Abortion Highlights & Trends Worldwide 2017

1. Abortion internationally in 2017: highlights & trends In solidarity and with warm wishes for a good year to come in 2018! Marge Berer, Nandini Archer, Christina Boateng and former staff members Sara Barnes, Alice Finden Eliza Craston, Patricia Nilsson

2. January • RWANDA Sixty-two girls imprisoned for abortion when under the age of 16 were pardoned and released. • CHILEVote in Constitutional Commission of the Senate on the abortion bill scheduled for 16 January. First of many till the bill become law. • IRELANDCitizens’ Assembly deluged with views on Constitutional reform and has a very wide range of views itself. • NORTHERN IRELAND Stop prosecuting women for MA self-use. • SERBIAWhen Serbian activists protest a plan to require anti-abortion counselling, Minister denies any such plan.

3. International Women's March 21 January 2017 Marches held in more than 500 US cities, attended by an estimated 3.3 to 4.6 million people. An Independent UKarticleestimated that 2.5 million people participated in 673-700 rallies around the world in 60 other countries too. The next day, the Global Gag Rule was re-imposed by Trump.

4. February • ZAMBIA An intervention between Ministry of Health, University Teaching Hospital and Ipas introduced medical abortion in 25 sites and addressed the lack of understanding and implementation of the country’s abortion law. • MEPs in the European Parliament – 93% backed an amendment supporting the setting up of an international fund to improve access to abortion services. • PAKISTAN a safe abortion information hotline is providing information and support, initiated by the women’s group Aware Girls in June 2010. The vast majority of the calls are for abortion information. The hotline, called Saheli(friend), has received over 25,000 calls since 2010.

5. March • URUGUAY Young woman denied a legal abortion in court has a miscarriage. • MALAWICivil society groups accuse religious leaders of hypocrisy in their opposition to abortion law reform. • IRANOf 1.7 million pregnancies annually, 1.5 million lead to live births. About 200,000 end in abortions, but the number recorded (legal) is only ±6,000. • 50 GOVERNMENTS, north & south, support She Decides, pledging €181 million for SRHR, including safe abortion. • PETITION filed with Brazil's Supreme Court calling for decriminalization of abortion on request up to 12 weeks.

6. April • SOUTH AFRICASMS technology pilot-tested by safe2choose to boost access to safe abortion services. • NICARAGUAdocumentary features young, rural, 16-17+ weeks pregnant women who arrive at a public hospital emergency room, many adolescents, with life-threatening complications. • NAMIBIAHealth Minister highlights magnitude of unsafe abortions; The Namibian editorial supports legalisation. • MALAWI"There are no laws that govern the anatomies of men…" human rights group argues. • IRELAND Citizens' Assembly says yes to 13 possible grounds for abortion by a large majority, including abortion on request.

7. May • EL SALVADOR UN experts urge Congress to decriminalize termination of pregnancy in specific circumstances. • USATrump seeks to defund Planned Parenthood and health care for the poor but fails, while health professionals call for early medical abortion pills to be over the counter. • ANTI-CHOICE views on disability and the right to choose become a political issue in a number of countries. • AFGHANISTANWhen M had an abortion, her husband beat and humiliated her. Her story is not unusual yet illegal, unsafe terminations are on the rise. • YEMEN Women take more than 12 hours to travel 250km across war-torn Yemen to get an abortion.

8. June • UGANDAMedia campaign: increase youth-friendly health facilities and services. • DEBATE Should medical professionals have an ethical claim to conscientious objection? Uruguay meeting set for August. • AUSTRALIA, USA, CANADA Medical abortion provision by telemedicine has become popular, esp. in rural areas with few clinics. • MOLDOVAFirst National Conference on sexual and reproductive rights of women with disabilities. • MEXICOPublications and videos challenge abortion stigma. • MALAYSIA ARROW Report on the "Politicisation of Religion and SRHR".

9. July • WHO New Global Abortion Policies Database opens online. • WHONew WHO Director General supported safe abortion as former Health Minister in Ethiopia. • ZIMBABWEAssociation of Doctors for Human Rights says scrap the current abortion law and give women the right to decide. • FRANCESimone Veil, author of French abortion law, dies aged 89, buried with honours. • PHILIPPINESVideo "At 11 years old they're getting pregnant". • DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Penal Code banning abortion fails to pass, creating hope for law reform. • COLOMBIASurvey of doctors – lack of abortion training & experience.

10. August • MEDICAL ABORTION research in Armenia on using extra doses of misoprostol in 1st and 2nd trimester to increase completion. • PATHWAYS to MA abortion in legally restricted settings complicated and fraught with unknowns. • WOMEN'S ABORTION STORIES being published far more. • CHILE law finally passes and is declared constitutional after 2 long years. • INDIA sexual abuse of girls and hurdles to abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy (courts/medical panels) exposed. • RAPE as a ground for the right to abortion without restrictions, especially for children, becomes a rallying cry.

