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 – Summer 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ugandan CC judgment: Maternal health is a constitutional right

Congratulations to the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) and three co-petitioners who, after nine years of dedication and perseverance, have received a favourable interpretation from the Constitutional Court of Uganda at Kampala.

The Center for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) and 3 Others v Attorney General, Constitutional Petition No. 16 of 2011 (Constitutional Court of Uganda at Kampala). Decision of August 19, 2020.

This is the first decision of an African constitutional court finding a violation of the rights to health, life, gender equality and freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment, for the preventable deaths in childbirth of two women, Sylvia Nalubowa and Jennifer Anguko, who died in hospital due to unavailability of basic maternal commodities.

As lawyer Moses Mulumba of CEHURD gratefully informed supporters: “The Constitutional Court agreed with our submissions and all judges accepted all the grounds of the petition. Through this judgement, the right to maternal health care (and the right to health broadly) has been granted a place in Uganda’s Constitution. The judgment recognises basic maternal health care services and emergency obstetric care. [ . . . ]

“Moving forward, we can work together to ensure that this judgement brings lasting change to [the] health system in Uganda, within the African region and globally.”

RELEVANT RESOURCES:

• Twelve key Declarations by the Constitutional Court of Uganda, circulated by CEHURD, are listed in the expanded version of this Reprohealthlaw Commentary, online here.
• Constitutional Court decisions:
  The Center for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) and 3 Others v Attorney General, Constitutional Petition No. 16 of 2011 (Constitutional Court of Uganda at Kampala). [Maternal health] Decision 2012 online. Decision 2012 attached in PDF. Case summary of 2012 decision. NEW DECISION of AUGUST 19, 2020.
• Supreme Court decision:
  The Center for Health, Human Rights and Development and 3 Others v Attorney General [2015], Constitutional Appeal No. 01 of 2013 (Supreme Court of Uganda at Kampala), Judgments by Kisaakye, JSC and Katureebe, CJ. [Uganda Supreme Court orders Constitutional Court to hear petition on maternal health rights violations.]  Decision PDF. Case summary in Legal Grounds III .

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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.

Kenyan High Court upholds human and constitutional rights to maternal dignity and reproductive healthcare

Many thanks to Naitore Nyamu, an LL.M. student in the graduate program in Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights, for contributing a detailed abstract of this progressive Kenyan ruling for Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts, online edition.

J O O (also known as J M) v Attorney General & 6 others [2018] Petition No 5 of 2014, (High Court of Kenya at Bungoma), March 22, 2018.  Case summary by Naitore Nyamu.   Court decision.

The case summary by Naitore Nyamu explains how, on 5 August, 2013, a low-income pregnant woman sought healthcare for delayed labour and suffered neglect, privations and expenses from an ill-funded county hospital, and humiliating personal abuse from its nurses.  She later filed a constitutional petition alleging various violations of her rights as stipulated in the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and she also made reference to rights recognized in international human rights treaties to which Kenya is a party.

The Court held that the Petitioner’s right to maternal health care had been infringed and that the abusive actions of the nurses and the Hospital denied, derogated and demeaned the Petitioner’s worth.  Hence, the Court found a violation of her right to dignity contrary to the provisions of Article 28 and a violation of her freedom and security, including the right not to be treated in a cruel, inhuman and degrading manner, contrary to Article 29 (j) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. Additionally, the Court held that the national and county governments had failed to devote adequate resources to healthcare services and had not established effective measures to implement, monitor and provide minimum acceptable standards of health care. This is a violation of the Constitution and the international instruments that Kenya has ratified.

As Naitore Nyamu comments in her case summary, the Kenyan Constitution of 2010 has an expansive Bill of Rights, including the right to sexual and reproductive health, but women in Kenya cannot access maternal care in a dignified manner. One of the tenets of devolving the health services was to increase accessibility of better health care services to all citizenry. The treatment the Petitioner received at the Hospital leaves a lot of questions on whether the County Governments want to make the right to health and sexual and reproductive health rights a reality.  This case highlights how deep-rooted and systemic the violations of the rights to maternal health care are in Kenya. It also illustrates the many obstacles and humiliations that women seeking maternal health care can face in public health institutions.

