http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/colombian-women-s-rights-defenders-attacked-on-eve-of-anniversary-of-court-decision-decriminalizing-abortion-1616.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/colombian-women-s-rights-defenders-attacked-on-eve-of-anniversary-of-court-decision-decriminalizing-abortion-1616.html by Jodi Jacobson, Editor in Chief, RH Reality Check The following is an alert received tonight from our colleagues in Colombia, including a request for donations. Please help if you can. On the eve of the sixth anniversary of the historic decision Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/call-for-applications-for-the-5th-csbr-sexuality-institute-2012-1617.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/call-for-applications-for-the-5th-csbr-sexuality-institute-2012-1617.html Call for applications for the 5th CSBR Sexuality Institute 2012 Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/training-in-arusha-and-nairobi-1615.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/training-in-arusha-and-nairobi-1615.html From April 17-21, 2012, the World YWCA held a regional sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) training session in Arusha, Tanzania and in Nairobi, Kenya, with 20 young women participants gathering from a number of African countries, Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/event-is-abortion-and-contraception-policy-meeting-women-s-needs--1614.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/event-is-abortion-and-contraception-policy-meeting-women-s-needs--1614.html A panel of international experts at the BPAS conference on 11 May will explore the gap between public policy on Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/un-takes-historic-step-in-support-of-reproductive-rights-for-young-people-1613.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/un-takes-historic-step-in-support-of-reproductive-rights-for-young-people-1613.html The United Nations Commission on Population and Development (CPD) has issued a bold resolution in support of young people’s sexual and reproductive health and human rights, including the right to safe abortion care where legal. The resolution Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/dissemination-meeting-improving-safe-abortion-services-in-azerbaijan-1612.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/dissemination-meeting-improving-safe-abortion-services-in-azerbaijan-1612.html Gynuity convened a dissemination meeting in Ganja, Azerbaijan, on the results of our study “Acceptability and feasibility of demedicalized medical abortion regimen in Azerbaijan”. The study was conducted in three clinics in Ganja and Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/brazil-supreme-court-abortion-ruling-a-positive-step-1611.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/brazil-supreme-court-abortion-ruling-a-positive-step-1611.html (Washington, DC) – The ruling by Brazil’s highest court on April 12, 2012, expanding exceptions from criminal penalties for abortion is a positive step toward protecting women’s human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. Abortion Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/safe-abortion-conference-tbilisi-georgia-1609.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/safe-abortion-conference-tbilisi-georgia-1609.html The Georgia Association of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (GOGA) organized a conference on Safe Abortion in Tbilisi, Georgia, which convened local health officials, medical providers and researchers to discuss the country situation and challenges related Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/gates-foundation-will-increase-support-to-family-planning-and-modern-contraception-in-africa-1610.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/gates-foundation-will-increase-support-to-family-planning-and-modern-contraception-in-africa-1610.html On the occasion of a TEDx EVENT in Berlin (held on the 5th of April), Melinda Gates delivered a key note speech on the importance of family planning and meeting the need for voluntary contraception. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/dispatches-from-cpd-2012-final-successes-limitations-and-a-call-for-accountability-1607.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/dispatches-from-cpd-2012-final-successes-limitations-and-a-call-for-accountability-1607.html by Dave Dave is a volunteer youth delegate to the Commission on Population and Development, working with the International Planned Parenthood Federation. To see all our coverage of the 2012 Commission on Population and Development, click here. Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/mds-to-speak-at-unite-against-the-war-on-women-rallies-1606.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/mds-to-speak-at-unite-against-the-war-on-women-rallies-1606.html On Saturday, April 28, two PRCH Leadership Training Academy Fellows addressed the Unite Against the War on Women rallies in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Chicago, Illinois. The physicians will urge an end to policies and laws that keep their patients Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/uk-make-the-pill-available-over-the-counter-recommends-nhs-report-1605.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/uk-make-the-pill-available-over-the-counter-recommends-nhs-report-1605.html The contraceptive pill should be available at pharmacies without a GP prescription, including to some under-16s, suggests a study by NHS South East London. A pilot scheme found a significant drop in emergency contraception after the launch of Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/45th-session-of-the-commission-on-population-and-development-cpd-opens-in-new-york-1603.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/45th-session-of-the-commission-on-population-and-development-cpd-opens-in-new-york-1603.html 30.04.2012 UPDATE On 27 April'12 the UN Commission on Population and Development adopted a landmark resolution on the theme "Adolescents and Youth". For the first time, the UN has agreed on the following language: To protect and Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/from-zambia-to-india-ipas-uses-the-power-of-face-to-face-connections-to-spread-the-word-on-safe-abortion-services-1604.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/from-zambia-to-india-ipas-uses-the-power-of-face-to-face-connections-to-spread-the-word-on-safe-abortion-services-1604.html Community Voices story series, Part 1 Thursday, April 26, 2012 The information we value the most often comes from face-to-face interactions with trusted family, friends and community members. This truth is at the heart of Ipas’s work with Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/trying-to-score-birth-control-in-2012-1602.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/trying-to-score-birth-control-in-2012-1602.html By Flying Squirrel, DailyKos The personal is political." My mother would remind me of that, growing up in the 80's and 90's. She would remind me of what was fought for, and what was sacrificed, so that I could go into the world with Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/why-choice-matters-1601.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/why-choice-matters-1601.html In the latest issue of Conscience magazine, Ann Furedi challenges the argument that ‘choice’ does not do justice to women’s abortion decisions. A version of Furedi’s article is reproduced here: “When we talk about Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/losing-the-right-to-abortion-week-by-week-restrictions-on-later-term-abortions-harm-women-1600.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/losing-the-right-to-abortion-week-by-week-restrictions-on-later-term-abortions-harm-women-1600.html by Susan Yanow The landscape for access to abortion is shifting quickly, as state after state passes restrictive laws. Particularly affected by these new laws are women who need abortions later in their pregnancies. In April 2010, Nebraska became the Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/abortion-right-under-attack-in-romania-and-ukraine-1608.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/abortion-right-under-attack-in-romania-and-ukraine-1608.html Worrying news come from the the already conservative Parliaments of Romania and Ukraine, where two proposed bills would increasingly and severely restrict women’s access to abortion. In Romania a bill to mandate biased counseling and a 5-day Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/world-ywca-2012-theme-i-am-a-woman-and-i-have-the-right--1599.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/world-ywca-2012-theme-i-am-a-woman-and-i-have-the-right--1599.html ‘I am a woman, I have the right - We are women, we have the power’ The theme of this year's World YWCA Day encourages a focus on women's rights and the collective power of the YWCA movement to bring about change in the lives of women, Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/therapeutic-abortion-shot-down-again-in-chilean-congress-1598.html http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org/news/therapeutic-abortion-shot-down-again-in-chilean-congress-1598.html Pro-life supporters waving tiny plastic figures of unborn babies and holding photos of bloodied fetuses. Pro-choice activists flashing their stomachs to national television crews, scrawled with messages such as “Safe abortion, “My decision, Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT