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IPAS video that talk about a woman how was taken away and was forced to have an abortion

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Ensuring abortion access in war-torn Ethiopia

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Talks about a nigerian woman's story about abortions

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CNN reporter: Report of Nigerian mass abortion program could affect US relations

Since at least 2013, more than 10,000 pregnancies were aborted as part of a "secret, systematic and illegal" abortion program allegedly "conducted" by the Nigerian military, a Reuters investigation has found. CNN's Nima Elbagir has more.

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CNN reporter: Report of Nigerian mass abortion program could affect US relations | CNN

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CNN reporter: Report of Nigerian mass abortion program could affect US relations Since at least 2013, more than 10,000 pregnancies were aborted as part of a "secret, systematic and illegal" abortion program allegedly "conducted" by the Nigerian military, a Reuters investigation has found. CNN's Nima Elbagir has more.

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This is a global health organization that helps save reproductive technology for the health system in several countries

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The Ipas Board of Directors strongly affirms its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Ipas staff and Board members reflect diverse cultures, experiences, and breadths of knowledge. We respect, value, appreciate, and honor the unique heritage, characteristics, experiences, and perspectives that all bring to meeting our mission. Ipas strives to include a multiplicity of voices in the execution of its work and make opportunities accessible to everyone.

The Board will ensure that its membership is diverse, and that Ipas staff have a work environment that is free from all forms of inequity, discrimination, and harassment. In partnership with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Board will practice the following:

The Ipas Board Audit and Risk Committee will receive biannual reports on internal anti-racism work and other DEI efforts from management and will share concerns and suggestions with management and Board leadership.

The Board, through the Executive Committee, will include specific DEI objectives for the CEO and as part of their annual evaluation of CEO performance. When hiring a CEO, the Board will actively pursue DEI best practices to ensure a fair selection process.

The Board Governance and Leadership Committee will continue to ensure that Board members are diverse and representative of the communities that Ipas serves and that all voices are heard.

The Board Governance and Leadership Committee will periodically review this policy and will recommend any necessary changes to the full Board.

Approved by Board of Directors March 26, 2021

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The Ipas Board of Directors strongly affirms its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Ipas staff and Board members reflect diverse cultures, experiences, and breadths of knowledge. We respect, value, appreciate, and honor the unique heritage, characteristics, experiences, and perspectives that all bring to meeting our mission.

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Prison time for abortion - current news article 

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Prison time for abortion - current news article 

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Some people who seek or obtain abortions can face prison time in more than 120 countries, according to an analysis published Monday that sheds new light oninternational penalties for the procedure.

More than 90 countries have maximum penalties of up to five years of prison time for certain abortion-seekers, while 25 have sentences of between five and 10 years, according to the research, which relied on a World Health Organization database of abortion policies.

The authors describe their work, published in the journal BMJ Global Health, as a comprehensive global analysis of the penalization of abortion.

"When [abortion] is regulated through the criminal law, there are consequences, which can include compounding the stigma associated with seeking or providing abortion care, creating a chilling effect," said co-author Antonella Lavelanet, a medical officer with the WHO's Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Research.

Lavelanet and her co-authors used the WHO's Global Abortion Policies Database for their study, though it does not follow a uniform definition of abortion. (The practice is generally defined as termination of a pregnancy before fetal viability, around 24 weeks.) The database also does not specify the gestational limits after which penalties are imposed in different countries, so some may not apply until late into pregnancy.

In six countries - Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Barbados, Belize and Jamaica - some abortion-seekers can face life in prison, according to the analysis.

Although most countries allow some level of access to abortion, 11 prohibit it entirely, Lavelanet said: Andorra, the Congo, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Madagascar, Malta, Nicaragua, Palau, the Philippines and Suriname.

The study also found that some abortion-seekers can be fined in 48 countries, most of which impose the fines in addition to prison sentences.

The analysis included data from 182 countries through October. It did not include the U.S., since abortion regulations differ state by state following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion.

Some U.S. states with abortion bans - including Mississippi, Alabama and West Virginia - mandate prison time for providers of illegal abortions, according to FindLaw.com, an online legal database.

