REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – Sept 2019

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DEVELOPMENTS:

[Africa, Mali] APDF & IHRDA v Republic of Mali (Association pour le Progrés et la Défense des Droits des Femmes Maliennes (APDF) and The Institute For Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) v. Republic Of Mali, Application No. 046/2016, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. (2018) Decision of May 11, 2018  PDF.  Decision online .
Case Summary and Comment by LL.M. student George Sakyi Asumadu

SCHOLARSHIP:

[abortion] “The Moral Agency of Abortion Providers: Conscientious Provision, Dangertalk, and the Lived Experience of Doing Stigmatized Work,” by Lisa Harris, in: Ethical Issues in Women’s Healthcare: Practice and Policy, ed. Lori d’Agincourt-Canning and Carolyn Ells (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019). Abstracts and Table of Contents of Book. Publisher’s abstract of book.

[abortion, Northern Ireland] “Evaluating the Need to Reform Northern Ireland’s Abortion Law from a Human Rights Perspective,” by Zoe Louise Tongue, Cambridge Law Review 4 (2019): 121-150. Institutional access.

[conscience, Australia] “Medical Referral for Abortion and Freedom of Conscience in Australian Law,” by Joanne Howe and Suzanne Le Mire, 34 Journal of Law & Religion 85 (2019) Institutional access.

Conscientious Objection / The Right to Conscience – annotated bibliography, International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, updated May 9 2019 Annotated bibliography

[Malawi] Woes of the Womb: An Investigation into allegations of medical malpractices resulting in removal of uteruses from expectant women in public health facilities, SYS/INV/2/2019 (Republic of Malawi: Office of the Ombudsman, August 2019) includes preventable deaths of mothers and infants. 37-page Ombudsman report. Overview by G. Kangaude and C. Sibande.

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.

“The Moral Agency of Abortion Providers” – Conscientious provision and stigmatized work

Congratulations and thanks to the authors and editors of a new book, Ethical Issues in Women’s Healthcare: Practice and Policy, from Oxford University Press, 2019. One-third of this book is specifically devoted to “Reproductive Health Care.” We are pleased to circulate an abstract of this chapter, and a Table of Contents with abstracts from the rest of the book.

Lisa Harris, “The Moral Agency of Abortion Providers: Conscientious Provision, Dangertalk, and the Lived Experience of Doing Stigmatized Work,” in: Ethical Issues in Women’s Healthcare: Practice and Policy, ed. Lori d’Agincourt-Canning and Carolyn Ells (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019).

Abstract: Until very recently, only negative claims of conscience related to abortion provision were recognized; that is, conscience-based refusal to provide abortion care was recognized but conscience-based provision was not. In fact, to the contrary, abortion providers were and are routinely stigmatized as being devoid of conscience or moral principles. This chapter takes up the moral agency of abortion providers. It deepens understanding of the concept of conscientious provision and considers the intersection of stigma and conscience claims. In addition to stigma, the deep social polarization on abortion prevents abortion providers from feeling that they can safely and freely speak about their work. This means that the lived experiences of abortion providers, including their openness to the moral ambiguities and complexities of abortion, remain hidden. Ultimately the chapter suggests that abortion providers’ capacities to live in contested arenas, to see the complexities of abortion, and to hold a “tension of opposites” are a manifestation of deep moral engagement, a potential path out of our current polarized state, and a model for civic engagement on any number of issues.
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NEW BOOK:
Ethical Issues in Women’s Healthcare: Practice and Policy, ed. Lori d’Agincourt-Canning and Carolyn Ells (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019). Publisher’s abstract.

Table of Contents

1. Women’s Health Care through a Feminist Ethics Lens, 
by Lori d’Agincourt-Canning & Carolyn Ells Abstract online.

I. LOCATIONS, MIGRATIONS AND ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE 

2. Indigenous Women, Health, and Healthcare, by Charlotte Loppie & Alexandra Kent. Abstract online.

3. Caring for Refugees, New Immigrants, and Uninsured Women: Social Responsibility and Access to Healthcare, 
by Paul Caulford and Sumathy Rahunathan. Abstract online.

4. Rural Women: Place, Community, and Accessing Healthcare, 
by Christy Simpson & Fiona McDonald. Abstract online.

II. NEW AND EMERGING THEMES 
5. Drivers and Dilemmas of Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery, 
by Dorothy Shaw & Nicole Todd. Abstract online.

