Archives: Resources

The importance of South Africa as a model for reproductive self-determination in Africa cannot be underestimated. Abortion has been legal since 1996, and the country has some of the most developed government systems for the provision of abortion care on the continent. Yet in the same way opponents of abortion in the United States have whittled away at access with increased bureaucracy, South Africa faces similar assaults that leave women without safe care and threaten to turn back achievements made during the past 16 years. This article explores the history of the law, subsequent legal challenges, and new threats to women’s access to abortion services, including service delivery issues that may influence the future of public health in the country.

Available Here Abortion in a progressive legal environment: The need for vigilance in protecting and promoting access to safe abortion services in South Africa Elaborados después de una  investigación realizada con jóvenes en la Ciudad de México y en T …

Harm reduction is an evidence-based public health and human rights framework that prioritizes strategies to reduce harm and preserve health in situations where policies and practices prohibit, stigmatize and drive common human activities underground. T …

Available Here Abortion in a progressive legal environment: The need for vigilance in protecting and promoting access to safe abortion services in South Africa In December 2012, Ipas hosted a meeting—“In Women’s Hands: Increasing Access to Medical Abor …

Part of breaking the stigma is removing the silence and we are doing it loudly and clearly. By talking about abortion stigma we can recognize how it is created and perpetuated and what our individual roles and responsibilities are in working toward stigma-free language, concepts, and services.

The reality is that 42 million women around the world have abortions each year regardless of any politician’s religious beliefs or “moderated” position on abortion.

To address the knowledge gap that exists in costing unsafe abortion in Ethiopia, estimates were derived of the cost to the health system of providing postabortion care (PAC), based on research conducted in 2008.

Abortion in a progressive legal environment: The need for vigilance in protecting and promoting access to safe abortion services in South Africa This study estimated the proportion of abortion patients in the USA reporting perceived and internalized st …

Unsafe abortion is a significant contributor to maternal mortality in Nigeria, and treatment of postabortion complications drains public healthcare resources. Provider estimates of medications, supplies, and staff time spent in 17 public hospitals were used to estimate the per-case and annual costs of postabortion care (PAC) provision in Ogun and Lagos states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Abortion in a progressive legal environment: The need for vigilance in protecting and promoting access to safe abortion services in South Africa Malawian women in all sectors of society are suffering from social implications of unwanted pregnancy and u …

Despite Zambia’s relatively progressive abortion law, women continue to seek unsafe, illegal abortions. Four domains of abortion attitudes – support for legalization, immorality, rights, and access to services – were measured in 4 communities.

This study aimed to understand women’s pathways of seeking care for postabortion complications in Madhya Pradesh, India. The study recruited 786 women between July and November 2007.

Unsafe termination of pregnancy is a major contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality. Task sharing termination of pregnancy services between physicians and mid-level providers, a heterogeneous group of trained healthcare providers, such as nurses, midwives and physician assistants, has become a key strategy to increase access to safe pregnancy termination care.

The new WHO recommendations make it painfully clear that, nearly 40 years after Roe v. Wade, we’re doing everything wrong here. Whether it’s gestational limits, ultrasounds, counseling or human rights, nearly every policy proposed by anti-abortion legislators directly contradicts the new WHO guidelines, which are based on years of consultation and discussion, incorporating scientific evidence and international human rights standards.

At a time when the pool of abortion providers is shrinking and abortion clinics are closing, medical abortion can truly increase women’s access, particularly to those in underserved areas. For legislators who want to end access to abortion under any circumstances, medical abortion is an obvious target.

Unsafe abortion’s significant contribution to maternal mortality and morbidity was a critical factor leading to liberalization of Nepal’s restrictive abortion law in 2002. Careful, comprehensive planning among a range of multisectoral stakeholders, led by Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population, enabled the country subsequently to introduce and scale-up safe abortion services in a remarkably short timeframe. This paper examines factors that contributed to rapid, successful implementation of legal abortion in this mountainous republic, including deliberate attention to the key areas of policy, health system capacity, equipment and supplies, and information dissemination.

Two major women’s health organizations, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Planned Parenthood, battled for women’s respect and donations. Two days later the dust is settling and we’re left to wonder what we should take away from the tangle? Was it about fundraising? Women’s health? Politics? I suggest it is about stigma, specifically abortion stigma that has been deliberately attached to a beloved national institution and household name, Planned Parenthood.

Abortion in a progressive legal environment: The need for vigilance in protecting and promoting access to safe abortion services in South Africa The case of Purvi Patel, a young woman in Indiana sentenced to 20 years in prison for feticide and child ne …

Available Here Abortion in a progressive legal environment: The need for vigilance in protecting and promoting access to safe abortion services in South Africa Women’s human rights are enshrined in globally recognized agreements — including the United …

Available Here Abortion in a progressive legal environment: The need for vigilance in protecting and promoting access to safe abortion services in South Africa Violence against women is one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world. Gl …