"As long as those criminal laws are on the books, it's very difficult for women to exercise their affirmative rights to abortion and access essential health care," said Rebecca Cook, a professor emerita at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law whose research has focused on the decriminalization of abortion.

Abortion providers can also face prison time

In many countries, abortion providers and those who assist them can be subject to harsher legal repercussions than abortion-seekers, the new study shows.

Some abortion providers can face up to five years in prison in 126 countries, and 10 years to life in prison in 14 countries. They can also be fined or face professional sanctions - including termination from employment or the closure of their practices - in dozens of countries.

Some laws also criminalize people only tangentially related to abortion services: In the Philippines, for example, the parents of someone who gets an abortion could be penalized.

Other countries impose alternative penalties for certain abortion providers or seekers. Syria, Russia and Ukraine, for example, mandate various forms of labor as penalties. Four countries - Mali, Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco - prohibit residence following an abortion.

Earlier this month, a Polish court convicted a human rights activist of illegally providing abortion pills, sentencing her to eight months of community service, a type of penalty at least four other countries also impose.

But the WHO database does not track the extent to which legal penalties are enforced, which is a limitation of the study, the authors noted.

Penalization doesn't stop abortions, experts say

In 34 countries, the dissemination of information about abortion services is also penalized in some circumstances, even when certain types of abortions may be legal. Germany abolished a law like this in June, Reuters reported.

"We want individuals to have access to quality abortion care, and that includes having information to access to counseling and information," Lavelanet said.

She added that some research suggests that laws against abortion don't necessarily reduce or stop it.

"Restricting access to safe abortion harms women - it leads to unsafe procedures, lack of access to information," she said, noting that in some circumstances, "it actually drives women and girls toward unsafe procedures."

Cook, the University of Toronto professor, said that criminalizing abortion also neglects the fact that "abortion really is an essential health care - particularly in cases where women are raped [or] adolescent incest."

"When it's criminalized, it constructs women as potential criminals," she added.

The WHO's guidelines recommend decriminalizing abortion and removing any other medically unnecessary policies that create barriers to safe abortion.

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Some people who seek abortions can face prison time in more than 120 countries, analysis shows

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Some people who seek or obtain abortions can face prison time in more than 120 countries, according to an analysis published Monday that sheds new light oninternational penalties for the procedure.

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Post-abortion care in Kenya-Peer reviewed  

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Post-abortion care in Kenya-Peer reviewed  

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This article talks about how in Kenya their access to safe abortion and how women resort to unsafe methods

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This article talks about how media is used to influence people about Peru's abortion rights legal mobilization and how the country expands and restricts their abortion rights.

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This article talks about the heavy impact of unsafe abortions on Malawi healthcare system and how a medication is used called misoprostol is a much safer option than curettage is still a primary method and causes worse complication

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WHO / SRHR / Uma Bista
A woman (left), with her mother-in-law, at their home in rural Nepal. Two years ago, the woman had a safe abortion with the help of a nurse/midwife. She continues to receive sexual and reproductive health services from the same nurse.

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Abortions are safe if they are done with a method recommended by WHO that is appropriate to the pregnancy duration and if the person providing or supporting the abortion is trained. Such abortions can be done using tablets (medical abortion) or a simple outpatient procedure.

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Abortion is legal in Malaysia -Current News Article 

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Abortion is legal in Malaysia -Current News Article 

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Doctor Jamiyah Hassan talks about their standing on abortions and how it is important for women to negotiate "bodily autonomy" Even though this article talks about the opposite sides it is important to know that there are countries out their that care for women health.

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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 - Contrary to popular belief, termination of pregnancy or abortion has been legal in Malaysia for nearly half a decade, which has kept the number of unsafe abortions "low" in the country, according to an obstetrician and gynaecologist.

Abortion in Malaysia is generally governed by Section 312 of the Penal Code, where the law provides for safe abortion to save a woman's life and to preserve a woman's physical and mental health, said Prof Dr Jamiyah Hassan from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) at a recent conference.

Under syariah rulings (fatwa) issued by the National Fatwa Committee, abortion is permissible within 120 days of gestation in cases where the woman's life is at risk, or if the foetus is found to be seriously abnormal.

However, the fatwa was not publicised when it was issued in 2002 for fear that it could be misused, according to a report in The New Straits Times, cited by the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (Arrow).

