Today, December 10th, is Human Rights Day. It commemorates the day on which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The first article of this important document stated that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”[1], but almost 70 years later,…

Due to the continuing public discourse around abortion and Repeal the Eighth (which is ever welcome, if exhausting in that “Are we still debating this?” kind of way), I decided to take another look at common myths surrounding abortion, and debunk them so that you have information knives with which to cut down anti-choice nonsense. Embryos and…

Today, September 28th, marks the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion. This day has been celebrated since 1990, but we are still far from awareness around this issue. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), on average, 211 million women become pregnant every year, and 87 million of them had…

KENYA is making what looks to be moves towards easing its abortion laws, allowing abortions to take place under certain conditions. Local media reports recently stated that the country’s Health Cabinet Secretary, James Macharia, announced that the Government planned to reintroduce guidelines that would allow women to procure abortion from qualified medical personnel under certain conditions. Currently the…

Women’s reproductive rights matter! And it should be an every day event. On August 3rd, safe2choose — a social enterprise committed to facilitating and scaling up access to safe medical abortion worldwide, via the internet – went live to bring women around the world a safe option. safe2choose offers confidential access to abortion pill through…

“Keep Abortion Rare” is a pretty common phrase in the political and cultural conversation around abortion. And it isn’t just coming from anti-choice folks – more often, it’s actually coming from the pro-choice side. Declared proudly by former President Clinton and repeated by “pro-choice” politicians over the last decade, the phrase often accompanies a plea…

Seven million women a year in the developing world are treated in healthcare facilities for complications following unsafe abortion, finds a study published today (19 August) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (BJOG). Every day, approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Unsafe abortion accounts for 8…

Nearly all abortions in Norway today are performed with the abortion pill Mifepristone. This has resulted in shorter waiting time, earlier abortions, and the possibility to have abortions at home. “It’s a success story,” says Mette Løkeland, who has done research on medical abortion in Norway between 1998 and 2013. In 1998, the waiting time…

According to a new study that tracked hundreds of women who had abortions, more than 95 percent of participants reported that ending a pregnancy was the right decision for them. Feelings of relief outweighed any negative emotions, even three years after the procedure. Researchers examined both women who had first-trimester abortions and women who had…

Abortion has been illegal in Chile since 1989. In a new series of satirical YouTube videos, some Chilean women are taking a bold stance on their country’s laws. Called “Termination Tips,” the videos are pretty dark. They recommend different ways for women to get an “accidental abortion,” the only form that is currently legal in the…