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In their papers, Sally Bjorklund and Hillary Grill investigate the negative impact of the reversal of Roe v.Wade on women's ability to choose when and how to manage their bodies and minds. Bjorklund offers an historical perspective, while Grill presents personal and clinical material to illustrate how misogyny and male dominance are reinforced through the intersection of externally imposed laws, socially transmitted beliefs, and the perpetuation of such beliefs through models of mind that implicitly devalue women—models such as psychoanalysis. Iinvite psychoanalysts to continue to interrogate misogyny while also asking how our clinical work might challenge and change psychoanalytic theorizing about female development, theorizing that continues to pathologize women and valorize male dominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A call for papers for the special issue of the journal on topics like theologies of choice, abortion and morality, and secular law is presented.

• Adverse psychological conditions are present in women who experience recurrent spontaneous abortions; depression was the most prevalent. • In this meta -analysis, women with recurrent spontaneous abortions (RSA) were associated with a significantly increased risk of depression when compared with women without RSA. • Women who had been married for longer than three years, three spontaneous abortions, and induced abortions had a higher prevalence of depression. Nonetheless, the risk of depression was significantly lower in women who had previously given birth to living children. It is widely recognized that depression is highly prevalent among women experiencing recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA), exerting detrimental effects on both the individual and the family. To assess the depression risk and associated factors among women with RSA. Data sources. Our search strategy encompassed PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and WANFANG. The research was conducted in May 2022. We included both randomized and nonrandomized studies that reported the prevalence of depression among women with RSA. Data extraction and synthesis. Two independent evaluators reviewed the titles and abstracts, assessed the full-text papers, extracted data from the included studies, and evaluated their quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). We performed random-effects meta -analyses to pool the data. Odds ratios (ORs) and standardized mean differences (SMDs) were combined based on effect sizes for binary and continuous outcomes. Main outcomes. To conduct a meta-analysis to understand the risk of depression in women with RSA who were not treated with psychiatric medications, as well as an analysis of potential factors for depressive symptoms. Out of the initially identified 527 papers, a total of 20 studies (N = 13087) that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected. Compared to healthy controls, patients with RSA had a significantly higher risk of depression (OR: 4.26, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 2.44–7.41; SMD: 0.89, 95 % CI: 0.51–1.26). The occurrence of depression among RSA patients was found to be significantly associated with several factors including the severity of depressive symptoms (OR: 3.82, 95 % CI: 2.22–6.59), number of spontaneous miscarriages (SMD: 0.59, 95 % CI: 0.01–1.18), history of therapeutic termination of pregnancy (SMD: 0.20, 95 % CI: 0.09–0.32), history of live birth (SMD: −0.32, 95 % CI: −0.49-−0.15), and duration of marriage (SMD: 0.15, 95 % CI: 0.02–0.27). In clinical practice, it is crucial to provide appropriate psychological interventions for women undergoing RSA. These individuals face a significantly heightened risk of depression, which exhibits strong correlations with various demographic factors such as the severity of depressive symptoms, history of both spontaneous miscarriages and therapeutic termination of pregnancy, number of live births, and duration of marriage. Consequently, women who are suffering RSA deserves more assistance and emotional support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Manuela and Beatriz cases were introduced in the Inter-American human rights system as strategic litigation to provoke an Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling that would create abortion rights in El Salvador, one of the most prolife countries in the region. The American Convention on Human Rights, a regional treaty binding on most Latin American and Caribbean countries, contains no provision on abortion, or on sexual and reproductive rights. It does contain, however, in article 4(1) a recognition of the unborn child's right to life and to legal protection thereof: «Every person has the right to have his life respected. This right shall be protected by law and, in general, from the moment of conception. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life». This paper analyzes arguments in the Beatriz Case, the ruling for which is still pending at the time of this writing, and the Manuela decision, issued in 2022, where the court gave the shocking and unprecedented order to create practical impunity for the crime of infanticide in national law. The paper examines its unexpected results and potential effects in national law, should the state choose to comply with all the orders given by the judgment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on recent research, this paper recounts the emergence of Catholic women's activism in favor of the right to abortion in late twentieth-century Mexico. The article argues that contests over legitimacy—specifically, disputes among Catholics about which beliefs are legitimately Catholic—are central to this history. In this case, the article follows Catholic women's attempts to legitimize their position in favor of the right to abortion and Catholic authorities' attempts to delegitimize the same