia una igualdad transformativa. El fallo Lakshmi Dhikta, por Melissa Upreti   Resumen aqui

 NARRATIVAS Y SIGNIFICADO SOCIAL

El tratamiento de las narrativas del sufrimiento inocente en el litigio transnacional del aborto, por Lisa M. Kelly  Resumen aqui

Narrativas sobre la personalidad jurídica del no nacido en la regulación del aborto, por Alejandro Madrazo   Resumen aqui

Significados estigmatizados del derecho penal sobre el aborto, por Rebecca J. Cook   Resumen aqui

Tabla de Casos/Jurisprudencia (en línea)

Tabla de legislación, tratados y otros instrumentos internacionales relevantes

 

Forced sterilization case against Bolivia: expert testimony by Christina Zampas

 

I.V. v Bolivia is the first case the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has heard on informed consent to medical treatment and the first case alleging forced sterilization. It is only the second reproductive rights case considered by this Court.

This case concerned the involuntary sterilization in 2000 of an immigrant woman from Peru in a public hospital in Bolivia during a caesarean section.  The doctors decided that a future pregnancy would be dangerous for I.V. and performed a tubal ligation, claiming that this was necessary in order to prevent a future pregnancy. They also noted that they had obtained I.V.’s consent while on the operating table. When I.V. learned that she had been sterilized she felt devastated, and has been seeking justice ever since.

In 2015, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights referred this case to the Inter-American Court for a decision, after having concluded that Bolivia was responsible for the violation of Articles 5.1, 8.1, 11.2, 13, 17, and 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights, and Article 7 of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará). The Commission’s report is online here.

Christina Zampas, a Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Fellow at the University of Toronto’s International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, presented oral expert testimony before the Court during its hearing on 2 May 2016 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Christina Zampas has studied forced sterilization issues since 2002, when at the Center for Reproductive Rights, she worked with the Center for Civil and Human Rights (Poradňa), Slovakia, to document the forced sterilization of Roma women in Slovakia, and co-authored Body and Soul: forced sterilization and other assaults on Roma reproductive freedom in Slovakia, online here.   Since then, she has engaged in advocacy and litigation before UN and regional human rights and intergovernmental bodies, calling for accountability on the issue. She has also co-chaired Open Society Foundation’s Working Group on Sterilization and has been instrumental in the development of health and medical association standards on the topic, including the World Health Organization (WHO) UN Inter Agency statement on forced and coerced sterilization (2014) online here, and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics’  guidelines on female sterilization (2011), pages 122-126.

In her recent testimony before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Zampas focused on international and regional human rights standards in relation to informed consent to medical care generally, and to sterilization specifically.  In her presentation, she explained United Nations and European Court of Human Rights standards and case law on the subject, including on the numerous cases against Slovakia concerning forced sterilization of Roma women, as well as international health and ethical standards.  She emphasized that international and regional health and human rights standards are clear: sterilization for prevention of future pregnancy cannot be justified on grounds of medical emergency, which would permit departure from the general principle of informed consent.  Even if a future pregnancy might endanger a person’s life or health, alternative contraceptive methods can be used to ensure that the individual does not become pregnant immediately. The individual must be given the time and information needed to make an informed choice about sterilization. The provision of information, counseling and sterilization under the stressful conditions of childbirth are not only a violation of the right to information but also violate the right to privacy, physical integrity and human dignity and are a gross disregard for an individual’s autonomy, rising to the level of inhuman and degrading treatment.

Zampas’s testimony also urged the Court to address the gender stereotypes and the intersectionality of gender with other characteristics, such as race and ethnicity, disability, HIV and migrant status, often underlying the practice. These stereotypes deem women incapable of making rational decisions about their reproductive capacity, stripping them of decision-making regarding their own bodies and lives. They assume that men and people in positions of authority—such as doctors who perform medical procedures, male family members, or society at large—are better positioned to make decisions for women. Human rights bodies have recognized the power imbalances in doctor-patient relationships and how this can lead to serious abuses, including in the use of the medical necessity doctrine. She noted that such notions, prevalent in society, can lead to violations of the right to be free from discrimination.

Zampas’s testimony set forth potential individual and structural (general) remedies, including compensation and an apology, law and policy reform that is in line with human rights standards, training and education of all health care staff, adoption of ethical guidelines to address informed consent and gender stereotyping, and monitoring of public and private health centers to ensure accountability, and guarantee an effective remedy when violations do occur.

Amicus briefs in this case were filed by Women’s Link Worldwide and the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, Yale Law School, Ciara O’Connell and Diana Guarinzo-Peralata at University of Sussex, and the Human Rights and Gender Justice Clinic at CUNY Law School and Women Enabled International. Expert written testimony was provided by Luisa Cabal, in her capacity as a lawyer and expert on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and Ana G. Cepin, MD, Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The decision is expected within the next year.