This High Court judgment in J.O.O. reinforces the decision in Millicent Awuor Omuya alias Maimuna Awuor & Another v. The Attorney General & 4 Others (2015), (Petition No. 562 of 2012), where it was held that the National and County Governments do not require resources to accord respect to women seeking services in public institutions such as hospitals.  The Court’s reliance on provisions of international legal instruments ensured that the Court interpreted this issue from a wide spectrum of human rights provisions, hence this is a very progressive ruling that sets high standards. The Court found that the actions and omissions of the respondents were in violation of numerous rights as provided in the international treaties that Kenya has ratified. This signifies that it is not enough to just ratify conventions; states must equally ensure realization of the rights in these conventions. It was also an indication that Kenya cannot ratify conventions and fail to effect what these provisions stipulate.

For details, see Naitore Nyamu’s full case summary, online here, or  the High Court’s decision of March 22, 2018 online here.

An earlier Kenyan case of maternal abuse is abstracted in Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts:

• Millicent Awuor Omuya alias Maimuna Awuor & Another v The Attorney General & 4 Others [2015], Petition No. 562 of 2012, (High Court of Kenya at Nairobi (Constitutional and Human Rights Division)). [Detaining women for failing to pay for maternal health services is a violation of their constitutional rights]  Decision online

Other decisions from this chapter are summarized in Legal Grounds III.

• The Center for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) and 3 Others v Attorney General [2012], Constitutional Petition No. 16 of 2011 (Constitutional Court of Uganda at Kampala). Preventable maternal deaths dismissed as a “political question”.  However, see subsequent Supreme Court decision of 2015] Decision online.

• The Center for Health, Human Rights and Development and 3 Others v Attorney General [2015], Constitutional Appeal No. 01 of 2013 (Supreme Court of Uganda at Kampala), Judgments by Kisaakye, JSC and Katureebe, CJ. [Ugandan Supreme Court orders Constitutional Court to hear a petition on maternal health rights violations.]  Decision online.

• The Center for Health, Human Rights and Development & 4 Others  v Nakaseke District Local Administration [2015], Civil Suit No. 111 of 2012 (High Court of Uganda at Kampala). [Ugandan High Court finds human rights violations where a pregnant woman died of a ruptured uterus and blood loss while in labour.] Decision online.

• Ntsele v Mec for Health, Gauteng Provincial Government [2012] ZAGPJHC 208 (South Gauteng High Court, South Africa) [medical negligence during labour]  Decision online.

Maternal Health Care and Services  – thematic highlight by Tinyade Kachika

Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts (Pretoria: Pretoria University Law Press, 2017)   54 court decisions from 2008-2016   Online edition with updates.   Entire book, 228-pages 

Legal Grounds I and II  are online at the Center for Reproductive Rights.
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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.

“How Laws Fail the Promise of Medical Abortion,” by Patty Skuster

Congratulations to Patty Skuster, Senior Policy Advisor at Ipas and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Public Health Initiatives;  her recently published article is now publicly available through SSRN.  We thank her for abstracting this article for Reprohealthlaw subscribers:

Patty Skuster, “How Laws Fail the Promise of Medical Abortion: A Global Look,” Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law 18.379, 2017.  Article online at SSRN

Abortion law has not kept pace with abortion practice, namely the rising use of abortion with pills. Evidence is growing that women can safely use misoprostol without the involvement of a healthcare professional. And researchers have attributed abortion with pills outside formal health care settings to a worldwide decrease in abortion mortality.

Meanwhile, abortion law globally and nationally remains rooted in outdated abortion methods that do require a healthcare professional.  Global human rights experts recommend governments decriminalize women who seek abortion to meet human rights treaty obligations and reduce unsafe abortion deaths. However, the vast majority of abortion laws—even recently liberalized ones—still require a health-care professional to perform or approve legal abortion. More recent laws have progressed to allow mid-level providers (instead of medical doctors) to provide legal abortion. But even in liberal settings, women who end their abortion with pills and without a provider face imprisonment.

This article includes a summary of treaty body recommendations on abortion and the right to life and health. While treaty bodies call for governments to change laws to make abortion more accessible, treaty bodies have failed to address the nearly universal criminalization of women’s self-abortion with pills. It offers examples of laws that criminalize women’s self-use: newer laws in Uruguay and Uganda, and Zambia which, like many other former British Colonies, follows the model of the United Kingdom and requires provider involvement.

To make real progress toward upholding women’s rights to health and life, human rights authorities and governments must examine provider involvement requirements in abortion laws. We must work toward laws that permit all women to realize the promise of medical abortion.

Related links:

“Access to safe abortion in Uganda: Leveraging Opportunities through the Harm Reduction Model” by Moses Mulumba, Charles Kiggundu, Jacqueline Nassimbwa and Noor Musisi Nakibuuka, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 138 (August 2017): 231–236. doi:10.1002/ijgo.12190   PDF at Wiley Online.  Submitted text.

