Law 18.987, commonly known as “la ley de la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo” (“Law of Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy”), permits abortion on any ground in the first trimester (albeit with certain bureaucratic hurdles), and during the first 14 weeks in the case of rape and with no restrictions when a woman’s life is at risk or there are severe fetal anomalies. With the passage of this law, Uruguay became one of the few places in the region, along with Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guyana and Mexico City, permitting abortion without restriction in the first trimester.

It was not long, however, until anti-choice groups began to mobilize. Now that the required number of signatures has been submitted, the Electoral Court has a deadline of 45 days in which to call a vote, likely to take place on June 23. This vote, which is non-obligatory, asks the electorate if they are in favor of holding a referendum to repeal the law. If 25 percent of the ballots (roughly 640,000 votes) are cast in favor of the referendum, the referendum will be held in October.

Uruguay is often described as a progressive country. Marriage equality legislation passed in April, and public opinion polls reveal a majority of Uruguayans support fewer restrictions on abortion. These factors should contribute to an environment with greater reproductive rights, yet it has still been difficult for advocates of safe, legal abortion, such as IWHC’s partner organization, MYSU (Mujer y Salud en Uruguay, or “Women and Health in Uruguay”), to overcome political, cultural and religious opposition to attain safe, legal abortion for women. The passage of this law, the culmination of a 12-year struggle, reflects this.

IWHC will continue to stand by MYSU and other advocates of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Latin America. Despite this repeal movement, the past year’s events in Uruguay demonstrate evolving public opinion and the emerging realization that reproductive rights are fundamental human rights.

Such shifts in opinion have already produced positive developments in the region. In Argentina last September, government officials in Buenos Aires passed a law that removed restrictions on abortion in the case of rape or when a woman’s life is endangered (unfortunately, the mayor vetoed the legislation). And in Brazil, the Federal Council on Medicine called for the legalization of abortion in the first 12 weeks.

But we have also seen how these accomplishments have been threatened. Central American countries (namely Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala) are further restricting already rigid anti-choice legislation and, in some cases, restricting the availability of contraceptives.

So while recent events have been encouraging, the process to achieve greater sexual and reproductive rights in Latin America remains fragile, vulnerable to underlying conservative tendencies. Yet in a region where unsafe, clandestine abortions account for 12 percent of maternal deaths and nearly one million hospitalizations due to complications, it is becoming evident that women in Latin America deserve safer options to address their reproductive needs and are increasingly mobilizing to fight for them.

Updated 5/20/2013

In order to prioritize the collection of data, the first step is having governments commit to guarantee all human rights, including the sexual and the reproductive rights of women.

Unfortunately we continue to face politic will deficit– indeed the political will is still lacking from several governments attending this HLM. And, as a result, despite all efforts we were not able to see advanced and progressive language for women.

It is a shame that in the new political declaration, the only target for women, is addressing vertical transmission and as such does not speak to women across our life cycle.

It is a shame that this HLM does not include any specific or significant target for empowering women, guarantying our sexual and reproductive rights, and eliminating all forms of violence and discrimination from our lives.

So, there are two messages coming out clearly from this HLM that we strongly oppose:

1) government just want to consider women as mothers;

2) All social determinants that make women more vulnerable to HIV and AIDS, instead of being clearly addressed, have been violently opposed by the fundamentalist countries, which keep leading women to suffering and death.

So, in order to be constructive, I would like to see at all levels the political will necessary to push and create specific targets and funds to, at least, increase women’s leadership and guarantee our sexual and reproductive health and rights.

This could be the first step towards the necessary data collection and evidence-based diagnoses that we need in order to create quality policies, services and programs to address women, as women – not only as mothers, but throughout our whole life cycle and in all of our diversity.

Luiza Helena de Bairros, a board member of IWHC partner ELAS Fundo de Investimento Social has been appointed Minister for Racial Equality in Brazil’s new Government. IWHC has been working with Fundo Elas for two years.

In her acceptance speech Ms. Bairros gave a special shoutout to the black movement in Brazil, noting her continued dedication to demanding policies to combat and eliminate racism, a factor that still excludes the black community’s access to many rights and opportunities in Brazil.

In addition to this exciting appointment, Gilberta Santos Soares, former general coordinator of our partner Cunha, is now the Deputy Secretary for Women and Human Diversity in the Government of the State of Paraiba, Brazil.

President Dilma, Brazil’s first woman president, who has made a point to have a larger number of women on her Cabinet than have served in year’s past (they currently make up about 25% of the Cabinet members).

Dilma has reiterated her commitment to addressing women’s rights in international relations, and despite the controversy around abortion during the Presidential campaign, her Minister of Women has not shied away from speaking her views about the theme. We’re hopeful and optimistic that these two appointments will result in the further creation and promotion of laws and policies that are good for Brazilian women’s health and will have a tangible benefit in their lives.

