Human Rights Policy and Nonprofit Organizational Development

Posts Tagged ‘Reproductive Justice’

, , , ,

Anti-Abortion Constitutional Amendment in the Dominican Republic

In Policy Blog on September 8, 2009 at 6:12 pm

aborto legal derecho fundamental RD

This is a cross-posting of a column I write for Gender Across Borders.

This month the SRHR Sit Report focuses on the total prohibition of abortion in the Dominican Republic.  The DR has one of the most restrictive policy regimes in the world and has led to maternal mortality and dire consequences for Dominican women’s health.  Now, a constitutional amendment seeks to further restrict reproductive rights.

The Situation

For years, the women of the Dominican Republic have faced one of the toughest abortion policies in the world.  According to a summary on the International Women’s Health Coalition blog, the 100-year old law prohibiting abortion even in the case of rape has been challenged by feminist and rights groups, while forces on the right pushed for a constitutional amendment to “protect life” from the moment of conception.  Article 30, passed by a majority vote in April of this year, defines life as beginning before implantation.  This is a crucial distinction because it means that the amendment will affect the legality of emergency contraception and IUDs.  It also means that more Dominican women will die because they are not allowed access to critical reproductive health technologies and services.

A classic: Get your rosaries off our ovaries! A classic: Get your rosaries off our ovaries!

I hate to sound like a broken record, but the Catholic church hierarchy has again been one of the key culprits in restricting women’s rights.  Article 30 comes in the wake of a “massive campaign” led by the Cardinal Archbishop of the Dominican Catholic church.  The Human Development Office coordinator for the UNDP in the Dominican Republic has criticized the church’s involvement, saying, “The Catholic Church influences everything… it has become a source for social exclusion in the Dominican Republic.  The dogma is placed ahead of the needs of the population, health, housing and better living conditions.”  Catholic hierarchy, stop your meddling!

Implications for Dominican Women and Girls

The Dominican Gynecology and Obstetrics Society is warning that Article 30 will mean an increase in maternal death, which is already far too high in the country.  Abortion can be an extremely safe procedure when performed in a safe and clinical atmosphere.  In countries where abortion is restricted, however, clandestine abortion is often a leading cause of maternal mortality.  In the Dominican Republic, there are 160 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.  The Dominican Gynecology and Obstetrics Society’s president has said, “those deaths are the product of unsafe abortions.  I would like the honourable legislators to tell me what we are going to do before the presence of a woman with severe preeclampsia or eclampsia, convulsing in any emergency room around the country, what must we do?  See her die to protect ourselves from the repercussions stipulated by Article 30?”

In addition to the lives that will be lost unnecessarily because of this amendment, thousands of women will be denied their preferred method of contraception– the Intra-Uterine Device.  IUDs and emergency contraception (the morning after pill) would both constitute violations under Article 30′s restrictive framework.  There is a high contraceptive prevalence rate in the Dominican Republic, and a good chunk of that number is women with IUDs.  Both the IUD and emergency contraception are critical pieces of the reproductive healthcare spectrum and their restriction further limits women’s ability to control their reproductive lives and participate as full and equal members of society.  I’m not sure which I find more troubling: the blatant prohibition of abortion even given the scientific research that women will die because of it, or the more insidious restriction of women’s rights through closing down family planning options.

No to Article 30! Every woman's life matters No to Article 30: The life of every woman matters

Fighting Back

Our Dominican sisters are fighting back… tomorrow afternoon, Dominican women will march on the Congress against Article 30.  The march is being led by a coalition of feminist and human rights NGOs, including Colectiva Mujer y Salud (CESIM).  CESIM’s director, Sonia Galvan, has said that abortion “is a human rights issue.” A woman after my own heart!  I am especially pleased to see the Dominican women’s movement framing abortion as a human rights issue because it was a successful strategy in the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico City a few years ago.  It’s also great to hear a UN representative speaking out against the heavy-handed involvement of the Catholic church heirarcy.

If you are a Dominican citizen (even living in the U.S.), you can send an email to your representative with a little help from the International Women’s Health Coalition blog.  Pass it on to Dominican friends, too.  At this point, according to IWHC, the role of other international activists and feminists is a bit more ambiguous.  But keep your eyes on the developments in the Dominican Republic and continue raise your voice for the human rights of women everywhere.

, , , ,

Another one bites the dust: Yucatan state in Mexico restricts abortion

In Policy Blog on August 15, 2009 at 9:09 am

Since the passage of the law decriminalizing abortion in Mexico City was upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court, there have been a number of backlash bills in state congresses. More than a dozen states have already seen constitutional amendments to protect life “from the moment of conception.”  Last week, Yucatan joined their repressive ranks.  The official law, passed July 15, was published on August 7th and it severely restricts reproductive rights and health.  The constitutional and penal code changes:

  • Criminalize use of IUD
  • Criminalize assisted reproduction
  • No medical services for women with ectopic pregnancy
  • No legal abortion for pregnancies that put women at risk or the result of rape

Mexican citizens can take action here by sending an email to the state’s governor and congress-persons.  I think US citizens could probably erase the text of the email and write something in English about how people all over the world care about the lives and health of women in Yucatan.