“Updated WHO Guidance on Safe Abortion: Health and Human Rights”   by J.N. Erdman, T.  DePiñeres, and E. Kismödi, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 120 (2013): 200-203. Article online”

“Applying Human Rights to Improve Access to Reproductive Health Services,” by Dorothy Shaw and Rebecca J. Cook,  International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 119 (2012) S55–S59.  Article online,

Ethical and Legal Issues in Reproductive and Sexual Health – 80+ brief 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.

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates — July/August 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, 20176:  STC Rol N° 3729(3751). Requerimientos de inconstitucionalidad presentados por un grupo de Senadores y Diputados, respecto de normas del proyecto de ley que regula la despenalización de la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo en tres causales, correspondiente al boletín N° 9895-11.  Tribunal Constitucional Chile.  Decision in Spanish -295 pages.  Accompanying documents.  Other Submissions  Newspaper report in English.    Overview by Carlos Herrera, LL.M.
Many Chilean law professors addressed the Court, including:
   Prof. Veronica Undurraga  presentation online.
Prof. Lidia Casas Becerra   presentation begins at minute 42:00

 

[United Nations – CEDAW] General Recommendation 35,  Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, (CEDAW) concerns gender-based violence against women, updating General Recommendation 19 (1992). e.g.: “Violations of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as forced sterilizations, forced abortion, forced pregnancy, criminalisation of abortion, denial or delay of safe abortion and post-abortion care, forced continuation of pregnancy, abuse and mistreatment of women and girls seeking sexual and reproductive health information, goods and services, are forms of gender-based violence that, depending on the circumstances, may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” (Art. 18)  Calls for repeal of ” legal provisions that discriminate against women,”(Art. 31) including “legislation that criminalises abortion” (31a).  Advance Unedited version of Gen. Rec. 35, 24 July 2017

CALL FOR PAPERS:
Feminist Legal Theory Collaborative Research Network, for the Law and Society Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, June 7-10, 2018, on the theme: “Law at the Crossroads”  500-word abstracts due Sept 17, 2017 Submission link.   Detailed call for papers  Pre-formed panels or ideas are welcome at:  2018lsacrn at gmail.com.

RESOURCES
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. 
Table with links to many Abortion Decisions.

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 1-5
Tabla de Casos/Jurisprudencia en línea con enlaces a muchas de las decisiones judiciales

[abortion law] Amicus curiae brief on international legal consensus  on abortion law reform, non-arbitrariness and proportionality, and grounds and procedural protections. 20 pp, submitted to the Tribunal Constitucional of Chile by Professors Joanna Erdman and Rebecca Cook, August 10, 2017.   Spanish and English PDF

[abortion law, Ireland] “The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013: Suicide, Dignity and the Irish Discourse on Abortion”, by Claire Murray, Social and Legal Studies 25.6 (Dec 2016): 667-698   PDF online.  Accepted version.

[abortion, Uganda] “Access to safe abortion in Uganda: Leveraging Opportunities through the Harm Reduction Model” by Moses Mulumba, Charles Kiggundu, Jacqueline Nassimbwa and Noor Musisi Nakibuuka, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 138 (Aug. 2017): 231–236. doi:10.1002/ijgo.12190   PDF temporarily online for 12 months.  Submitted text online at SSRN.

[Africa] “The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and the Woman Question”, by Ebenezer Durojaye and O. Oluduro, Feminist Legal Studies (2016) 24: 315-336  Abstract and article.

[conscientious objection] Amicus curiae brief  on conscientious objection by Professor Bernard Dickens submitted to the Tribunal Constitucional of Chile, August 10, 2017  English PDF     Spanish  PDF

NEWS
[abortion drug, Canada]: “Mifegymiso” (a combination of two abortion pills: mifepristone and misoprostol RU-486), approved by Health Canada in 2015, is now available free of charge in Ontario through pharmacies by prescription from physicians and nurse practitioners  News article.

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.

Uganda: Harm reduction model for access to safe abortion

Congratulations and thanks to Moses Mulumba and his colleagues at the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) in Kampala for collaborating with Dr. Charles Kiggundu, a gynecologist and obstetrician, on a newly published article in the Legal and Ethical Issues section of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

“Access to safe abortion in Uganda: Leveraging Opportunities through the Harm Reduction Model” by Moses Mulumba, Charles Kiggundu, Jacqueline Nassimbwa and Noor Musisi Nakibuuka, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 138 (August 2017): 231–236.  PDF free online for 12 months.  Submitted text  online at SSRN.

