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Date: March 29, 2024 Fri

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Results for abortion

3 results found

Author: Jacobson, Mireille

Title: Aftershocks: The Impact of Clinic Violence on Abortion Services

Summary: Between 1973 and 2003, abortion providers in the United States were the targets of over 300 acts of extreme violence, including arson, bombings, murders and butyric acid attacks. After a period of decline, abortion clinic violence is on the rise again. The recent murder of Dr. George Tiller has brought attention back to the role of extreme violence in the anti-abortion movement. Using unique data on attacks and on abortions, abortion providers, and births, we examine how anti-abortion violence has affected providers' decisions to perform abortions and women's decisions about whether and where to terminate a pregnancy. We find that clinic violence reduces both abortion providers and abortions in the areas where the violence occurs. Once travel is taken into account, however, the overall effect of the violence is much smaller. On net, roughly 90 percent of the fall in abortions in targeted areas is balanced by a rise in abortions in nearby areas. Thus, the main consequence of this violence is a displacement rather than an elimination of abortions, a presumed goal of this terrorism.

Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2010. 57p.

Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper Series: Working Paper 16603: Accessed December 15, 2010 at: http://www.nber.org/~jacobson/JacobsonRoyer6.2.10.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.nber.org/~jacobson/JacobsonRoyer6.2.10.pdf

Shelf Number: 120518

Keywords:
Abortion
Violence
Violent Crime

Author: Amnesty International

Title: Body Politics: Criminalization of sexuality and reproduction

Summary: There is a long history of states criminalizing sexuality and reproductive decisions relating to health. Unfortunately, despite increasing attention paid to the protection of human rights in the last few decades, the criminalization fever shows no signs of cooling. In some areas this trend appears to have gained renewed strength. Throughout much of the Americas, for example, women and health professionals can be punished for seeking, obtaining or providing abortion services. In certain states in Africa, opportunistic politicians have pumped life into antiquated statutes or passed new laws punishing same-sex activity with dire penalties. Notably, this rush to criminalization is not limited to developing or least developed states. The last few years has also seen a rise in women in the USA being jailed for otherwise legal acts conducted during pregnancy, and in many rich and poor states alike, individuals can still be prosecuted for transmission of HIV. Criminalization of sexual and reproductive health-related activity, in particular, stands as a significant impediment to the realization of human rights, particularly the right to health. Although such criminalization is justified by some as a "public health" measure, in most cases it exacerbates the underlying public health concern by driving risk behaviour underground and preventing the provision of effective health services; contributing to preventable illness and death. Criminalization of consensual reproductive and sexual behaviours also violates autonomy, which is the foundation on which an individual's ability to realise their right to health is built. In addition to implicating human rights adversely, criminalization of sexuality and reproductive decisions engenders stigmatization, discrimination and even violence against people engaged in (or suspected of engaging in) the prohibited behaviour, which can further place the health of vulnerable people at risk. Indeed, the individuals facing punishment tend to be members of poor, marginalized and vulnerable groups, as opposed to wealthy individuals engaging in the same behaviour. Moreover, such criminalization affects not just those against whom the law is directed, but negatively impacts the rights of entire populations by giving states power to interfere with individuals' private decision-making and forcing people to conform to strict sexual and gender norms. Using the force of state machinery to achieve illegitimate aims relating to the public morality can further lead to an environment generally permissive of arbitrary arrests and detention, harassment, stigmatization, discrimination and violence. Such use of power also weakens respect for the rule of law. Unfortunately, all too often criminalization of sexual and reproductive decisions and behaviours can be a means to gain political support from voters, especially when the targets of such punitive regulation are politically disenfranchised or socially marginalized. It is therefore crucial to highlight the depth and extent of this problem and to empower activists worldwide to challenge laws directly or indirectly criminalizing sexual and reproductive decisions and behaviours. Amnesty International's Primer and Toolkit - Body Politics: Criminalization of sexuality and reproduction - is a timely, meaningful and welcome contribution that can enable activists to both comprehend and challenge illegitimate criminalization of sexuality and reproductive decisions. It is vital to understand the extent to which criminalization has permeated states today and the damage which is done by such measures masquerading as legitimate public health or public morality initiatives. This Primer details the major areas of concern and the harm which both direct and indirect criminalization inflict on an individual's human rights and the health of society as a whole. It is not enough, however, to simply understand the problem of criminalization of sexuality and reproductive decisions; steps must also be taken to challenge it. The Toolkit provides concrete campaigning techniques such as mapping stakeholder participation and power, identifying advocacy targets, and building capacity. The Training Manual can be used to build understanding and capacity around these issues for a range of audiences and activists.

Details: London: AI, 2018. 220p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2018 at: https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/POL4077632018ENGLISH.PDF

Year: 2018

Country: International

URL: https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/POL4077632018ENGLISH.PDF

Shelf Number: 149485

Keywords:
Abortion
Criminalization
Health Services
Human Rights Abuses
Public Health

Author: Human Rights Watch

Title: "I Felt Like the World Was Falling Down on Me": Adolescent Girls' Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the Dominican Republic

Summary: Adolescent girls in the Dominican Republic are being denied their sexual and reproductive rights, including access to safe abortion. "I Felt Like the World Was Falling Down on Me" documents how authorities have stalled the rollout of a long-awaited sexuality education program, leaving hundreds of thousands of adolescent girls and boys without scientifically accurate information about their health. The country has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The country's total ban on abortion means an adolescent girl facing an unwanted pregnancy must continue that pregnancy against her wishes or obtain a clandestine abortion, often at great risk to her health and even her life. Human Rights Watch urges authorities to carry out a new plan for comprehensive sexuality education and decriminalize abortion to curb unwanted teen pregnancy and reduce unsafe abortion.

Details: New York: Author, 2019. 56p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 26, 2019 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/drd0619_web2.pdf

Year: 2019

Country: Dominican Republic

URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/drd0619_web2.pdf

Shelf Number: 156705

Keywords:
Abortion
Child Marriage
Human Rights Abuses
Sex Education