6. Ethical Issues in the Care and Support of Women Living with HIV, 
by Ruby Rajendra Shanker, Angela Underhill, Valerie Nicholson, Logan Kennedy, Denise Jaworsky, & Mona Loutfy. Abstract online.

7. Ethical issues in Healthcare for Women in the Context of Violence, 
by Rochelle Einboden & Colleen Varcoe. Abstract online.

8. Sex Work, Ethics, and Healthcare, by Victoria Bungay & Lauren Casey. Abstract online.

9. Primary Healthcare for Queer Women and Trans People: Confronting Heterosexism and Cissexism, by Erin Fredericks & Kelly Baker. Abstract online.

III. REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE 
10. The Moral Agency of Abortion Providers: Conscientious Provision, Dangertalk, and the Lived Experience of Doing Stigmatized Work, 
by Lisa Harris Abstract above and online.

11. Perinatal Mental Health: The Lens of Relational Ethics, 
by Lori d’Agincourt-Canning & Deirdre Ryan. Abstract online.

12. Technology and the Ethical Practice of Reproductive Care: A Woman-Centered Lens, by Laura A. Sturgill, Sara G. Shields, & Lucy M. Candib. Abstract online.

13. Women with Disabilities: Ethics of Access and Accommodation for Infertility Care, by Leslie Francis, Anita Silvers, & Brittany Badesch. Abstract online.

14. Research with Pregnant Women: A Feminist Challenge, 
by Margaret Olivia Little, Marisha N. Wickremsinhe, Elana Jaffe, & Anne Drapkin Lyerly. Abstract online.
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OTHER RELEVANT RESOURCES:

Conscientious Objection / The Right to Conscience – Annotated bibliography, updated May 9 2019.

“The Right to Conscience,” Bernard M. Dickens, In: Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective: Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman, and Bernard M. Dickens (U Penn Press, 2014)   Chapter abstract,

Stigmatized Meanings of Criminal Abortion Law, Rebecca J. Cook, In: Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective: Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman, and Bernard M. Dickens (U Penn Press, 2014) Chapter abstract. 

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

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – February 2019

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

DEVELOPMENTS:

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

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

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

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

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

SCHOLARSHIP:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

JOBS

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – Sept 2018

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

DEVELOPMENTS

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

CALL FOR PAPERS:

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

SCHOLARSHIP:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES:

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

Indications for abortion: new annotated bibliographies:

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

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

JOBS

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

 

The Philippines rolls back advances in postabortion care policy

Many thanks to Melissa Upreti and Jihan Jacob for their update on Philippine post-abortion care policy, published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.  We are pleased to circulate the reference and abstract:

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

Abstract:  In 2018, the Philippines announced a postabortion care policy that rolls back crucial
safeguards aimed at protecting women who seek medical treatment for postabortion
complications from discrimination and abuse. It replaces another policy that was introduce in 2016, following years of advocacy by national and international advocates who were concerned about the mistreatment of women seeking postabortion care due to discriminatory practices in the health system and abortion stigma. The new policy is narrower in scope than the previous policy and reinforces abortion stigma by emphasizing the legal prohibition on abortion, failing to clarify that women seeking postabortion care need not be reported to the authorities, and not recognizing the availability of complaint mechanisms for women who are mistreated. These and other crucial gaps put the new policy at risk of being in violation of ethical standards of medical care and guarantees of human rights.

KEYWORDS
Abortion; Criminal behavior; Discrimination; Ethical standards; Mistreatment of patients;  Philippines policy reform; Postabortion care; Stigma.

Full text:    PDF online.   Submitted text  at SSRN.:

Previous article: “The Philippines’ New Postabortion Care Policy,” by Melissa Upreti and Jihan Jacob.   International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 141.2 (May 2018): 268-275.  PDF at Wiley online.  Submitted text online at SSRN.

RELATED RESOURCES

Publications by Philippine NGOs: EnGendeRights and Pinsan, the Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network  Philippines postabortion care policy resources.

Saving Women’s Lives:   National Policy on the Prevention and Management of Abortion Complications (DOH AO No. 2016-0041)   Frequently Asked Questions, by EnGenderRights and PINSAN, Dec 2017.  Download 36 pages.

Policy Brief: Access to Safe and Legal Abortion and Post-Abortion Care Can Save
Filipino Women’s Lives, by Clara Rita Padilla  (EnGendeRights, December 2016).