Access to safe and legal abortion services is a far reach for women and girls in Uganda. Although unsafe abortion rates have fallen from 54 to 39 per 1000 women aged 15-45 years over a decade, absolute figures show a rise from 294 000 in 2003 to 314,000 women having unsafe abortions in 2013.  Unfortunately, only 50% of the women who develop abortion complications are able to reach facilities for post-abortion care.  Despite the clinical evidence and the stories from undocumented cases, debate on access to safer and legal abortion is constricted, moralized, and stigmatized.  The harm reduction model has shown evidence of benefit in reducing maternal mortality and morbidity due to unsafe abortion while addressing related stigma and discrimination and advancing women’s reproductive health rights.  This article presents a case for promoting the model in Uganda.

Key words:  Abortion laws; Abortion policies and guidelines; Constitutional rights; Ethics; Harm reduction model; Human rights; Ugandan abortion law; Unsafe abortion

AFRICA: Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts – 54 case summaries

by: Godfrey Kangaude, Onyema Afulukwe, Guy-Fleury Ntwari, et al.
Foreword by Prof. Charles G. Ngwena
PULP (Pretoria University Law Press) 2017
Download entire 228 page book online.
Online edition with links to decisions
Printable flyer with Table of Contents
Previous volumes.

Reproductive and sexual rights, which are guaranteed in constitutions and in international and regional human rights treaties, have no impact if they are not recognized and enforced by national-level courts. Legal Grounds: Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts Volume III continues to provide much-needed information about whether and how national courts of African countries apply constitutional and human rights to protect reproductive and sexual rights. The case summaries, significance sections, and thematic highlights serve as useful resources for those seeking to further develop litigation, advocacy, and capacity- building strategies.

Like its predecessors, Legal Grounds: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts – Volume III is a tool for organizations, individuals, and institutions of learning. The scope of this third volume has been widened beyond Commonwealth African countries to include cases from Francophone countries, while focusing more exclusively on court decisions related to reproductive and sexual health. This compelling publication contributes towards a knowledge base of court decisions that bear directly or indirectly on the exercise of reproductive and sexual health as constitutional and human rights in Africa.
228 page book online.  Previous volumes.  Printable flyer with Table of Contents.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword, Introduction, Acknowledgments
Children and Adolescents
—Child, Forced and Early Marriage
—Female Genital Mutilation legal-grounds/
—Sexual Abuse, Assault and Violence
—Consensual Sexual Conduct
—Student Pregnancy
—Maternal Health Care and Services
Abortion and Fetal Interests
—Abortion
—Wrongful Birth or Life
Adoption and Surrogacy
—Adoption
—Surrogacy
Gender, Sexuality, Women and Discrimination
—Rape
—Disability, Sexuality and Criminal Law
—Women and Criminal Law
—Legal Recognition of Intersexuality
—Gender Identity
—Sexual Orientation
—Recognition of LGBTIQ Advocacy and Groups
HIV
—Access to Treatment
—Criminalisation of Transmission
—Forced Sterilization
—Discrimination in Employment
Francophone Africa / L’Afrique Francophone
—Adultery, Polygamy, Infanticide
Appendices – Table of Cases, Online Resources, Endnotes

HIGHLIGHTS BY AFRICAN AUTHORS:
Child Marriage: Legal and Socio-Cultural Aspects, by Godfrey Kangaude
Adolescent Consensual Sexual Conduct, by Godfrey Kangaude
Sexual Abuse, Assault and Violence, by Victoria Balogun
Maternal Health Care and Services, by Tinyade Kachika
Abortion and Fetal Interests, by Onyema Afulukwe
Adoption and Surrogacy, by Ronaldah Lerato Karabo Ozah
Gender, Sexuality, Women and Discrimination, by MaryFrances Lukera
Criminalisation of HIV Non-Disclosure, Exposure and Transmission, by Jacinta Nyachae
Sexual and Reproductive Rights of Women Living with HIV, by Ebenezer Durojaye
Towards Respect for Human Diversity, by Godfrey Kangaude

COUNTRIES:  Benin, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda,  Zambia, Zimbabwe

228 page book online.  Previous volumes.
Printable flyer with Table of Contents.

REPROHEALTHLAW Updates, June 2016

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

DEVELOPMENTS

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

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY IN AFRICA – SCHOLARSHIPS

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

RESOURCES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEWS

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

JOBS

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

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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.

 

Preventable maternal deaths: Ugandan court decisions

Many thanks to Godfrey Kangaude, LL.M. (UFS), LL.M. (UCLA), an LL.D. candidate with the University of Pretoria and Executive Director of Nyale Institute for Sexual and Reproductive Health Governance in Malawi, for composing or editing dozens of analytical summaries of African court decisions for our forthcoming volume, Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts.  Previous volumes in the series, published in 2005 and 2010 by the Center for Reproductive Rights, are freely available in print or electronic form.  Legal Grounds online.

