- 100 groups call for urgent measures to safeguard access to abortion
- Poland prepares to debate draconian law to further restrict abortion
European governments should urgently guarantee safe and timely access to abortion care for women and girls in the region during the COVID-19 pandemic, 100 nongovernmental organizations said today.
Many women and girls in Europe are struggling to safely access abortion care during the pandemic as barriers caused by highly restrictive abortion laws and onerous administrative requirements to access abortion services make safe access to this essential health care extremely difficult. The call comes as Poland’s parliament prepares to debate a draconian new law that would make one of the region’s most highly restrictive abortion laws significantly more stringent.
“European governments must act urgently to guarantee safe and timely access to abortion care during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Leah Hoctor, Regional Director for Europe, Center for Reproductive Rights.
“They should move swiftly to eradicate all medically unnecessary requirements that hamper access to abortion care and should authorize women to access early medical abortion from their homes.”
Governments should recognize abortion as essential health care and should take measures to ensure that women and girls can safely access abortion care.
European governments must act urgently to guarantee safe and timely access to abortion care during the COVID-19 pandemic
Leah Hoctor, Regional Director for Europe, Center for Reproductive Rights
Most governments in the region have not implemented measures to ensure safe and timely access to essential sexual and reproductive health services, supplies or information during the pandemic, including for at-home management of medical abortion. Many hospitals and clinics have reduced reproductive health services to a bare minimum, or closed altogether due to staff shortages and reassignments, among other reasons. In many places, accessing normal clinical services has become extremely difficult.
Restrictions to reproductive health services disproportionately affect women living in poverty, women with disabilities, Roma women, undocumented migrant women, adolescents, trans and gender non-binary people, and women at risk of or who are survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
Particular concerns arise in relation to those six European countries where abortion is still illegal or severely restricted and in countries where, due to a range of barriers such as administrative processes or doctor’s refusals of care due to their private beliefs, women are often forced to travel abroad to access abortion care or to obtain abortion medication from other countries by post.
The harmful impact of these highly restrictive laws and barriers are compounded in the current context as it may now be impossible for women to travel to access legal abortion abroad or to obtain medication sent by post from medical providers in other countries.
“Whilst the pandemic is impacting every aspect of our lives, it should not be used as an excuse to undermine women’s rights to make decisions regarding their reproductive and health rights,” said Caroline Hickson, IPPF EN Regional Director.
For more information or to arrange an interview contact:
Amnesty International
[email protected] / +447936766445 or +44 2030365599
Human Rights Watch: Hillary Margolis, Senior Researcher on Women’s Rights, [email protected], +44 7733486524 or +1 917 385 4107
Center for Reproductive Rights: Geraldine Henrich-Koenis, [email protected]
IPPF EN
Caroline Hickson, Regional Director, [email protected],+32 491 908767
SIGNATORIES:
Abortion Rights Campaign, Ireland
Albanian Center for Population and Development
Amnesty International
Amrita Association, Hungary
Association des Femmes de l’Europe Meridionale
Association européenne pour la défense des droits de l’homme (AEDH)
Association for Human Rights and Civic Participation PaRiter, Croatia
Association for promotion of women’s action Tiiiit! Inc., North Macedonia
Association Mnémosyne, France
Association of Women of Southern Europe (AFEM)
Associazione italiana donne per lo sviluppo, Italy
Associazione Luca Coscioni, Italy
ASTRA Network
Austrian Family Planning Association
Bibija Roma Women Center, Serbia
British Pregnancy Advisory Service
Bureau Clara Wichmann, Foundation for strategic litigation for gender equality, Netherlands
C.G.I.L. Confederazione Italiana del Lavoro, Italy
Center for Curricular Development and Gender Studies: FILIA , Romania
Center for Reproductive Rights
CESI – Center for Education, Counselling and Research, Croatia
Citizen, democracy and Accountability, Slovakia
Clio. Femmes, Genre, Histoire, France
Coalition to Repeal the 8th Amendment, Ireland
Concord Research Center for Integration of International Law in Israel
Cyprus Family Planning Association
Danish Family Planning Association
Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW)
Doctors for Choice Ireland
Doctors for Choice Malta
Doctors for Choice UK
Encore féministes
Equipop
European Humanist Federation
European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights
European Roma Rights Centre
European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health (ESC)
European Women Lawyers Association
Family Planning Association of Moldova
Federación Planificación Estatal, Spain
Fédération des Centres Pluralistes de Planning Familial, Belgium
Federation for Women and Family Planning, Poland
Fédération laïque des centres de planning familial – FLCPF, Belgium
Femmes solidaires, France
Forum femmes méditerranée
Freedom of Choice / Možnosť voľby, Slovakia
Fundación para la Convivencia Aspacia, Spain
Garance, Belgium
German Women Lawyers’ Association
Helia Association, Spain
HERA – Health education and research association, North Macedonia
Human Rights Watch
Humanists UK
International Commission of Jurists
International Federation for Professionals in Abortion and Contraception (FIAPAC)
International Planned Parenthood Federation – European Network
IPAS
Irish Family Planning Association
Kosovar Gender Studies Center
L.A.I.G.A, Italy
L’ Associació de Drets Sexuals i Reproductius, Spain
La Ligue des droits de l’Homme, France
Latvian Association for Family Planning and Sexual Health
Le Planning Familial, France
London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign
Médecins du monde-France
Nane, Hungary
National platform for reproductive justice, Croatia
National Women’s Council of Ireland
Patent Association, Hungary
Planning Familial Luxembourg
Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM)
pro familia Bundesverband, Germany
Rape Crisis Network Ireland
Regards de Femmes, France
Rutgers, Netherlands
Santé Sexuelle Suisse, Switzerland
Sarajevo Open Centre, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sensoa, Belgium
Serbian Association for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
Sex og Politikk, Norway
Society Without Violence, Armenia
SOS Rijeka – Center for Nonviolence and Human Rights, Croatia
Swedish Association for Sexuality Education
Tajik Family Planning Association
Union des Familles Laïques – UFAL, France
Union Women Center, Georgia
Väestöliitto – The Family Federation of Finland
Vita di donna, Italy
Voice for Choice – L-għażla tagħha, Malta
Wales Assembly of Women
WAVE Network – Women Against Violence Europe
Women Center “Light Steps”, Albania
Women on Waves, Netherlands
Women on Web, Netherlands
Women’s Rights Foundation, Malta
Women’s circles, Slovakia
Women’s Resource Center Armenia
YouAct – European Youth Network on Sexual and Reproductive Rights
Young Feminist Europe