idea. The paper concludes with a 1992 episode in Guanajuato that has not received much scholarly attention, when secular and Catholic feminists collaborated. Because these Catholic activists faced opposition from angry protestors, they set up a press conference to dispel any misconceptions and legitimize their own Catholic position in favor of the right to abortion to the Mexican public. The resistance Elvia Neri, a retired Catholic woman and mayordoma for her church, faced led her to share her testimonio, a rare archival source that publicly reconciled a commitment to both the Catholic faith and reproductive rights. Scholarship on feminist mobilization has at least included the work of Catholic activists who advocated the right to abortion. However, these contests over legitimacy have led scholarship on Catholic women's activism to neglect Catholic perspectives that favor the right to abortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medication abortion has been established globally as safe and effective. This modality has increased accessibility and the opportunity to centre individual autonomy at the heart of abortion care, by facilitating self-managed abortion. Previous research has shown how self-managed abortion is beneficial in myriad settings ranging from problematic to (relatively) unproblematic contexts of access. In this paper we explore the relationship between self-management and sources of support (including health professionals, family, and friends); as well as considering issues of reproductive control and autonomy. Drawing on qualitative, experience-centred interviews, we utilise the concept of social connectedness to examine how supported self-managed abortion was experienced in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, self-management was welcomed, with participants speaking positively about managing their own abortion at home. However, a sense of connectedness was crucial in helping participants deal with difficult experiences; and functioned to support individual autonomy in self-care. This paper is the first to examine factors of connection, support, and isolation, as experienced by those undergoing self-managed abortion in the UK in detail. Our research suggests a continued need to advocate for high quality support for self-managed abortion, as well as for choice of abortion method, to support patient-centered care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A maternal mortality ratio is a sensitive indicator when comparing the overall maternal health between countries and its very high figure indicates the failure of maternal healthcare efforts. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam-CLMV countries are the low-income countries of the South-East Asia region where their maternal mortality ratios are disproportionately high. This systematic review aimed to summarize all possible factors influencing maternal mortality in CLMV countries. Methods: This systematic review applied "The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Checklist (2020)", Three key phrases: "Maternal Mortality and Health Outcome", "Maternal Healthcare Interventions" and "CLMV Countries" were used for the literature search. 75 full-text papers were systematically selected from three databases (PubMed, Google Scholar and Hinari). Two stages of data analysis were descriptive analysis of the general information of the included papers and qualitative analysis of key findings. Results: Poor family income, illiteracy, low education levels, living in poor households, and agricultural and unskilled manual job types of mothers contributed to insufficient antenatal care. Maternal factors like non-marital status and sex-associated work were highly associated with induced abortions while being rural women, ethnic minorities, poor maternal knowledge and attitudes, certain social and cultural beliefs and husbands' influences directly contributed to the limitations of maternal healthcare services. Maternal factors that made more contributions to poor maternal healthcare outcomes included lower quintiles of wealth index, maternal smoking and drinking behaviours, early and elderly age at marriage, over 35 years pregnancies, unfavourable birth history, gender-based violence experiences, multigravida and higher parity. Higher unmet needs and lower demands for maternal healthcare services occurred among women living far from healthcare facilities. Regarding the maternal healthcare workforce, the quality and number of healthcare providers, the development of healthcare infrastructures and human resource management policy appeared to be arguable. Concerning maternal healthcare service use, the provisions of mobile and outreach maternal healthcare services were inconvenient and limited. Conclusion: Low utilization rates were due to several supply-side constraints. The results will advance knowledge about maternal healthcare and mortality and provide a valuable summary to policymakers for developing policies and strategies promoting high-quality maternal healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After Dobbs, religion, commonly seen as an argument against abortion, has been used to argue for the right to choose. In July 2022, a synagogue sued Florida, asserting that its ban on abortion after fifteen weeks violated Article 1, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution, which prohibits the penalization of free expression of religion. In September 2022, the ACLU argued that the state's abortion ban violated Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. And in October 2022, three Jewish women sued the state of Kentucky, alleging that its abortion ban violated the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This Note provides a guide to the merits and challenges of the argument that an abortion ban violates a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Although this Note focuses on how Jewish plaintiffs can raise such claims, the