11. September • SAMOA Minister of Health calls for abortion law reform. • BOLIVIA Seven women arrested for abortion in one month following proposals for abortion law reform. • SRI LANKA Smuggling of MA pills discovered at airport customs. • NAURU Pregnant refugees refused transfer to Australia for legal abortions. • GLOBALLY one in four pregnant women has an abortion on average. • NUMBER OF RESOURCES on abortion issues by and for women is growing enormously: videos, pamphlets, helplines, articles, blogs, social media exchanges, newsletters.

12. 28 September: International Safe Abortion Day …since 1990

13. WE SAY: Universal access to safe abortion is an integral part of family planning reproductive health and rights, the right to life and health, and an essential part of reducing maternal mortality and morbidity, alongside safe pregnancy and delivery care. #LeavingNoOneBehind is the hashtag for the Sustainable Development Goals, and it is also about supporting the right to a safe abortion for everyone who may need it.

14. Examples of national activities and action for 28 September in 2017and see many more at: http://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/international-safe-abortion-day/international-safe-abortion-day-global-activities-2017

15. Argentina

16. Austria

17. Burkina Faso & Benin

18. Burundi

19. El Salvador

20. Italy

21. Macedonia

22. Morocco

23. Nepal

24. Nigeria

25. Poland

26. South Korea

27. October • GLOBAL Estimates of safe (55%), less safe (31%) and least safe (14%) of total 56 million abortions, published by WHO. • HAWAII, USA Lawsuit: let pharmacists dispense medical abortion. • SRI LANKA Male medical doctors brief male religious leaders on the need for abortion law reform. • MALTANational Youth Parliament calls for consultation on abortion law reform. • UGANDA Call for use of a harm reduction model for safe abortion. • THAILAND–BURMA border: Community-based distribution of misoprostol for early abortion. • KENYA Nurse acquitted of murder in unsafe abortion death.

28. November • BRAZIL Attempts to ban abortion create a mass movement and demonstrations across the country in support of abortion rights. • MADAGASCARAbortion law reform in Madagascar: the discussion is launched. • INDIA Primary care providers and doctors trained to help women get safe abortions, while court cases seeking abortion after 20 weeks due to sexual abuse, rape and fetal anomaly hit the news. • SOUTH KOREAPetition to government to amend abortion law and approve mifepristone gains 235,000 signatures. • JAMAICA Health minister orders abortion audit to learn the extent of unsafe abortions. • ALGERIAGovernment proposes to legalise abortion on three grounds.

29. December • BRAZIL 173,000 women sign a petition that they have had an abortion in support of Rebeka, who petitioned the Supreme Court for permission for a legal abortion. • IRELANDPoliticians to vote if abortion should be completely decriminalised this month, and referendum set for May 2018. • EGYPT Draft law to allow very limited abortion access tabled. • USA Two long-time leaders for abortion and reproductive rights die – Leslie Wolfe (Center for Women Policy Studies, age 74) and Janet Benshoof (ACLU and Global Justice Center, age 70). • USA Women Enabled publishes strong defence of the right to abortion for disabled women and on grounds of fetal anomaly. • BOLIVIA Abortion on broad grounds to 8 weeks becomes law.

30. Trends in 2017

31. Action growing to decriminalise anddemedicalise abortion • "Decriminalisation may be complete or only partial, however: • Abortion completely out of the criminal law. • Certain grounds for abortion out of the criminal law. • Abortion on request up to 20 or 24 weeks allowed, with or without limits on other grounds too. • Abortion on request up to 12 weeks and more limited grounds after that… or on only three grounds, and so on. • Self-use of medical abortion pills is growing enormously. In response, in some settings, service delivery has been greatly simplified (pharmacy provision/telemedicine). In other places, however, women are being prosecuted for self-use to stop change.

32. Law& policy change every month • Every month, we report that women are in the streets marching for abortion rights somewhere and campaigning in a myriad of other ways for abortion law reform too. • Every month, we report that at least one government has taken steps towards progressive law reform or a nationalleader has spoken out in favour of reform. • Every month, a UN human rights body or Special Rapporteur advises a country (or the world) to make abortion safe, permit abortion on a wider range of grounds, and even to decriminalise abortion.

33. Anti-abortion =often fake science, always anti-women • Tie up courts and legislatures with regulations and restrictions. • Gruesome images. • Fake science. • False claims that abortion is dangerous. • Equate abortion with homicide. • Focus on the "unborn"/"preborn" ; ignore the woman. • Claim abortion is foreign, against tradition. • Arrests, court cases, prison for providers and women. • Using whatever means necessary to keep women pregnant.

34. Self-use of medical abortion growing • It is possible to find the pills but you need to know they are bona fide and how to use them effectively. Go to a trustworthy source only. • There is information available in many languages – from health professionals, telemedicine, via websites and national hotlines on effective use and how to know whether the outcome is OK or not. Seek trained help if it's needed. • The evidence is – informed self-use of medical abortion pills is simple, very safe and highly effective with access to back-up care if needed – and that's our goal.

35. Aim = making unsafe abortionhistory… DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

36. CHILE … one step at a time!

37. Join the Campaign /Contact us:E-mail:info@safeabortionwomensright.orgnews@safeabortionwomensright.orgpress@safeabortionwomensright.orgWeb:www.safeabortionwomensright.orgFB: safeabortionwomensright  TW: @safe_abortion  Instagram: safeabortion