The development has been welcomed by the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), which has been calling for the increased availability for years, pointing to unnecessary delays in access as increasing the risk of unplanned pregnancies.

Dr. Caitriona Henchion, Medical Director of the IFPA, said in response to the good news, “The IFPA has advocated for improved access to emergency contraceptive pills for a number of years because it is more effective the sooner it is taken….The emergency contraceptive pill is a very safe and responsible method of preventing pregnancy and offers women and girls a second chance to prevent pregnancy when a regular method has failed, no method was used or sex was forced.”

We at IWHC join our colleagues in commending this exciting new development in women’s health. Increased availability of EC is a necessary measure to ensure that all women have access to EC and the ability to control their fertility.

This isn’t the first time we’ve commended the IFPA for furthering sexual and reproductive rights and health through their advocacy work. In late December, we named their successful campaign to end a constitutional ban on abortion in Ireland as the number 2 win of 2010.

IWHC partner PROMSEX has also been actively promoting the increased accessibility of EC this year, both by launching a public awareness campaign to inform Peruvian women about its use and by advocating public officials for their support of EC. Click here to learn more.

She also emphasizes that there are real people behind the development issues so often discussed and debated, reminding us that jargon is no substitute for effective interventions: while rhetoric from afar can be useful, it won’t ensure that a doctor respects the woman patient sitting in front of him, put food on the table of a family on the brink of poverty, or save a woman from a preventable maternal death. Machirori writes:

“Globalised actions forget that cultural, social, economic and geopolitical factors are key to defining and addressing development issues. They disregard the fact that ‘third world’ people do not speak the same language, live in the same environment or appreciate development in the same ways. They forget the faces behind the figures, the underlying issues that impede progress.”

She goes on:

“But most importantly, we have to realise that when we talk gender and development, we are talking about human beings – not theoretical or hypothetical beings, but real women and men for whom our efforts are often the difference between life and death. Let’s talk to each other, not at one another and bring the discourse out of the clouds and back down to the ground.”

You can read the whole piece at Pambazuka News here, which I highly recommend. Machirori’s perspective is a much-needed one, and one that is critical to discourse around development, policy, funding, and global health.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 19, 2010

CONTACT:

Kelly Castagnaro, 212.801.1266/646.707.1004 (cell), kcastagnaro@iwhc.org

Lori Adelman, 212.979.8500, ladelman@iwhc.org

The International Women’s Health Coalition Lauds The Appointment Of Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin As Executive Director Of The United Nations Population Fund

A respected member of the medical profession, Dr. Osotimehin is expected to provide exceptional leadership in upholding human rights in the health sector.

New York, NY- The International Women’s Health Coalition welcomes the announcement of Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin as Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

“Babatunde Osotimehin’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for sexual and reproductive rights and health,” said IWHC President Adrienne Germain. “Dr. Osotimehin brings to the job substantial knowledge of and an impressive track record in health policies, programs and services.”

This makes Dr. Osotimehin particularly qualified to lead an agency whose mandate is to promote and protect sexual and reproductive health and rights. Securing these requires implementation of a “package” of integrated health services (contraception, safe abortion, maternity care, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS), buttressed by sexuality and gender education and protection of human rights.

As provost of Nigeria’s premier medical school, and one of the most respected members of the medical profession, Dr. Osotimehin has consistently provided exceptional leadership on all aspects of reproductive health. As both Minister of Health and Director General of Nigeria’s National Agency for the Control of HIV and AIDS, he demonstrated unparalleled ability to build consensus, between the capital and state governments, as well as inside and outside the government, on multi-dimensional strategies and investments to address several of the country’s most challenging sexual and reproductive health issues.

“Two unusual aspects of Dr, Osotimehin’s record as a senior government official,” said Germain, “are his collaboration with nongovernmental organizations and his commitment to upholding human rights in the health sector. For him, collaboration means serious consultation and mutual respect, and protection of human rights entails first and foremost attention to the most marginalized and disempowered.”

Bene Madunagu of the Girls Power Initiative, working nationwide in Nigeria, also lauded the decision. “We at Girls’ Power Initiative (GPI) are overjoyed to hear that Professor Osotimehin will lead this fundamentally important agency,” said Madunagu.  “He has been one of our most unfailing defenders and supporters in the struggle to get the rights of girls recognized and ensure that they have the power to exercise them.”

“Thanks to visionary leadership from Prof. Osotimehin, GPI is able to work with the State AIDS Control Agencies to make comprehensive sexuality education and health services available to young people,” said Madunagu.  “And my generation of women has also benefited enormously from his devotion to women’s health and rights.”

