British MPs are calling for a review of abortion counselling processes after an undercover inquiry by The Daily Telegraph found that women attending crisis pregnancy centres seeking terminations were being given shockingly inaccurate advice. Reporters from The Daily Telegraph attended two crisis pregnancy centres, posing as women considering abortions, secretly filming the advice they were given….
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A recent study has found that, despite what some anti-choice campaigners believe, receiving an ultrasound is not guaranteed to change a woman’s mind about having the baby aborted. Conservative anti-abortion campaigner, Rebecca Campos-Duffy, last year stated that, upon having an ultrasound, ‘upwards of 90 percent of [the women] decide not to have an abortion.’…
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Today is Human Rights Day, a UN-recognised day that aims to focus global attention on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the ‘common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations’. The declaration outlines the rights that every person should be afforded and uphold. Rights like freedom from slavery and oppression, from cruelty…
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The Liberal state council of Victoria has called for a change to a section of the Abortion Law Reform Act, in which it is mandatory for doctors with a “conscientious objection” to abortion to refer women to medical practitioners with no objections. The Victorian Liberal Party state council has now passed the motion to overhaul…
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After months of campaigning and debates, Tasmania is set to become the third Australian state to decriminalise abortion. The Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) Bill 2013 has passed the Legislative Council, in amended form, after extensive late night debates. The bill passed this afternoon with nine votes in favour and five against. The Reproductive Health…
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FEMEN activists went topless to protest against the anti-abortion movement in Madrid on Sunday. Abortion is currently a legally authorised practice in Spain. For women who wish for an abortion within 14 weeks of pregnancy, or 22 weeks for those facing health risks, abortion is a legal option. But the new Minister of Justice, Alberto…
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A Melbourne GP who believes that women who have abortions deserve to die has been under investigation after he supposedly revealed on Facebook that he broke Victoria’s abortion laws, by not referring patients seeking abortions to the appropriate services and even actively attempting to talk women out of getting terminations. Daniel Mathews, a lecturer from…
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Ah, patriarchy. There’s no greater evidence that it’s a man’s world (or was a man’s world) than when we read the pages of a history book. The inherently male bias runs through most records of the centuries, because money and power lay solely at the hands of men (read this for an excellent explanation). Herstory…
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Texas judge rules new abortion restrictions unconstitutional. Despite Wendy Davis’ 11-hour filibuster blocking a super restrictive anti-abortion law in Texas, the law passed in July, banning abortions after 20 weeks and requiring doctors to perform abortions at special facilities. But the good news is that this week a judge ruled that the new regulations are…
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Russian parliament debate law to strip gay parents of their children. In February the Russian parliament will debate a bill that could cause same sex parents to lose custody of their children. The potential law would allow the state to strip parents of custody if they practise ‘non-traditional sexual relations.’ Currently in Russia children can…
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What do you think of this: American Apparel ‘Period Power’ T shirt? American Apparel has collaborated with artist, Petra Collins, and produced this T-shirt featuring a graphic illustration of a woman masturbating while her vagina oozes blood. Collins is known for her work that explores feminine sexuality and teen girl culture, with half the proceeds…
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The New South Wales Parliament is currently debating a Bill which, if passed, would alter the way the criminal law considers a foetus. The Bill (commonly referred to as ‘Zoe’s Law’) is named after the stillborn daughter of Ms Brodie Donegan, who suffered injuries as a result of a car accident in 2009, which resulted…
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There is a ‘war on unborn women’, declares Kurt Kondrich, an American father and anti-abortion campaigner. ‘Rapid advances in prenatal testing,’ he declares, ‘Will soon allow this broken culture to wage war on any person deemed ‘flawed’ or ‘substandard’.’ Kondrich is referring to prenatal testing that identifies sex, as well as disabilities such as Down…
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In June earlier this year, then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered a harrowing speech, warning Australians of the implications for women’s rights regarding abortion if Tony Abbott was to become Prime Minister. Cautioning Australians about voting for Mr Abbott, Ms Gillard stated that women risked effectively losing their autonomy over the abortion issue, saying ‘We don’t…
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