Alois uses the first veto of his reign to quash parliament-approved bill backed by a national petition
The hereditary prince of Liechtenstein has used his veto for the first time in his reign to quash a bill aimed at bringing abortion laws in line with much of Europe.
The legislation was approved by Liechtenstein’s parliament last month after the presentation of a citizens’ initiative signed by roughly a quarter of the nation’s voters.
Continue reading...Measures would remove some penalties for those helping women access abortion but are ‘small-scale step’, say campaigners
Poland’s lower house of parliament has approved two bills aimed at loosening a near-total ban on abortions, in what campaigners have described as a “small-scale step” ahead of protests calling on the government to fulfil its promises to overhaul the country’s laws.
The new measures, which are likely to be vetoed by Poland’s nationalist president, would remove some of the criminal penalties for those who help women to access abortion care and allow terminations in cases of foetal abnormalities.
Continue reading...Announcement comes a day after Liberal and Labor parties say they will cover out-of-pocket costs for abortion care
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One Nation has proposed a $2,000 baby bonus for new parents in Victoria – a day after the Labor and Liberal parties both agreed to cover out-of-pocket costs for abortion care.
The deputy leader of One Nation in Victoria, Colleen Harkin, announced the plan on Friday to remove out-of-pocket costs for pregnant women in the public healthcare system and a $2,000 subsidy for those accessing private maternity care.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Out-of-pocket costs for abortion care to be covered regardless of who wins November election as Jess Wilson says Liberals and Nationals ‘will not allow Labor to play politics on this issue’
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Victoria will become the first state in Australia to make access to abortion care free, no matter who wins the November election, with the Coalition matching Labor’s promise just hours after it was announced as it attempts to neutralise the issue.
The opposition leader, Jess Wilson, on Thursday afternoon told Guardian Australia a Liberal National Coalition government would match Labor’s commitment to cover out-of-pocket costs for abortion care up to 16 weeks’ gestation. This would include GP and specialist consultations, scans, tests or medication, which can quickly add up to more than $1,000.
Continue reading...The number of pharmacies stocking the MS-2 Step medication increased from 2,228 to 4,107 after rules relaxed in 2023
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The number of Australian pharmacies stocking an abortion pill increased by almost 50% when prescribing restrictions were relaxed, with researchers saying the findings suggest deregulation of abortion promotes safer and faster healthcare.
A study published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open on Thursday examined the impact of changes by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in 2023 which meant the medication, MS-2 Step, could be prescribed by any GP.
Continue reading...‘AbortOmat’ in Warsaw offers novel way to challenge country’s restrictions and allow women swift, anonymous access
They call it the “world’s first parcel locker for abortion pills”. Polish campaigners have launched a new means of distribution as part of their ongoing effort to skirt the country’s near-total ban on abortion.
Painted pink and framed by zebra-striped curtains, the 22-compartment “AbortOmat” in Warsaw allows women to access the pills swiftly and anonymously using a six-digit code. The service was envisaged for those who cannot or do not want to wait days for mail delivery due to a missed miscarriage or health complications, or who worry about receiving the pills at home.
Continue reading...Anti-abortion policies may have appeal, but with one in three Australian churchgoers born overseas, talk of a monoculture may put them off
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When One Nation recruit Barnaby Joyce addressed anti-abortion campaigners at a Sydney rally in early June, the former deputy prime minister told the audience he could see “about 1,500 people who can hand out how to vote cards”.
Christian leaders spoke at the rally. The Lord’s Prayer was recited. Many there were active churchgoers.
Continue reading...Survey shows two-point fall in vote amid concern about Pauline Hanson’s links to Gina Rinehart and ability to run country
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Australians have emphatically rejected some of One Nation’s key policies, including shutting down SBS and ending multiculturalism, with voters raising concerns about Pauline Hanson’s closeness to the billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart and whether the party has the skills needed to run the country, according to a new poll.
But even as the latest Guardian Essential poll finds voters have major reservations about Hanson and her party, more than half of respondents said they were either definitely or at least considering voting for One Nation at the next election.
Continue reading...Patients in Washington and Hawaii will be able to obtain medication before pregnancy in expansion of early access
Planned Parenthood clinics in Washington and Hawaii will now offer “just in case” abortion medication, bringing wider attention to the option of receiving the pills in advance of pregnancy amid growing challenges to access.
Leaders at the organization hope their name recognition will help community members understand their options for accessing care despite federal, state and personal challenges to getting abortion care.
Continue reading...Draft treaty claims sexual and reproductive health and rights are an existential threat to the African family
An African treaty that rejects longstanding international human rights obligations moved a step closer to becoming policy this week as governments across the continent met in Ghana.