As I reported earlier, some Mexican NGOs are calling the rash of such ammendments a pact by the Catholic heirarchy.

, , , ,

SRHR Situation Report: Brazil (cross-posted on Gender Across Borders)

In Policy Blog on June 1, 2009 at 2:22 am

The Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Situation Report is a monthly column I write for the feminist blog Gender Across Borders.  This month’s installment focuses on Brazil.

Brazil has seen a recent swing to the political left, and has a socialist president.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean much for the hundreds of thouands of women who die every year because of clandestine abortions, or the thousands who have been charged and face imprisonment for undergoing safe clinical abortions.

More than a million abortions take place in Brazil every year.  That’s more than a third of all pregnancies ending in abortion, and a quarter of women who do have clandestine abortions end up in the hospital from complications.  According to thisWorld Health Organization report, even current estimates of 1.2 million abortions per year are probably low.  In spite of this, abortion remains criminalized and penalized with prison, and public opinion on abortion remains divided.

In this video, Brazilians are asked if they are for or against abortion, then if they know anyone who has had an abortion, then if they believe that she should be imprisoned: 

Brazil is  home to the world’s largest number of Catholics, so it’s no surprise that abortion is highly controversial.  What has been surprising, however, are the actions of the state and the church hierarchy on women’s rights.  Two recent incidents come to mind.  We all heard about the nine year old girl in a poor province of Northern Brazil who was raped repeatedly over time by her stepfather, became pregnant with twins, and was given an abortion.  Doctors had certified that the abortion was legal under both indications for legal abortion in Brazil– she’d been raped, and the pregnancy posed a risk to her life.  

What came next was the truly shocking part.  The local bishop immediately announced that the doctor who had performed the abortion and the little girl’s mother were excommunicated for their actions.  In fact, the only adult involvednot excommunicated was the stepfather who had raped the little girl.  The Brazilian archbishop argued that while rape is bad, abortion is worse.  There was a huge public outcry over the excommunication, and even the president of Brazil, a Catholic, decried the move.  

The president has also recognized the public health crisis created by clandestine abortion, and has been quoted as saying, “No one is in favor of abortion.  But the question is: Should a woman be imprisoned? Should she die? It’s necessary to look at the woman as a human being.”

aborto nao deve ser crime

Another shocking recent incident in Brazil occurred in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.  Police there raided a family planning clinic and took almost 10,000 women’s medical records without following the basic process outlined in Brazilian law.  The names of the women who’s records were seized were published on the court’s website, along with their addresses and the nature of the crime they were accused of (abortion).  Often the charges were based simply on the presence of a sonogram and a signed relase in the patient’s chart. 

Several thousand women were charged.  Some have already been sentenced, and others are still under investigation.  The sentences handed down by one patronizing judge included working in daycare centers and schools as “community service.”

Feminist groups, including the Latin American and Carribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM) and Ipas Brasil have come together tocondemn the violation of the rights to privacy, health, liberty and due process, among others.  The groups have presented a document protesting the case to the president’s Human Rights Minister, but there are still thousands of women charged and being sentenced for receiving abortion services.

In the fight for sexual and reproductive health and rights, Brazilian feminist groups have had to deal with a lot of challenges, and have been criticized for being too reactive. 

The feminist movement in Brazil has struggled to consolidate its activism, strategy and messages, partially because of Brazil’s geography.  The country’s immense size makes it difficult and expensive for activists from all over the country to come together in one place.  National conferences like the second Conference for Public Policies for Women (IICNPM) and groups like the Women’s Articulation (Articulação de Mulheres, or AMB) mark a movement toward coordinated national effort.

samantha buglioneI met some of the feminists from all over the country fighting for the right to choose while in Rio for a workshop on coordinating national strategies to decriminalize abortion, given by the organization I was working for in Mexico City, the Information Group on Reproductive Choice (GIRE).  A young woman who stood out as one to watch is Samantha Buglione–a fabulous young feminist and scholar who works for women’s rights in a variety of contexts, speaking out on abortion, human rights, and violence against women.  I always love to see successful women my age doing such tremendous work.

direito

In spite of outrageous cases like the prosecution of the women of Matto Grasso do Sul and the excommunication of a young victim and those who stepped forward to help her, our sisters in Brazil are working to bring Brazil’s laws and public policies in line with the fundamental rights of women.  In spite of the retrogressive and abusive practices of the Catholic hierarchy, there is a president who respects women’s autonomy and a group of passionate women who are fighting for women’s human rights and working to cement a  movement that is coordinated, proactive, and effective.