Fact Sheets:  “Safe and Legal Abortion Saves Women’s Lives”  by Clara Rita Padilla (EnGendeRights, Dec. 2016):
1.  Public Health Concerns and Social Costs of Lack of Access to Safe and Legal Abortion and Post-Abortion Care.    Fact Sheet 1
2. Liberalizing Abortion Laws Will Save Women’s Lives: Asian, Predominantly Catholic Countries, and Former Spanish colonies Allowing safe and Legal Abortion; The Philippine Constitution Allows Access to Safe and Legal Abortion  Fact Sheet 2.
3. Philippine Constitutional Guarantees, Comparative Law, International and Regional Human Rights Standards Support the Right to Safe and Legal Abortion.  Fact sheet 3.

Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive Health – 86+ concise articles published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.  Ethical/Legal 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.

“Significados estigmatizados del derecho penal sobre el aborto,” por Rebecca Cook

 [Stigmatized Meanings of Criminal Abortion Law]

Rebecca Cook, “Significados estigmatizados del derecho penal sobre el aborto” 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. 438-467. en español   en inglés.

El decimo sexto capítulo del El aborto en el derecho transnacional: Casos y controversias, Rebecca Cook se centra en cómo la penalización del aborto puede ser un vehículo para la creación, implementación o disputa del estigma, con el objetivo de comprender el uso de normas sobre el aborto en la generación de estigma y de explorar abordajes más concretos en el razonamiento legal sobre los efectos estigmatizadores del derecho penal. En este sentido, la autora plantea el siguiente cuestionamiento: dados sus efectos estigmatizadores, ¿cómo pueden las sociedades justificar la penalización del aborto? El capítulo esboza, primero, las justificaciones normativas de la penalización del aborto mas comunes. Luego, explora las maneras en que las sociedades utilizan esas justificaciones para crear significados sociales sobre las mujeres que, a su vez, justifican aún más la penalización. La Prof. Cook utiliza argumentos de psicología social para articular con mayor claridad los perjuicios estigmatizadores que se pueden atribuir a la penalización del aborto y los procesos que llevan a la producción de estigma, así como también para identificar los contextos en que se manifiesta.

Luego, la Prof. Cook examinan las maneras en que el derecho penal formal y las normas informales sobre aborto estigmatizan a las mujeres. En este sentido, la autora presenta el caso R. R. v. Polonia, del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos, explicando las maneras en que la sentencia podría haber reconocido más claramente los perjuicios estigmatizadores que resultan de la implementación de la normativa penal sobre el aborto en Polonia, así como también de qué manera el tribunal podría haber determinado la violación del derecho de R. R. a disfrutar de estos derechos sin discriminación basada en el sexo. Como resultado de los efectos estigmatizadores de la construcción penal de las mujeres, Cook concluye que el análisis del aborto, principalmente a través del derecho penal, no está justificado.

El aborto en el derecho transnacional: casos y controversias: en español,  en inglés,  Sumario y Índice General
Dos capítulos en portugués:  Capítulo 2.    Capítulo 4  
Descargar: Reseña del libro en Andamios, por Diego Garcia Ricci
Introducción y Prólogo. 

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

Otros capitulos de la cuarta parte del libro:
Lisa Kelly, “El tratamiento de las narrativas del sufrimiento inocente en el litigio transnacional del aborto” págs. 383-414. Resumen.
—Alejandro Madrazo, “Narrativas sobre la personalidad jurídica prenatal en la regulación del aborto,” págs. 415-437  Resumen

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REPROHEALTHLAW Updates — Sept 2017

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

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

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

RESOURCES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEWS

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

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

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

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

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

“Theorizing Time in Abortion Law” by Joanna N. Erdman

Congratulations and thanks to Alicia Ely Yamin, Paola Bergallo, and Marge Berer, guest editors of the Health and Human Rights Journal, issue 19.1,  for their wide-ranging special section on “Abortion and Human Rights” (Table of Contents below), including this article by Prof. Joanna Erdman, MacBain Chair in Health Law and Policy at the University of Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law:

Joanna N. Erdman, “Theorizing Time in Abortion Law and Human Rights,” Health and Human Rights 19.1 (June 2017): 29-40. HTML | PDF