Relevant publications:

Christina Zampas is co-author with Adriana Lamačková, a former LLM student in the program, of “Forced and Coerced Sterilization of Women in Europe,” International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics (2011), Forced and Coerced Sterilization.

Sterilization: list of program resources, including articles, theses, and further reading .   Sterilization resources.

Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive and Sexual Health, written or edited by Rebecca Cook and Bernard Dickens, published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics – Ethical/Legal articles  online.

Women’s Rights in the Abortion Decision of the Slovak Constitutional Court

Adriana Lamačková   “Women’s Rights in the Abortion Decision of the Slovak Constitutional Court, Chapter 3 in Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective: Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman, and Bernard M. Dickens (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014) pp. 56-76, 397n-402n.  A Spanish edition was published in August 2016:  Ahora disponible en español.

In 2007, the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic held that abortion on a woman’s request, permitted by the law until the twelfth week of pregnancy, is consistent with the constitutional obligation to protect unborn human life. Since the end of state socialism, constitutional courts across Central Europe, including Germany, Hungary, and Poland, had asked and answered this question. The Slovak Court, however, is the only court in the region to validate abortion on request by reference to state obligations both to protect unborn human life and to respect the rights of women to reproductive self-determination. While validating certain procedural requirements before a woman can obtain abortion on request as consistent with the state’s obligation to protect unborn human life, the Slovak Court gave woman’s rights to reproductive self-determination full and equal standing in the constitutional order, using balancing as an analytical framework, according to which multiple constitutional rights and values are vindicated, none completely overruling any other, and favoring compromised rather than absolute regulation. The chapter’s final overview of subsequent legislative proposals related to abortion decision-making illustrates how the Court’s decision has transformed discourse about abortion in the country.

This third chapter of Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective illustrates how constitutional values can be used to reform abortion law in Europe and beyond. The Slovak Court, by giving full recognition and effect to the rights of women, reflects the fundamental shift in European constitutional abortion law explored in previous chapters, “The Constitutionalization of Abortion” by Reva Siegel and “Abortion Law in Portugal: New Trends in European Constitutionalism,” by Ruth Rubio Marin.

A Spanish edition of this book was published in August 2016:  Ahora disponible en español.

Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective: Cases and Controversies

 Edited by Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman, and Bernard M. Dickens, U Penn Press, 2014, 480 pages Hardcover or ebook.  Available at University of Pennsylvania Press   Spanish edition (FCE, 2016):   ¡en español!
___________________________________________________________________

Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective: Cases and Controversies offers a fresh look at significant transnational legal developments in recent years, examining key judicial decisions, constitutional texts, and regulatory reforms of abortion law in order to envision ways ahead.

Table of Contents

Introduction, Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman, and Bernard M. Dickens  Download or read,

Part I. Constitutional Values and Regulatory Regimes

The Constitutionalization of Abortion, Reva B. Siegel   Read abstract

Abortion in Portugal: New Trends in European Constitutionalism, Ruth Rubio-Marín Read abstract

Women’s Rights in the Abortion Decision of the Slovak Constitutional Court, Adriana Lamacková  Read abstract,

Proportionality in the Constitutional Review of Abortion Law, Verónica Undurraga Read abstract,

A Functionalist Approach to Comparative Abortion Law, Rachel Rebouché Read abstract,

Part II. Procedural Justice and Liberal Access

The Procedural Turn: Abortion at the European Court of Human Rights, Joanna N. Erdman  Read abstract,

The Struggle Against Informal Rules on Abortion in Argentina, Paola Bergallo  Read abstract,

Reforming African Abortion Laws and Practice: The Place of Transparency, Charles G. Ngwena  Read abstract,

Part III. Framing and Claiming Rights

The Medical Framework and Early Medical Abortion in the U.K.: How Can a State Control Swallowing? Sally Sheldon  Read abstract

The Right to Conscience, Bernard M. Dickens  Read abstract,

Catholic Constitutionalism on Sex, Women, and the Beginning of Life, Julieta Lemaitre  Read abstract,

Bringing Abortion into the Brazilian Public Debate: Legal Strategies for Anencephalic Pregnancy,   Luís Roberto Barroso    Read abstract

Toward Transformative Equality in Nepal: The Lakshmi Dhikta Decision,  Melissa Upreti  Read abstract

Part IV. Narratives and Social Meaning

Reckoning with Narratives of Innocent Suffering in Transnational Abortion Litigation, Lisa M. Kelly  Read abstract,

Narratives of Prenatal Personhood in Abortion Law, Alejandro Madrazo,  Read abstract,

Stigmatized Meanings of Criminal Abortion Law, Rebecca J. Cook, Read abstract, 

Table of Legislation.
Table of Cases. (online here, with links to decisions in English and/or other languages). _______________________________________________________________
Early reviews and full description from U Penn Press: online here.
Introduction by the editors (online through SSRN) includes an overview of the chapters.
Book reviewers should contact Gigi Lamm (glamm {a} pobox. upenn. edu)
Many thanks to the 16 authors of this exceptional anthology!

