The UK Supreme Court Decision on Abortion in Northern Ireland: A Pyrrhic Defeat?
In the wake of the Irish referendum vote to end the country’s ban on abortion via the repeal of the eighth amendment of the Irish constitution, the spotlight has turned...
The Irish Abortion Referendum: An Opportunity for Change
Today, the Irish people will be asked to vote in a referendum on whether or not to repeal the 8th Amendment of the Irish Constitution which prohibits access to abortion...
Gaining More from Human Rights: Access to Health Care and Surviving Childbirth is not Enough
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all, at all ages. Within the maternity care context this requires a reduction in maternal mortality...
Abolition of Social Grounds for Abortion in Bolivia
Latin America’s broadest decriminalization of abortion was passed in Bolivia in December 2017, but was recently abolished by the Legislative Assembly on January 24, less than two months later, upon...
Is Consent of the Husband Needed for an Abortion in India?
The Indian Supreme Court on 27th October, 2017 in the case of Anil Kumar Malhotra v. Ajay Pasricha, dismissed a man’s petition who was seeking damages from his wife as...
Conservative Mobilization in Latin America and its Impacts on Women’s and Adolescents’ Human Rights
In the last decade, Brazil has experienced a dramatic change in the disputes between pro and anti abortion groups. A similar process of backlash to gender rights is happening...
The Irish Referendum and the Road to Safe, Legal Abortion
The Irish government has now announced that it will hold a referendum on repealing the 8th Amendment in 2018. Inserted in the Constitution in 1983, the 8th protects a constitutional...
When The Law is Not Enough: International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM
On February 6, UN International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), the international community will condemn FGM. Who would disagree that FGM (the partial or total removal...
Legalization of Abortion on Three Grounds in Chile
After having a full abortion ban for over 100 years and the lowest maternal mortality rate in Latin America, Chile created three non-punishable exceptions to its abortion ban in September...
Production, reproduction and empowerment: the future of women in Africa
Many women in Africa are congregated in poorly paid and precarious work (ILO, 2016) and have very high rates of school dropout and maternal mortality and child morbidity. This is...
Menstruation, the Right to Education and India’s Positive Obligations
The link between menstruation and the goals of gender justice is a complicated one- whether it is the debate surrounding the controversial first-day-of-period leave introduced by some offices or challenges...
Abortion, Autonomy And The Deep Blue Sea: The Supreme Court’s Decision In R (On The Application Of A And B) v Secretary Of State For Health
The question in this case was whether the Secretary of State, who had power to make provision for the functioning of the NHS in England, was legally obliged to make...