The legal regulation of abortion by gestational age, or length of pregnancy, is a relatively undertheorized dimension of abortion and human rights. Yet struggles over time in abortion law, and its competing representations and meanings, are ultimately struggles over ethical and political values, authority and power, the very stakes that human rights on abortion engage. This article focuses on three struggles over time in abortion and human rights law: those related to morality, health, and justice. With respect to morality, the article concludes that collective faith and trust should be placed in the moral judgment of those most affected by the passage of time in pregnancy and by later abortion—pregnant women. With respect to health, abortion law as health regulation should be evidence-based to counter the stigma of later abortion, which leads to overregulation and access barriers. With respect to justice, in recognizing that there will always be a need for abortion services later in pregnancy, such services should be safe, legal, and accessible without hardship or risk.  At the same time, justice must address the structural conditions of women’s capacity to make timely decisions about abortion, and to access abortion services early in pregnancy.

“Abortion and Human Rights” section in Health and Human Rights Journal 19.1:
Contents page.

Narratives of Essentialism and Exceptionalism: The Challenges and Possibilities of Using Human Rights to Improve Access to Safe Abortion,  Alicia Ely Yamin and Paola Bergallo  HTML | PDF

Abortion Law and Policy Around the World: In Search of Decriminalization  (Discussion) by Marge Berer   HTML | PDF

Theorizing Time in Abortion Law and Human Rights,   Joanna N. Erdman
HTML | PDF

The Dublin Declaration on Maternal Health Care and Anti-Abortion Activism: Examples from Latin America,  Lynn M. Morgan   HTML | PDF

Regulation of Conscientious Objection to Abortion: An International Comparative Multiple-Case Study,  Wendy Chavkin, Laurel Swerdlow, and Jocelyn Fifield  HTML | PDF

The Role of International Human Rights Norms in the Liberalization of Abortion Laws Globally, Johanna B. Fine, Katherine Mayall, and Lilian Sepúlveda   HTML | PDF

Pregnancy and the 40-Year Prison Sentence: How “Abortion is Murder” Became Institutionalized in the Salvadoran Judicial System,  Jocelyn Viterna and Jose Santos Guardado Bautista   HTML | PDF

Pregnancies and Fetal Anomalies Incompatible with Life in Chile: Arguments and Experiences in Advocating for Legal Reform,  Lidia Casas and Lieta Vivaldi   HTML | PDF

Legal Knowledge as a Tool for Social Change: La Mesa por la Vida y la Salud de las Mujeres as an Expert on Colombian Abortion Law, Ana Cristina González Vélez and Isabel Cristina Jaramillo   HTML | PDF

The Battle Over Abortion Rights in Brazil’s State Arenas, 1995-2006, by Marta Rodriguez De Assis Machado and Débora Alves Maciel    HTML | PDF

Abortion Rights Legal Mobilization in the Peruvian Media, 1990–2015, by Camila Gianella   HTML | PDF

The Moderating Influence of International Courts on Social Movements: Evidence from the IVF Case Against Costa Rica, by Julieta Lemaitre and Rachel Sieder   HTML | PDF

Why is a “Good Abortion Law” Not Enough? The Case of Estonia,  by Liiri Oja   HTML | PDF

Macro- and Micro-Political Vernaculizations of Rights: Human Rights and Abortion Discourses in Northern Ireland  by Claire Pierson and Fiona Bloomer  HTML | PDF

Exploring Legal Restrictions, Regulatory Reform, and Geographic Disparities in Abortion Access in Thailand  by Grady Arnott, Grace Sheehy, Orawee Chinthakanan, and Angel M. Foster    HTML | PDF

Decriminalization and Women’s Access to Abortion in Australia, by Barbara Baird   HTML | PDF

Australia: Abortion and Human Rights, by Ronli Sifris and Suzanne Belton   HTML | PDF

PERSPECTIVE Abortion Care in Nepal, 15 Years after Legalization: Gaps in Access, Equity, and Quality, by Wan-Ju Wu, Sheela Maru, Kiran Regmi, and Indira Basnett   HTML | PDF

 

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The REPROHEALTHLAW Blog is compiled by the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, Canada,  reprohealth*law at utoronto.ca and @reprohealthlaw.   For Program publications and resources, see our website, online here.
TO JOIN THIS BLOG: enter your email address in upper right corner of this webpage, then check your email to confirm the subscription

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – June 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

[Ireland]  Siobhàn Whelan v. Ireland, Comm. No. 2425/2014:  Ireland 12/06/2017, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/119/D/2425/2014 (UN Human Rights Committee), 12 June 2017, [Woman forced to travel to the UK for an abortion after fatal fetal abnormality diagnosis.  Abortion laws are “cruel and inhumane.”]   English decision.   Newspaper report. Press release from Center for Reproductive Rights.

[Northern Ireland]  R (on the application of A and B) v Secretary of State for Health, decision of  [2017] UKSC 41, June 14, 2017 (Supreme Court, U.K.) [ruled that girl from Northern Ireland, aged 15, was not entitled to NHS-funded abortion in England] Decision online.  Comments by Sheelagh McGuinness and Keith Syrett.  Newspaper report.

RESOURCES

[abortion law: gestational age]  “Theorizing Time in Abortion Law & Human Rights,” by Joanna N. Erdman, in: Health and Human Rights Journal 19.1 (June 2017): 29-40.  Theorizing Time text. Download PDF.  Special issue on “Abortion and Human Rights.”

Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective: Cases and Controversies” ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N. Erdman, and Bernard M. Dickens (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014)  Penn Press (discount code: PH70).   Review by Francisca Pou Giménez.    Spanish edition: (FCE/CIDE, 2016)     Reseña por Diego Garcia Ricci.
Traduções para portugues:
Capítulo 2: “Aborto em Portugal: novas tendências no constitucionalismo europeu,” por Ruth Rubio-Marín, Revista Direito GV São Paulo 13.1(jan./abr. 2017): 356-379 DOI: 10.1590/2317-6172201714  Tradução para o português.
Capítulo 4: “O princípio da proporcionalidade no controle de constitucionalidade das leis sobre aborto, por Verónica Undurraga, Publicum 2.2 (2016)   Tradução para o português.

[abortion law, Spain]  “Gender in Constitutional Discourses on Abortion: Looking at Spain from a Comparative Perspective,” by Blanca Rodriguez-Ruiz, Social & Legal Studies 2016, Vol. 25(6) 699–715, DOI: 10.1177/0964663916668251. ” PDF for academic subscribers.    Submitted Version.  (from special issue on “Regulating Abortion: Dissensus and the Politics of Rights” by Siobhàn Mullally, (Introduction to special issue).

[conscientious objection, Latin America]  “Refusing Reproductive Health Services on Grounds of Conscience in Latin America:  Challenging policies and practises based on human rights standards,” by Diya Uberoi and Beatriz Galli in  SUR International Journal on Human Rights, 24 (Dec 2016)  [special issue on “Women: Movements, successes and obstacles” Overview.  English edition.    Spanish edition.    Portuguese edition.

—-See also:  Conscientious objection:  Articles and projects of the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto.  Download Conscientious objection resources.

[contraception, Uganda]  “Controlling Women’s Fertility in Uganda,” by Sylvia Tamale in SUR International Journal on Human Rights, 24 (Dec 2016)  [special issue on “Women: Movements, successes and obstacles”]  English edition.   Spanish edition.  Portuguese edition.

“Female Genital Cutting (Mutilation/ Circumcision): Ethical and Legal Dimensions,” by  R. J. Cook,  B.M. Dickens, and M.F. Fathalla (2002) 79 International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics : 281-287.  English abstract and article.
new Turkish translation: “Kadın Sünneti (Sakatlama/Sünnet): Etik ve Hukuki Boyutlar,” trans. Mustafa Erçakıca, in Beykent Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi 2.4 (Dec. 2016): 111-121.  Turkish download.

“Gender Stereotyping in the Military: Insights from Court Cases,” by Rebecca Cook and Cornelia Weiss, in Stereotypes and Human Rights Law, ed. Eva Brems and Alexandra Timmer (eds.), (Antwerp, Belgium: Intersentia, 2016) 175-198.  Submitted text.    PDF (online after June 2018)  About the book.

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

JOBS

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

______________

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

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates – May 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

Argentina:  Juzgado Nacional en lo Criminal de Instrucción 16, Secretaría 111 de la Capital Federal, causa 28.580/2015, “M.N.N.”  (28 de Junio de 2016).  National Criminal Court held a woman and the doctors who prescribed her abortion medications, not guilty of any crime because the woman’s health was at risk. The woman was pregnant because her partner raped her.  English summary.  Spanish summary.   Download decision in Spanish.

Colombia:  Constitutional Court blocked sterilization of a disabled girl who was too young to consent.   English summary.  Spanish summary with link to decision.