Court decisions, Events, Fellowships, Resources, News & Jobs

REPROHEALTHLAW-L
December 19, 2012

COURT DECISIONS

European Court of Human Rights, Z v. Poland, Application no. 46132/08, Judgment of Nov 13, 2012.  Woman died due to being refused diagnostic care and treatment for disease due to pregnancy, but Court did not find violation of article 2 (right to life).  
Decision online.     Comment from Center for Reproductive Rights  

European Court of Human Rights, I.G. and Others  v.  Slovakia, Application no. 15966/04, Judgment of Nov 13, 2012.  Sterilizations of Roma women without informed consent violated their human rights.  Decision online.      Brief summary by law student

Solomon Islands, High Court:  Regina v. Gua [2012] SBHC 118, 8 October 2012.   Rule exempting husbands from liability for rape on their wives is no longer applicable; it is no longer supported by common law and offensive to modern standards and principles of equality found in international conventions and the Constitution. (based on summary by Interights)    Full text of decision online.

EVENTS

“Sexual Violence in the Recent Conflicts in Libya and Syria: Challenges to Protecting Victims & Protecting Accountability,” organized by the International Human Rights Program,  Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, Canada, Bennett Lecture Hall, on February 8, 2013 (8:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m.).   More information

“Bodies of Law: Women’s Health & Equality” Feminist Legal Studies Conference, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
March 1-2, 2013.     More information

FELLOWSHIPS

Brocher Foundation – 1 to 4 month residencies in 2014 (Bioethics, medical ethics, Law) for researchers (PhD students to Professors) who wish to work on projects on the ethical, legal and social implications for humankind of recent medical research and new technologies.
Overview online.      Fellowship details.  

Erasmus Mundus Master of Bioethics for the academic year 2013-2014, organized by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (the Netherlands) and the Università degli Studi di Padova (Italy).  Apply by Jan. 15, 2013.  
Program Overview.      Scholarship information

Global Health Fellows,  2013-2014,  O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA.  Apply by Feb 22, 2013.   Fellowship details.

Women’s Human Rights Education Institute held in Toronto, Canada, May 22 – June 28, 2013 (6 weeks) Apply by Jan 31, 2013.  
Details online.       Scholarship information

RESOURCES

[abortion]   “Harm reduction: A novel approach to addressing unsafe abortion,” editorial in Medical Abortion Matters, Nov 2012   Article online.

[abortion]   “Ireland’s Restrictive Abortion Law – A Threat to Women’s Health and Rights?” by Rie Yoshida, Clinical Ethics 6.4 (Dec 2011): 172-178.   Article online.

[abortion – Latin America]  “ ‘The health exception’: a means of expanding access to legal abortion,” by Ana Cristina González Vélez,   Reproductive Health Matters 40(Dec 2012): 22-9.   Abstract online.

[abortion – Mexico] “On Abortion: Exploring Psychological Meaning and Attitudes in a Sample of Mexican Gynecologists” by Ma. Luisa Marván, Asunción Álvarez del Río and Zaira Campos, Developing World Bioethics, Abstract and early view for subscribers: 22 Nov. 2012

[abortion – Sri Lanka] “Misoprostol and the politics of abortion in Sri Lanka by Ramya Kumar, Reproductive Health Matters 40 (Dec 2012): 166-174.   Abstract online.

[abortion & Catholicism] “The Secret History of Sex, Choice and Catholics,” documentary-style film examines Catholic traditions and teachings on key issues: e.g. abortion & contraception, HIV/AIDS, sex & sexuality, new reproductive health technologies, and religion in public policy.  46-minute film online.  (To watch 2-minute clips on specific topics, scroll down on same page.)

“Abortion and Regret,” by Kate Greasley, Journal of Medical Ethics 38 (2012) : 705-711.  Abstract and Article

[conscience]  “Taking Conscience Seriously,” by Elizabeth Sepper, Virginia Law Review 98 (2012): 101-170.   Abstract and article online. 

[conscience]  “Recognizing Conscience in Abortion Provision,” by Lisa Harris, New England Journal of Medicine 367 (Sept 13 2012): 981-983.  Abstract and article online

[conscientious objection]  “When a Health Professional Refuses: Legal and regulatory limits on conscientious objection to provision of abortion care”  by Patty Skuster, Ipas, Chapel Hill, NC.
16-page Ipas report

Conscience and Conscientious Objection 
list of our publications and projects, with links.