Dr. Brian Brink, Chair of IWHC’s Board of Directors applauded Dr. Osotimehin’s appointment.  “Today’s news gives me hope for a greater synergy between global health policies and funding and the actual needs of women and young people everywhere.  Dr. Osotimehin truly listens when women speak, and I feel confident that he will bring their voices, needs, and innovative solutions to the halls of power.”

The International Women’s Health Coalition leads global and local actions to secure every woman’s right to a just and healthy life.  We are creating a world where women are free from discrimination, sexual coercion and violence, and have access to health services and information. Visit www.iwhc.org

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His name is Johnny, and he is someone who confirms for me that gender equality is possible and that love exists. A year ago Johnny lost the person he loved the most. Jaqui, a young woman with a disabled child, died. According to the medical report her death was caused by sepsis from unsafe abortion, but in fact, it was because of injustice, and above all, because she was denied a therapeutic abortion . . .

Johnny did his utmost to make sure that Jaqui survived her 27 days in intensive care and every day sent word of her progress. Any signs of life were understood by him as a sign of hope and he made these known to us. At the same time, the debate around the decriminalization of abortion was at its peak and many people were in the streets and in the media, demanding debate among the parliament and the Minister of Health around the protocol of therapeutic abortion. It was in these marches where I got to know Johnny personally; there he was, together along with youth and women, with his poster raised up, joining his voice to ours, with anger in his throat, so that no more women had to die for an abortion, but above all, for the end of indifference.

It’s true that justice has not been found for Jaqui. Justice is also lost for the thousands of women whose health is at risk by not having access to a therapeutic abortion, and probably for her son who survived and will never understand why his mother still has not returned . However, Jaqui has something different than many other victims—she has Johnny, who  cannot be consoled that she has been lost, but who takes from this loss an unimaginably generous purpose, so that other women do not have to go through the same thing that happened to Jaqui.

Johnny, though a simple man, humble and deeply religious, forms a part of the anonymous social fighters who want their neighborhoods to have water, decent housing, and security. He is not someone who has money, however, his main asset is his commitment to life, to justice and to women, and for this I think it’s worth it that we take time and we bear witness to the tribute that he has offered Jaqui, on this sad first anniversary of her death.

To learn more about PROMSEX and their work to ensure access to safe abortion for women in Peru, please click here.

Su nombre es Johnny, alguien que me confirma que la igualdad de género es posible y que el amor existe. Johnny perdió hace un año a la persona que mas amó, como el mismo dice. Jaqui, una joven mujer con un hijo con una discapacidad, murió; según el informe médico, a causa de una sepsis por aborto inseguro, pero según los hechos, a causa de la injusticia, pero sobre todo, por negarle el aborto terapéutico.

Poco se sabe de los detalles, pues casi todo pasó en la total soledad de Jaqui. Los hechos se produjeron cuando Johnny, por motivos de trabajo, estaba ausente. Por testigos, se sabe que Jaqui fue agredida sexualmente por el familiar que les arrendaba la casa, quien para variar, la culpó del hecho y Jaqui, llena de vergüenza, decidió ocultarse, incluso de Johnny. Nadie conocía su drama. Colateralmente, Jaqui, ya presentaba un problema renal de consideración.

Aunque se sabe muy poco, hay evidencias que señalan que acudió al hospital, pues junto con su tarjeta de nefrología, se le encontró también un carnet de control prenatal. Las pocas veces que se dejó ver por la madre en ese entonces, ella notaba que su salud cada día se deterioraba, hasta que un día, su hijo dio aviso que su madre no se podía despertar. Cuando acudieron en su ayuda, estaba en un coma del cual nunca despertó.

Johnny hizo lo indecible para que su Jaqui se mantuviera los 27 días que sobrevivió en cuidados intensivos y cada día, a un grupo de gente nos enviaba por correo dando cuenta de su evolución. Cualquier signo de vida, era entendido por él como una esperanza y así nos lo hacía saber. En ese mismo tiempo, el debate de la despenalización estaba en su cumbre y muchas estábamos en las calles y en los medios, exigiendo el debate parlamentario y al Ministro de Salud, el protocolo del aborto terapéutico. Fue en esas marchas en donde conocí  personalmente a Johnny, allí estaba, junto con los jóvenes y las mujeres, con su cartel en alto,  uniendo su voz a la nuestra, con la rabia atravesada en la garganta, para que ninguna mujer mas, tenga que morir por un aborto, pero sobre todo, por la indiferencia.

Es cierto que Jaqui no ha encontrado justicia, como tampoco han podido encontrar las miles de mujeres cuya salud está en riesgo por no tener acceso a un aborto terapéutico, y probablemente, su hijo que ha sobrevivido, jamás entenderá porque su madre aún no ha regresado. Sin embargo, Jaqui tiene algo diferente que el resto de las víctimas, ella tiene a alguien que no se consuela con haberla perdido, pero que hace de su pérdida un propósito generosamente inimaginable, para que otras mujeres no tengan que pasar por lo mismo que pasó Jaqui.