India:   Indu Devi v the State of Bihar [2017] No(s.) 14327, decided May 9, 2017 (Supreme Court of India). Destitute HIV+ woman, pregnant from rape, refused abortion past legal limit of 20 weeks, but State held responsible for delay that prevented legal abortion.  Summary by H. Kofman forthcoming on this blog  Judgment online.  Abstract by law student H. Kofman

Uruguay:  Woman refused legal abortion after former partner intervenes.   Summary in English.  Spanish summary with link to decision. Safe Abortion Campaign report.

CALLS

Gender Justice Uncovered Awards: Nominations for best and worst court decisions.  Many striking cases and decisions summarized, e.g., Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay decisions mentioned above.    Vote before May 31, 2017

Call for Submissions: “Gender Violence and International Human Rights Law” for the 2018 Human Rights Essay Award, organized by Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Washington College of Law, American University, Washington DC.   Submission Information and form.

Open Call for Submissions, McGill Journal of Law and Health, peer-reviewed. Details and Editorial Guidelines.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Graduate study in Health Law now available at the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, University of Ottawa, currently accepting LLM and PhD applications on a rolling basis for the 2017-2018 academic year.    Brochure online.

RESOURCES

“Abortion by telemedicine: an equitable option for Irish women,” by Wendy V. Norman and Bernard M. Dickens,  BMJ May 16, 2017; 357 Article online.

[abortion, Canada] “A Constitutional Future for Abortion Rights in Canada,” by Joanna Erdman, Alberta Law Review 54.3(2017):727-752   Article online.

[abortion, Europe]  “Legal and Political Discourses on Women’s Right to Abortion,” by Christina Zampas,  chapter 1 in:  A Fragmented Landscape: Abortion Governance and Protest Logics in Europe, ed.  Silvia De Zordo, Joanna Mishtal, and Lorena Anton   (New York: Berghahn, 2016)  Details from Publisher

[abortion law] “Regulating Abortion: Dissensus and the Politics of Rights” by Siobhan Mullally, introduction to special issue of Social & Legal Studies: An International Journal, 2016, Vol.25(6) . Introduction online.

[abortion law]  “Book Review: Francisca Pou Giménez on Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna Erdman and Bernard M. Dickens’s Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective: Cases and Controversies”, on I-CONnect, Blog of the International Journal of Constitutional Law and Constitution Making, May 17, 2017  Book review online.   (Penn Press discount code: PH70).    Spanish edition, FCE/CIDE, 2016

[abortion law pedagogy] “The Social Life of Abortion Law: On Personal and Political Pedagogy,” by Nicky Priaulx, Medical Law Review 25.1(2017):73-98.  Download abstract and PDF.

[abortion travel]  “The Law of Stigma, Travel, and the Abortion-Free Island,” Columbia Journal of Gender & Law 33.1(2016): 29-37.  PDF online.

[conscience]  “Physicians, Not Conscripts — Conscientious Objection in Health Care,” by Ronit Y. Stahl and Ezekiel J. Emanuel, New England J Medicine 376 (April 6, 2017):  1380-85.  Full text for institutional subscribers

[Ireland]  The Citizens’ Assembly – Draft Bill [recommendations for Irish abortion law reform] by Lawyers for Choice, Human Rights in Ireland, April 25, 2017  Draft Bill online.

[Nigeria]  “Accountability for Maternal Healthcare Services in Nigeria,” by Onyema Afulukwe, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 137.2(May 2017) 220-226.  Abstract.  PDF temporarily online for 12 months   Submitted text (typescript) online.

Northern/Irish Feminist Judgments: Judges’ Troubles and the Gendered Politics of Identity, edited by Máiréad Enright, Julie McCandless and Aoife O’Donoghue (Oxford: Hart, 2017)   re-imagines, re-writes and comments on 26 court decisions from feminist perspectives.  Our comments.  Table of Contents and details

[South Africa]  Pregnancy Law in South Africa: Between Reproductive Autonomy and Foetal Interests, by Camilla Pickles (South Africa: Juta, 2017), (based on thesis from University of Pretoria,  Thesis abstract   Book details from publisher

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

REPORTS

“The Law, Trials and Imprisonment  for Abortion in [individual countries].”  International Campaign for Safe Abortion.  Mexico.  Argentina,  Kenya .

JOBS

Associate Professor/Professor and Assistant Director, Center for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria.  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.