A check on the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia's (Jakim) fatwa database on 'abortion' (or 'pengguguran' in Malay) showed at least 15 different fatwa on abortion for different states, including Selangor, Sarawak, Sabah, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, and Johor, as Islamic law falls within state jurisdiction.

Some fatwa covered the supply of contraceptives to high-risk individuals and others on various diseases such as tuberculosis, Zika, and thalassemia, as well as for rape victims. However, only two fatwa appear to have been gazetted.

In Pahang, a fatwa issued in 2010 on the termination of pregnancy and the supply of contraceptives to high-risk groups has been gazetted.

The fatwa permits abortion within 120 days (four months) of gestation for rape victims, HIV patients, as well as people with mental and physical disabilities. Termination of pregnancy after 120 days is forbidden unless on the advice of an "upright" Muslim medical practitioner for the purpose of saving the woman's life.

Abortion is also forbidden for pregnancies from out-of-wedlock relationships unless it affects the woman's wellbeing. The supply of contraceptives for extramarital sex is not allowed.

In Sabah, a fatwa issued in 2017 on the termination of pregnancy for Zika patients has also been gazetted. It generally disallows abortion, even for pregnant women infected with the Zika virus, unless the woman's life is at risk - which must be verified by "trustworthy" medical practitioners.

Zika is mainly spread from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. The virus can be passed from a pregnant woman to her foetus; infection during pregnancy can cause certain birth defects, according to the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Sabah's fatwa stipulates that the woman's partner must also agree to the abortion. In such circumstance, the abortion must be carried out within 120 days of gestation.
Unsafe Abortions Very Low In Malaysia
Despite the general lack of public awareness on the legal aspects of abortion, the law allows for access to contraceptives at health care facilities across the country, with the Penal Code permitting abortions to be carried out safely through registered medical practitioners, Dr Jamiyah told the "Tackling Unintended Pregnancies In Malaysia" conference organised by the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, with the support of health care company Organon Malaysia, held here in May.

"If you read the law of the country, termination of pregnancy is legal if [it is] provided by a registered medical practitioner. It didn't even say, provided by an obstetrician-gynaecologist - it only said provided by a registered medical practitioner. [That means] even a general practitioner can provide safe abortion. It is there.

"Of course, we have to comply with the restriction or the criteria of the Act - the physical, emotional," Dr Jamiyah said, adding that, however, the law is generally grey.

Malaysia does not have an abortion registry, said the professor from the obstetrics and gynaecology department at UiTM Sungai Buloh's faculty of medicine, though it is generally estimated that about 90,000 abortions are done each year.

"We know it occurs. But we also know it occurs safely, but a lot of people go undercover because of the sensitivity of the issue," Dr Jamiyah said.

"When we look at the Confidential Enquiries Into Maternal Deaths (CEMD), if I can remember, in 2011, the cause of maternal death from abortion was only about 1.5 per cent, [sic] so the amount of unsafe abortion is still very small, meaning the provision is there. It's just that it's undercover.

"The question we should ask today is, what can we do more? We have provided awareness on contraception, not that we haven't provided.

"I was involved in this education [programme] on reproductive and sexual health in universities and colleges in 2008, and that was supported by pharmaceutical companies. Pharmaceutical companies have a corporate social responsibility to help us in combating that. So, we have to do more," Dr Jamiyah said.
Unreliable Data Hobbles Unintended Pregnancy Response

Dr Narimah Awin, former chairwoman of the National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN), speaks at a conference on unintended pregnancies organised by the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, with the support of Organon Malaysia, from May 20-21, 2022, in Kuala Lumpur. Picture by the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy.

Dr Narimah Awin, former chairwoman of the National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) and former director of family health development at the Ministry of Health (MOH), also highlighted the issue of unreliable data on pregnancy and abortion at the national level during a plenary session at the event.

Dr Narimah said pregnancy rates for women of reproductive age are not published in Malaysia, with public health researchers and civil societies often relying on vital statistics such as live births and deaths as proxy indicators, in addition to conducting their own surveys.

"There are so many different types of data [on burden of unintended pregnancy].