Johnny aunque es un hombre sencillo, humilde y profundamente creyente, forma parte de los luchares sociales anónimos, que buscan que sus barrios tengan agua, viviendas dignas, seguridad. No es alguien que tiene dinero, sin embargo, su mayor posesión es su compromiso con la vida, con la justicia y con las mujeres, por eso creo que vale la pena que nos tomemos un tiempo y podamos ser testigos del homenaje que ha ofrecido a Jaqui, en este triste primer aniversario de su muerte.

After hosting and attending a very special international event last night, I am filled with hope that we are one step closer to reaching each of these goals.

Last night, the international student photography exhibition Celebrations of Diversity, Homeland, and Identity featured over 20 images from emerging artists at American University, the University of the District of Columbia, and the female-only Dar Al-Hekma College in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The exhibit facilitated new and interesting cross-cultural exchanges and interactions. A photograph from a young woman in Saudi Arabia changed the way I view South Africa. And next month, someone in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia may be impacted by the works of a student from American University. Each image relates to themes of sharing cultures, crossing borders, and use photography as a visual medium to tell a story. And every one of us has a story.

For me, this is at the root of any conversation about international development and sustainability. The moment I am affected by someone’s perspective, I have a heightened interest in the experience that lead them to the perspective in their photograph. This experience, just like my own, is shaped by their community’s ability to provide a healthy environment, economic opportunity, education, and gender empowerment.

We decided to take the experience a step further to highlight international development and sustainability in a bold way. Photography exhibitions like Celebrations of Diversity, Homeland, and Identity create a space where we can talk about these larger and oftentimes overwhelming issues while, at the same time, experiencing the humanity that connects us in the fleeting moment of a photograph. We partnered with Vort Port International for a silent auction to ensure that we connected the dots between the exhibition and these issues of international development and sustainability.  As part of the Madagascar Project., proceeds from the photographs will be used to bring renewable energy to women who otherwise have to trek for miles to fetch firewood.

Because of this, every photograph sold holds the story of its past – that of the the artist, that of the the culture it depicts, and that of the photograph’s unique perspective.  And every purchased photograph also has a story of the future – one of sustainability, education, and empowerment.

I hope this exhibit and the collaborations and relationships it has fostered will act as a launching pad for others working across borders—not only the borders we have built ourselves, but also those that restrict us from the outside—to build strength in the themes of diversity, homeland, and identity through both the arts and international sustainability. Hopefully that will be the theme of our collective story.

The exhibit will be up for one week at Gallery 42 on UDC campus before it will travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and be on exhibition December 4th through 9th, 2010.  The Saudi Launch Party will benefit the Zahra Breast Cancer Association. For more information please visit us on facebook.

“Lesbian, gays, and bisexuals in Cameroon are considered lower than dogs…They face great injustice because of homophobia.”

- Sébastien Mandeng, vice-president of the Association for the Defense of Homosexuality (ADEFHO), an IWHC partner

On Thursday, The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) issued a new report “Cameroon: Same-Sex Relations Bring Attacks, Arrests” in conjunction with Human Rights Watch, Alternatives Cameroun, and the Association for the Defense of Homosexuality(ADEFHO), an IWHC partner, on human rights abuses in Cameroun that are based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The report details the Cameronian government’s use of article 347 bis of the Penal Code to deny basic rights to people perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT).  The report documents instances in which Camerounians have been attacked by police, politicians, the media, and even members of their own communities if they are suspected of having sexual relations with a person of the same sex.

Beyond these egregious human rights violations, the report’s findings demonstrate that LGBT Camerounians often have difficulty accessing medical and legal services (especially those who are HIV positive), and are likely to face physical and emotional abuse inside and outside their homes and lose custody of their children.

Describing prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people as “both very personal and very public”, the report goes on to recommend that the government take urgent action to decriminalize such consensual conduct and to protect the full human rights of all Camerounians.

To learn more about IWHC’s work supporting the health and rights of the LGBT community in Cameroun, click here.

In this video by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) we hear this story through to its devastating conclusion—directly from L.C., the girl who lived through it all.

Together with IWHC partner The Center for the Promotion and Defense of Sexual and Reproductive Rights (PROMSEX), CRR has represented L.C. in filing a petition for increased access to therapeutic abortion. Much more work remains to be done, but thanks to this work and other efforts by CRR and PROMSEX, therapeutic abortions have become more commonly granted to Peruvian women.

The video is hard to watch, but worth it. Afterall, it’s brave voices like L.C.’s that will finally help us secure a just and healthy life for all women and girls.