arguments outlined could be raised by individuals of multiple faiths. This Note contributes to a growing debate about religious arguments for the right to an abortion. And it is the first paper to outline how religious freedom claims to obtaining an abortion might fare under state RFRAs. The approach to RFRA outlined in this paper lays the groundwork for a rights-advancing framework of religious exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Abortion Care is Health Care" by Barbara Baird provides a historical account of abortion services in Australia from the 1990s to the 2020s. The book argues that although abortion has been effectively pro-choice for decades, access to abortion services remains uneven and inequitable. Baird highlights that the majority of abortion services are provided by private clinics, resulting in limited access for marginalized and disadvantaged women. The book is meticulously researched and provides comprehensive information on providers, laws, regulations, and events in each Australian state and territory. However, it may be more suitable for scholars than a general audience. [Extracted from the article]

The United States Supreme Court's decision in Dobb's v. Jackson Women's Health Organization has heightened interest in the link between restrictions on abortion access and child maltreatment. Connecting decreased access to abortion to increases in child maltreatment and subsequent foster care entries presents substantive challenges related to the magnitude of any effect of abortion restrictions, methodological challenges related to limitations of existing sources of national child welfare data, and conceptual challenges related to the structure and function of child welfare systems. In this paper, we explore these substantive, methodological and conceptual challenges. Specifically, we consider both the actual impact of abortion restrictions on the occurrence of abortions and the complexities that studying the link between abortion restrictions and child maltreatment presents. We caution researchers about making causal links between abortion restrictions and either child maltreatment or foster care entries without sufficiently documenting limitations of national sources of child welfare data and accounting for multiple confounding factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of maternal deaths due to unsafe abortions has been gradually rising. In Ethiopia, unplanned pregnancies contribute to 25% of births, accounting for 6%–9% of the maternal deaths resulting from unsafe abortions. Despite several disjointed cross-sectional studies that have been carried out in the past, there is no comprehensive data on the attitudes of healthcare practitioners and other related aspects regarding safe abortion in Ethiopia. This study attempted to measure pooled health care providers' attitudes and determinants of safe abortion in Ethiopia. Methods: African Journals Online, Medline/PubMed, EMBASE, Science Direct, Hinari, and Google Scholar were the databases that were accessed. The studies were evaluated critically by using the Joanna Briggs Critical Appraisal methods. The study followed the recommendations set forth by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Data were extracted in an Excel spreadsheet and imported to STATA versions 17 software for meta-analysis. The random- effects model was used to pooled the health care providers' attitudes toward safe abortion. Heterogeneity between studies was evaluated using the Cochrane Q-test and I2 statistics (I squared statistics). To evaluate publication bias, egger's tests and funnel plots were employed. Forest plot was used to present the odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval. Results: In this review and meta-analysis, a total of eight papers with a 2,826 sample size were considered. Overall, 65.49% of Ethiopian health care professionals had a positive attitude towards safe abortion (95%CI: 49.64, 81.34; I2 = 99.20%, P = 0.000). Knowledge of the abortion law (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.06, 3.43), being a male provider (OR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.23, 2.54), receiving training on abortion (OR = 2.91, 95% CI: 1.17, 4.65), working as a midwife (OR = 3.029, 95% CI: 1.605, 4.453) and practicing abortion procedures (OR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.32, 3.78) were positively associated with the attitudes of the providers regarding safe abortion in Ethiopia. Conclusion: In Ethiopia, there was a low pooled prevalence of positive attitude towards safe abortion. Safe abortion services in Ethiopia are more likely to be viewed favorably by health care professionals who have received abortion service training and are familiar with abortion laws. As a result, it is imperative that all healthcare facilities and other relevant parties ensure that health professionals receive training on safe abortion services and are aware of Ethiopia's abortion laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper focuses on the period from 2019 to 2021 and investigates the factors associated with the high prevalence of C-section deliveries in South India. We also examine the nuanced patterns, socio-demographic associations, and spatial dynamics underlying C-section choices in this region. A cross-sectional study was conducted using large nationally representative survey data. Methods: National Family Health Survey data (NFHS) from 2019 to 2021 have been used for the analysis. Bayesian Multilevel and Geospatial Analysis have been used as statistical methods. Results: Our analysis reveals significant regional disparities in C-section utilization, indicating potential gaps in healthcare access and socio-economic influences. Maternal age at childbirth, educational attainment, healthcare facility type size of child at birth and ever pregnancy termination are identified as key determinants of method of C-section decisions. Wealth index