"In Malaysia, we do have vital registration but it's still not good enough. So much so that when I was director at MOH, whenever I reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) that our maternal death this year is so and so, the WHO would say, 'No, we will multiply it by 1.5' and [the former Health Minister] Chua Jui Meng used to get very angry.

"He would say, 'Narimah, you tell them that our register is 39. Why is it almost 50?' And I would say, 'They (WHO) multiplied it by 1.5' because our vital registration, whilst our coverage is very good - every birth and almost every death is registered - we are one of the worst in the world in giving the cause of death.

"Our cause of death in the death certificate is not accurate. So, our coverage is good, but our quality is poor," Dr Narimah said during a plenary session. Dr Narimah was a physician and former reproductive health advisor at WHO.

"I used to analyse maternal deaths in Myanmar, and they told me they had 2,000 deaths or so in a year. When they did the census, it was about 10 times more. So, vital registration, the Health Management Information System (HMIS) alone are not reliable. The census showed that it is really a lot more than what it was."

The HMIS is MOH's central information system used to monitor disease incidence and prevalence through health records obtained from state and district health offices.

"If only we can have the number of pregnancies, out of those pregnancies, how many were married, how many were unmarried - of those who were married, how many were planned, and how many were unplanned or unintended... and of course, [among the] unmarried," Dr Narimah said.

"If we can have those figures, that would be ideal but I know this ideal situation is almost impossible to get."
Unintended Pregnancy In Married And Unmarried Women
Dr Narimah also spoke about the consequences of unintended pregnancies in both married and unmarried women.

Citing her experience working on a safe abortion programme in Bangladesh under the WHO, Dr Narimah said "almost all" unintended pregnancies in the Muslim country involved married women.

"These were married women. They became pregnant but didn't want the pregnancy, either because they could not get family planning plans or some methods failed - not all family planning methods will be effective.

"They don't want to be pregnant but now that they are they say okay, we will just go ahead. After all, we are married, let's have another child. So, you get big families in Bangladesh," Dr Narimah said.

It is also common for unmarried girls who are pregnant to marry instead of seeking an abortion for her unintended pregnancy.

"Some of these unmarried, poor girls, may end up having an unplanned pregnancy because their mothers would say, 'We are Muslims, we can't have an abortion.' So, you might as well ask the guy to marry you. You get pregnant without intending to, and you just get married to have this pregnancy.

"The outcome is not always positive. We hear a lot of tragic stories following that," Dr Narimah said.

"So most unintended pregnancies among the unmarried are unwanted. But some of the married women also do not want their pregnancy and they want an abortion," she added.
Men's Role In Unintended Pregnancies

Dr Asa Torkelsson, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) country representative for Malaysia and country director of Thailand, speaks at a conference on unintended pregnancies organised by the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, with the support of Organon Malaysia, from May 20-21, 2022, in Kuala Lumpur. Picture by the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy.

Speaking at the same conference, Dr Asa Torkelsson, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) country representative for Malaysia and country director of Thailand, said men also have a role to play in preventing unintended pregnancies.

Dr Torkelsson said the UNFPA's "Seeing the Unseen: The case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy" report released earlier in March, found that shame, stigma, fear, poverty, and gender inequality undermine women and girls' ability to exercise choice, to seek and obtain contraceptives, and to negotiate condom use with a partner, among others.

According to the report, data on partnered women of reproductive age in 64 countries show that 23 per cent are unable to say no to sex, 24 per cent are unable to make decisions about their own health, and eight per cent are unable to make decisions specifically about contraception.

This means that only 57 per cent of women are able to make their own decisions over their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

"I think it's all embedded in power dynamics," Dr Torkelsson said.

"Now how can we engage men? I think we got some good views from the previous session that was new knowledge to me, for example, around this shyness [in men having to buy condoms over the counter], or individual barriers.

"I guess we need to dig more deeply into this to unravel the barriers for men or power relations in households that make it difficult for women to negotiate our bodily autonomy," Dr Torkelsson added.

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Doctor Clarifies Abortion Is Legal In Malaysia - CodeBlue

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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 - Contrary to popular belief, termination of pregnancy or abortion has been legal in Malaysia for nearly half a decade, which has kept the number of unsafe abortions "low" in the country, according to an obstetrician and gynaecologist.