[emergency contraception]  “El Status Jurídico de la Anticoncepción de Emergencia en América Latina” por Martin Hevia.  Texto traducido y reproducido con autorización de la Federación Internacional de Ginecología y Obstetricia (FIGO)   Spanish translation
 — “The Legal Status of Emergency Contraception in Latin America,” by Martin Hevia, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 116 (2012): 87-90. English original

Emergency contraception: The story of a global reproductive health technology –  in 14 countries: Australia, Bangladesh, Britain, Chile, Canada, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia, Thailand-Burma border, United States.   Publisher’s Information

Emergency Contraception
list of our publications and projects, with links.

[HIV+ pregnancy] “Pregnancy decisions of women living with HIV,” ed. Sofia Gruskin and Marge Berer, Supplement to Reproductive Health Matters 39 (Dec 2012), now available.   Table of Contents.

“International Human Rights Law: Towards Rethinking Sex/Gender Dualism and Asymmetry,” by Dianne L. Otto,  in A Research Companion to Feminist Legal Theory, M. Davies and V. Munro (eds.), forthcoming, Ashgate 2013.  Abstract and article online.

NEWS:

Colombia opens first abortion clinic – News article

Costa Rica: petition campaign to help “Aurora,” woman suffering with a nonviable fetus to have therapeutic abortion (supposedly legal in Costa Rica).  More information and call to action

Ireland:  Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year old dentist from India, denied termination during incomplete miscarriage at 17-weeks, died in University Hospital Gallway last month.  News article.

Ireland: Another Irish abortion scandal emerges: The Irish Government has paid substantial compensation to a cancer victim, Michelle Harte, endangered by pregnancy, refused abortion and cancer treatment, could not travel for abortion until it was too late.  Her lawyers sued last year for infringing her rights under the A B & C decision.  News article.

Ireland: Government pledges to allow abortions in life-threatening cases, including suicide risk  News article    Analysis

Luxemburg has adopted abortion on request within 12 weeks, Nov. 22, 2012,  Parliament voted 39 : 21 to change its abortion law of 1978.   After 12 weeks, abortion is legal for medical reasons.  
News article in German.

Mexico – interactive computer game, released by Ipas Mexico, provides youth with info on medical abortion.   Press release

Philippines: Reproductive Health bill approved on second reading in Congress 113-104 (Dec 12, 2012).  News article

Philippines:  Senate votes 13-8 for RH Bill on third and final reading (Dec. 17, 2012)  News article.  

Safe and unsafe induced abortions – global and regional levels 2008 and trends 1995-2008.   8-page WHO Information sheet.

Unsafe abortion incidence and mortality – Global and regional levels in 2008 and trends.   8-page WHO Information sheet

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

JOBS

Program Officer, Law and Health Initiative & Sexual Health and Rights Project,  The Open Society Foundations, New York, NY, USA.  Apply by Dec. 31, 2012.   Job details.

Links to other employers in the field of Reproductive and Sexual Health Law are online here
—————
Compiled by the Coordinator of the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca     
For Program publications and resources, see our website here.

European Court of HR ruling: Slovakia: Forced Sterilization of Roma Women

Many thanks to Andy Sprung,  Research Assistant in our International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program for summarizing this recent decision for Reprohealthlaw blog subscribers.  Andy is now engaged in his third year of LL.B. studies at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law.

I.G. AND OTHERS v. SLOVAKIA [2012]

The European Court of Human Rights reaffirms that the involuntary sterilization of Roma Women is a human rights violation in contravention of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) and Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

On November 13, 2012, the European Court of Human Rights issued its latest judgment in a series of cases dealing with the involuntary sterilization of Roma women.  The court unanimously found that two applicants were the victims of coerced sterilization in violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) and Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

The applicants were sterilized while undergoing caesarean sections at a public hospital.  While in the hospital, each applicant was asked to sign a document.  They were told the document was required for delivery by caesarean section, and it was not until years later, during an investigation, that the applicants learned that the documents were actually requests for sterilization.  Additionally, the two applicants were legally minors at the time of the procedure, and the hospital also failed to obtain the consent of their legal guardians.

The Court followed the reasoning from its two recent decisions on the same subject: V.C. v. Slovakia (2011) and N.B. v. Slovakia (2012). Finding that the sterilizations were not life-saving medical interventions and that they were performed without the requisite informed consent, the court held that this treatment was incompatible with the requirement of respect for human freedom and dignity, and amounted to degrading treatment. Additionally, the Court found that State had failed in its positive obligation to protect the reproductive health of women of Roma origin, and that it did not comply with its Article 3 obligation to conduct a prompt and reasonable investigation.

The I.G. and Others v. Slovakia (2012) decision is online  here.

The V.C. v. Slovakia (2011) decision is online here.

The N.B. v. Slovakia (2012) decision is online here.

Press Release from The Centre for Reproductive Rights is online here.