Page 4 - Abortion

Like US, Mexico faces a state-by-state differences over abortion

Differences over abortion have pitted one large batch of US states against another one group imposing sweeping bans, the other intent on preserving access to abortion. To a remarkable extent, that's also the case in America's southern neighbour, Mexico. Ten of Mexico's 32 states have decriminalized abortion most of them in just the past three years. Even in some of those 10 states, for example Oaxaca, abortion-rights activists say they face persisting challenges in trying to make abortion safe, accessible and government-funded. Two other Latin American nations Argentina and Colombia recently legalized abortion nationwide. But in Mexico a federal republic each state has its own laws and criminal codes. The resulting divisions and uncertainties in Mexico mirror those that have emerged in the US since its Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion in June and instead enabled the 50 state governments to set their own policies. Since that ruling, more than a do

SC to examine validity of age restriction for tests before abortion

The Supreme Court of India has agreed to examine the validity of the age restriction of 35 years on women's reproductive rights for conducting pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostic tests

Indiana Supreme Court puts state Republican-backed abortion ban on hold

The Indiana Supreme Court issued an order on Wednesday that prevents the state from enforcing a Republican-backed abortion ban while it considers whether the ban violates the state constitution. The court said in the order that it was taking over appeals of a judge's decision last month that blocked the law a week after it took effect. It denied a request from the state attorney general's office to set aside the preliminary injunction and scheduled a hearing on the lawsuit filed by abortion clinic operators for January 12. Owen County Judge Kelsey Hanlon blocked the law from being enforced, writing that there is reasonable likelihood that this significant restriction of personal autonomy offends the liberty guarantees of the Indiana Constitution and that the clinics will prevail in the lawsuit. The ban was approved by the state's Republican-dominated Legislature on August 5 and signed by GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb. That made Indiana the first state to enact tighter abortion restriction

Doctors need not disclose the identities of minors seeking abortion: SC

The Supreme Court has extended the benefits of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act to minors who engage in consensual sexual activity by exempting doctors from disclosing their identity to the local police. In a landmark verdict, the top court had included unmarried women for abortion between 20-24 weeks of pregnancy under the MTP Act, saying limiting the provision to cover only married women will render it discriminatory and violative of Article 14. It has also held that the meaning of the words "sexual assault" or "rape" under the rules of the MTP Act includes a husband's act of sexual assault or rape committed on his wife. A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, A S Bopanna and J B Pardiwala said to ensure that the benefit of Rule 3B(b) is extended to all women aged below 18 who engage in consensual sexual activity, it is necessary to harmoniously read both the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the MTP Act. "For the limited purposes of providing

TMS Ep271: Free foodgrain, engineering workforce, crypto, abortion law

Was it prudent to extend the free foodgrain scheme? Which states produce India's engineering workforce? Are crypto markets in trouble? What is SC's ruling on abortion law? Answers here

What is the significance of the SC ruling on abortion law?

The Supreme Court of India recently ruled that all women, irrespective of their marital status, are entitled to legal abortion as permitted under Medical Termination of Pregnancy rules. Here's more

Now, all women are entitled to safe and legal abortion: Supreme Court

The court also for the first time recognised marital rape under the MTP Act

International Safe Abortion Day: Abortion guidelines in India

Abortion is a simple health care intervention. However, lack of access, affordability, and stigma associated with it, pose risks to women’s physical and mental well-being. On the occasion of International Safe Abortion Day, Business Standard spoke to Dr Rana Choudhary, consultant, OB-GYN, fertility specialist at Masina Hospital, Mumbai to get a better sense of abortion guidelines in India.

US Judge strikes down 1931 law criminalising abortion in Michigan

A judge on Wednesday struck down Michigan's 1931 anti-abortion law, months after suspending it. Judge Elizabeth Gleicher of the Court of Claims said the law, long dormant before US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, violates the Michigan Constitution. Separately, the Michigan Supreme Court still is considering whether to place a proposed amendment on the Nov. 8 ballot that would add abortion rights to the state constitution. The 1931 law makes it a crime to perform abortions unless the life of the mother is in danger. A law denying safe, routine medical care not only denies women of their ability to control their bodies and their lives it denies them of their dignity, Gleicher wrote. Michigan's Constitution forbids this violation of due process. Gleicher suspended the law in May with an injunction.

SC issues notice on plea contending 'abortion violates right to life'

The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Central government on a plea challenging abortion of foetus, due to various reasons, violated right to life of the yet-to-be-born

Kansas recount affirms pro-choice win; results in favour of abortion rights

A decisive statewide vote in favour of abortion rights in traditionally conservative Kansas was confirmed with a partial hand recount, with fewer than 100 votes changing after the last county reported results on Sunday. Nine of the state's 105 counties recounted their votes at the request of Melissa Leavitt, who has pushed for tighter election laws. A longtime anti-abortion activist, Mark Gietzen, is covering most of the costs. Gietzen acknowledged in an interview that it was unlikely to change the outcome. A no vote in the referendum signalled a desire to keep existing abortion protections and a yes vote was for allowing the Legislature to tighten restrictions or ban abortion. After the recounts, no votes lost 87 votes and yes gained 6 votes. Eight of the counties reported their results by the state's Saturday deadline, but Sedgwick County delayed releasing its final count until Sunday because spokeswoman Nicole Gibbs said some of the ballots weren't separated into the correct ...

Google employees demand abortion protections for contract workers

Hundreds of Google employees are petitioning the company to extend its abortion healthcare benefits to contract workers and to strengthen privacy protections for Google users searching for abortion information online. Google parent company Alphabet had pledged to pay travel and other health care costs for employees seeking an out-of-state abortion and to help some workers relocate after the US Supreme Court repealed the constitutional right to an abortion. The June decision overturning 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling has paved the way for severe abortion restrictions or bans in nearly half of the U.S. states. The benefits for abortion services offered by Google and other tech companies don't cover contract workforces, which are common in the tech industry and often get paid less and have fewer perks than full-time employees. A letter signed by more than 650 employees and sent this week to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and other Alphabet executives calls for the inclusion of contractors in thos

Need forward looking approach to abortion: SC on law for unmarried women

Insisting on a forward-looking approach, Supreme Court has opined that discrimination between married and unmarried women in respect of medical termination of pregnancy violates her personal autonomy

Indiana becomes first state to approve abortion ban post Roe overturn

Indiana on Friday became the first state in the nation to approve abortion restrictions since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade

US President Biden signs executive order to protect travel for abortion

Crossing state lines to get abortions has become an increasing issue since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door for new restrictions on abortion at the state level

Kansas first state to vote on abortion since SC overturned Roe vs Wade

Kansas is holding the nation's first test of voter feelings about the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade, with people statewide

US sues Idaho over restrictive abortion law, cites medical treatment

US filed lawsuit challenging Idaho's restrictive abortion law, arguing that it conflicts with federal law requiring doctors to provide pregnant women medically necessary treatment, including abortion

Bipartisan group of senatoers pushing bill to restore abortion rights

A bipartisan group of senators is pushing compromise legislation to restore abortion access in the wake of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade

Abortion access in US finds a place even in down-ballot campaigns

Appearing bare-shouldered in a TV ad, Connecticut Democrat Dita Bhargava looks directly into the camera and promises, if elected, to lead the crusade" for abortion rights

YouTube to crack down on abortion-related misinformation, announces Google

Google-owned streaming platform YouTube has announced that it will pull videos with information on unsafe abortion methods on its platform.