Several of the cases involve preventable maternal deaths. Traditionally, families and communities suffer these losses silently, unless a legal advocacy organization brings the case forward.  In Uganda, for instance, the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) and others brought two maternal death cases to the Constitutional Court of Uganda as human rights violations, but the petition was dismissed without consideration in 2012 as a “political” matter.[1]  In November 2015, however, Uganda’s Supreme Court ordered Constitutional Court to hear the petition on maternal health rights violations.[2]  We still await the Constitutional Court’s  ruling on the merits of CEHURD’s petition.

Just six months earlier, a Ugandan High Court  found human rights violations and awarded damages to the family of a woman who died in obstructed labour at Nakaseke District Hospital; the only doctor who could handle this complication was on duty but could not be found.[3]  As Godfrey Kangaude  comments, “the judgment is an important signal that preventable death of women during pregnancy, labour, and childbirth is a human rights issue.”

Moreover, as Kangaude explains, “Uganda is a party to the International Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). One of the important decisions on the subject matter under CEDAW is Alyne da Silva Pimentel Teixeira v Brazil (Communication No. 17/2008 CEDAW/C/49/D/17/2008). The Committee on CEDAW (CEDAW Committee) considered the case of a woman who had died of complications of pregnancy as a result of delays in being provided with appropriate care by the health system.[4] The CEDAW Committee found violation of state obligations under Article 12 on the equal right to health, and under Article 2(c) in relation to access to justice, amongst others. It made several recommendations to address the systemic factors, which would apply to the Uganda context . . .” [5]

The CEDAW Committee recommended that the state:

“(a) Ensure women’s right to safe motherhood and affordable access for all women to adequate emergency obstetric care, in accordance with General Recommendation No. 24 (1999) on women and health;

(b) Provide adequate professional training for health workers, especially on women’s reproductive health rights, including quality medical treatment during pregnancy and delivery, as well as timely emergency obstetric care;

(c) Ensure access to effective remedies in cases where women’s reproductive health rights have been violated and provide training for the judiciary and for law enforcement personnel;

(d) Ensure that private health-care facilities comply with relevant national and international standards on reproductive health care; [and]

(e) Ensure that adequate sanctions are imposed on health professionals who violate women’s reproductive health rights.”[6]
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REFERENCES:

[1] Center for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) and 3 Others v Attorney General [2012], Constitutional Petition No. 16 of 2011 (Constitutional Court of Uganda at Kampala). Decision online. Preventable maternal deaths were dismissed as a “political” matter.  Case Summary and Analysis by Nthabiseng Lelisa and Godfrey Kangaude, with special thanks to Nthabiseng Lelisa, an LL.M. candidate in Sexual and Reproductive Rights in the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

[2]  Center for Health, Human Rights and Development & 3 Others  v Attorney General.  [2015], Constitutional Appeal No. 01 of 2013 (Supreme Court of Uganda at Kampala) [Uganda Supreme Court orders Constitutional Court to hear a petition on maternal health rights violations.]  Decision online.  Case summary and analysis by Godfrey Kangaude. 

[3] Center for Health, Human Rights and Development & 4 Others  v Nakaseke District Local Administration [2015], Civil Suit No. 111 of 2012 (High Court of Uganda at Kampala). [Ugandan High Court finds human rights violations where a pregnant woman died of a ruptured uterus and blood loss while in labour.] Decision online. Case summary and Analysis by Godfrey Kangaude 

[4] See also: Rebecca J. Cook “Human Rights and Maternal Health: Exploring the Effectiveness of the Alyne Decision”  41.1 (Spring 2013) Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 103-123,  Original publication in English.  Republished in Spanish.  Translation to Portuguese.  Republication in Portuguese journal.

[5] CEHURD v Nakaseke (note 3 above), Case summary and Analysis by Godfrey Kangaude , page 3.

[6] Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,  Alyne da Silva Pimentel Teixeira (deceased) v Brazil, Communication No.17/2008, CEDAW/C/49/D/17/2008), Recommendations, 8.2.  CEDAW decision Sept 27, 2011

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Legal Grounds: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in African Commonwealth Courts   (up to 2008) Volumes I and II can be downloaded here.  Our update will be published early in 2017.  Decisions already identified for Volume III  are online here.  New case summaries are added every month.   If you can suggest other cases, please do!   How You Can Help.