The draft African charter on family, sovereignty and values, seen by the Guardian, asserts that African values and culture are under attack from “foreign ideologies” and urges states to withdraw from any agreements that do not align with the principles of the charter, including the 2003 Maputo protocol, which promotes gender equality and protects the reproductive and health rights of women and girls.
Continue reading...Obstetricians and gynaecologists say anti sex-selective abortions bill ‘predicated on misinformation’ and ‘underlying aim is to restrict access to abortion’
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The man who wants to ban “sex-selective abortions” is the first person who will tell you it won’t work.
New South Wales Libertarian party MLC John Ruddick has introduced legislation that would see health practitioners sent to prison or fined thousands if they carry out a termination because of the sex of a foetus.
Continue reading...Sydney crowd told to target National MPs as upper house prepares to vote on a bill outlawing sex-selective terminations
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One Nation’s Barnaby Joyce has joined pro-life campaigners to pile pressure on Nationals MPs to vote to criminalise some abortions ahead of a tight vote in New South Wales.
Anti-abortion activists have threatened to campaign for One Nation against major parties to force new limits on terminating pregnancies on the back of its polling surge.
Continue reading...States with abortion bans are turning away from medications to a wait-and-see approach, with care falling below standards
Abortion restrictions in the US have made it more difficult to access care for miscarriages, a new study stays.
The new research found that since the June 2022 Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturning Roe v Wade, pregnancy care has fractured along state lines; it’s getting increasingly harder to access healthcare for miscarriages in US states with abortion restrictions.
Continue reading...Joanna Howe says the image was sent to her by a woman ashamed of her abortion, and used it to support ‘rally for Emma and Ruth’ in favour of NSW bill
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An image posted by anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe claiming to show aborted twin girls called “Ruth and Emma” appears to be a picture of sugar gliders.
The two little pink bodies are displayed on a clean white background and experts say the image does not look at all like the product of an abortion.
Continue reading...Critics hit out at ‘dire’ situation in the country which has the strictest laws around abortion in western Europe
Rights campaigners have affixed lockboxes containing abortion pills to sites across Malta, in a campaign designed to highlight the country’s near-total ban on abortion.
The 15 black boxes aim to provide practical help to women grappling with the EU’s strictest abortion laws; anyone who is less than nine weeks pregnant and in need of an abortion is invited to send an email to obtain the location and codes to access the pills.
Continue reading...Victory for abortion rights groups as court finds state’s constitution guarantees a right to abortion
A Pennsylvania court on Monday said that the state’s constitution guarantees a right to abortion while striking down a decades-long law banning the use of state Medicaid funds to cover abortion costs.
The ruling by a divided seven-judge panel of the appellate-level commonwealth court is a major victory for Planned Parenthood and abortion clinic operators who first sued Pennsylvania over its Medicaid funding restrictions in 2019.
Continue reading...House of Lords decision welcomed as ‘landmark moment’ after attempt to strike out amendment is defeated
Women who have been convicted, and in some cases jailed, over illegal abortions are set to be pardoned after a historic vote in the House of Lords.
Last June, the House of Commons voted to end the criminalisation of women who terminate their pregnancies outside of the legal framework, while keeping the existing framework in place. Doctors and others who act outside of the law could still face the threat of prosecution.
Continue reading...José Antonio Kast, who voted against legalising divorce in 2004, has pushed for return to total abortion ban
Women’s rights activists in Chile are bracing as the most conservative president since the Pinochet dictatorship prepares to take office on Wednesday.
José Antonio Kast, a 60-year-old ultra Catholic whose father was a member of the Nazi party, has consistently blocked progressive bids for women’s rights and equality across his three-decade career in politics.
Continue reading...Women from countries with near-total bans on terminations will be given help to access services elsewhere
EU states will be able to tap into a social fund to help citizens access safe abortions, in an announcement hailed as a “victory for women”.
The roots of Thursday’s announcement go back to a long campaign for the European Commission to create a funding mechanism that would allow women from countries with near-total bans on abortion, such as Malta and Poland, to go where it is legal.
Continue reading...University of Adelaide, who employs Howe as a law professor, states that it ‘considers each matter on its merits’
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A prominent anti-abortion campaigner who was banned from the South Australian parliament and accused of bullying, claims her employer has granted her immunity from complaints from anyone who is pro-choice.
Anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe, who has pledged to make abortion “unthinkable”, says the University of Adelaide, who employs her as a law professor, has agreed that those with ideologically opposed viewpoints to hers will be deemed “vexatious”, and any complaints they make about her will not be acted upon.
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