, , ,

Mexican Supreme Court official decision on abortion law released

In Policy Blog on March 11, 2009 at 9:18 pm

The Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (Mexico’s Supreme Court) has released its final decision in the form of a case file (click here for pdf), compiled by Justice Aguirre Anguiano and reviewed by the other justices.  The decriminalization of abortion in Mexico City was challenged by the Ombudsman of the National Human Rights Commission and by the National Attorney General.  One of the Attorney General’s claims had to do with the Legislature’s standing to change health code.  The Ombudsman claimed that the law violated the constitutional right to life, and the right to life under international human rights agreements.  

The constitutional right to life under the Mexican constitution was one of the most important lynchpins in the arguments of most of the justices who found in favor of the law’s constitutionality.  Several justices explicitly recognized the right to life in the Mexican constitution, but clarified that there was nothing in the constitution to prioritize it above any other constitutional goods or rights.

International commitments were also mentioned in several of the justices’ findings.  This in itself is significant, as it adds legitimacy to international law within the national constitutional framework (as the Supreme Court is considered a constitutional court).

, , ,

Forcible sterilization case against Chile

In Policy Blog on February 4, 2009 at 12:33 am

The Center for Reproductive Rights announced today that a Chilean woman has filed a case against the Chilean government before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.  Her complaint alleges that she was forcibly sterilized because she is HIV positive, a violation of her human rights.

The Center for Reproductive Rights’ Luisa Cabal says, ”Forced sterilization is a violation of a woman’s most basic human rights and is all too often committed against members of vulnerable groups, which deserve special protection, such as women living with HIV.  It’s time that the Chilean government respect the human rights of all its citizens and take concrete action to guarantee that a woman living with HIV receives quality reproductive health services and has the ability to make decisions about her own life.”

The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights and the Chilean NGO VIVO POSITIVO have presented the claim on the behalf of F.S., who wished to remain anonymous.  VIVO POSITIVO had found numerous cases of forcible sterilization of HIV positive women, and hopes that the case will promote systemic change.  The Inter-American Commission monitors OAS state compliance with human rights agreements.

, ,

Policy Blog: US economy affecting reproductive justice

In Policy Blog on January 7, 2009 at 1:10 pm

This thoughtful piece on RH Reality Check points out that women’s economic situations often affect their reproductive choices, providing an illustrative example of how actual reproductive freedom is dependent on a variety conditions  including the physical location of services, social context, knowledge of services, and ability to pay.  These stories prove the importance of public funding for reproductive health services to ensure that all people have the actual, not just nominal, ability to make decisions about their reproductive lives.

From “The Economic Crisis: A Generation of Reproductive Health “Horror Stories” by Carole Joffe:

…But as we enter a new era, with the end of the Bush presidency coinciding with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,  I see different types of reproductive horror stories emerging. These stories transcend the abortion divide. They speak squarely to the economic devastation facing Americans across the political spectrum, and how this crisis impacts people’s reproductive lives.  Three recent items in the news serve as examples.

The first is the story of Starla Darling, a pregnant Ohio woman, who was informed she would soon lose her job and her health insurance.  She rushed to a hospital, requested a medication to induce labor, and had an emergency Caesarean section, two days before her health insurance expired. Not only was Darling upset about having a C-section birth — “I was forced into something I did not want to do” — her insurance company refused to pay for the birth.   Now this unemployed woman, two months behind on her rent, is facing medical bills of more than $17,000.

The second story, from the Wall Street Journal, concerns the increase in women seeking to donate eggs or serve as surrogate mothers, a rise attributed to economic hard times.  “Whenever the employment rate is down, we get more calls,” said an said a spokeswoman for an agency in Chicago, who reported a 30% rise in calls. “We’re even getting men offering up their wives.”

One of the most high profile recent cases of women using their eggs and uteruses to cope with economic difficulties came to light in a much-discussed New York Times magazine story of a Times writer who hired a middle-class woman, from a two-earner household, as a surrogate mother. The story revealed that the woman who served as a surrogate was doing so to help pay for her daughter’s college tuition. The daughter in turn was contributing to her college costs by selling her eggs.

These stories are particularly striking to me because in each case, the economic crisis is driving women to do things with their bodies that they otherwise would not do (a phenomenon, of course, that always rises in economic hard times).  True, some women prefer elective C-sections to vaginal birth, but Starla Darling clearly was not one of them.  With egg selling and surrogacy, the motivations are always a little murky — is it altruism and/or a desire for financial compensation? — but the current spike in inquiries is making clear that many women are now drawn to this option because of the latter, and that seems the case with the mother-daughter pair mentioned above.

Via here.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.