and urban residence also play pivotal roles, reflecting financial considerations and access to healthcare resources. Bayesian multilevel analysis highlights the need for tailored interventions that consider individual household, primary sampling unit (PSU) and district-level factors. Additionally, spatial analysis identifies regions with varying C-section rates, allowing policymakers to develop targeted strategies to optimize maternal and neonatal health outcomes and address healthcare disparities. Spatial autocorrelation and hotspot analysis further elucidate localized influences and clustering patterns. Conclusion: In conclusion, this research underscores the complexity of C-section choices and calls for evidence-based policies and interventions that promote equitable access to quality maternal care in South India. Stakeholders must recognize the multifaceted nature of healthcare decisions and work collaboratively to ensure more balanced and effective healthcare practices in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This maxim underscores the importance of historical awareness in medicine, particularly for obstetricians and gynecologists (ObGyns). ObGyns significantly impact societal health through their care for pregnant women, fetuses, and newborns, uniquely positioning them to advocate for health initiatives with lasting societal benefits. Despite its importance, the history of medicine is underrepresented in medical curricula, missing opportunities to foster critical thinking and ethical decision-making. In today’s climate of threatened reproductive rights, vaccine misinformation, and harmful ideologies, it is imperative for ObGyns to champion comprehensive historical education. The history of medicine, particularly in relation to societal issues – such as racism, discrimination, genocides, pandemics, and wars – provides valuable context for addressing challenges like maternal mortality, reproductive rights, vaccine hesitancy, and ethical issues. Understanding historical milestones and notable ethical breaches, such as the Tuskegee Study and the thalidomide tragedy, informs better practices and safeguards patient rights. Technological advancements in hygiene, antibiotics, vaccines, and prenatal care have revolutionized the field, yet contemporary ObGyns must remain vigilant about lessons learned from past challenges and successes. Integrating historical knowledge into medical training enhances clinical proficiency and ethical responsibility, fostering innovation and improving health outcomes. By reflecting on historical achievements and their impacts, current and future ObGyns can advance the field, ensuring comprehensive and ethically sound approaches to patient care. This paper highlights the crucial role of historical knowledge in shaping modern ObGyn practices, advocating for its integration into medical education to address contemporary health challenges and ethical considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Politics is frequently understood through the body. However, liberal political theory and, therefore, American law focus upon a question of rights, rather than of needs. Due to this, liberal political theory occludes vulnerability and the facticity of bodies from political thought. Embodiment, a given but also an uncomfortable facet of life, pushes us to consider how political and legal decisions impact people's lives. It necessitates that political and legal decisions are made by considering the ways in which they can and will effect all people, not just the independent, autonomous, and rational actor. This legal embodiment theory allows us to make visible the ways in which marginalized people's bodies frequently are the site of specific restrictions. The paper begins with a discussion of embodiment and care ethics. It then progresses to gender-affirming healthcare and abortion and how embodiment arises in those legal discourses. Then, it moves to a discussion of queer sexuality in education, engaging with ideas of disgust. Finally, it broaches the question of the State's role when it comes to legal embodiment. If we consider embodiment through a lens of a shared good, then legal embodiment ought to prioritize decisions which will promote caring relationships between the individual's body and the State. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, overturning 50 years of protected abortion rights in the United States. The decision directly impacts the way social work educators address current social issues that relate to bodily autonomy and social justice. This paper used mixed methodology to collect quantitative and qualitative survey data from MSW students to explore how they perceive the overturning of Roe v. Wade, how the topic was covered in their social work courses, and receive recommendations on how it should be taught. Constructivist Grounded Theory and Thematic Analysis were used to code for reoccurring and emergent themes. Findings indicate that students believe the Dobbs decision was not discussed enough in social work courses, that students believe reproductive justice discussions should be grounded in NASW values, and that students view the Dobbs decision negatively. Student suggestions for teaching reproductive justice are to focus on educational information, try to avoid politics, and set a civil classroom tone. The aim of this research study is to elevate the voices of students as educators grapple with navigating how the Dobbs decision impacts micro- and macro-level curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On August 2nd, 2022, Kansas held a vote to lift state constitutional protections for abortion access. The vote gained national attention, as it was the first statewide plebiscite on the subject since the U.S. Supreme Court had issued its ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which had overturned the remaining U.S. Constitutional blocks on restricting abortion that had been in place since Roe v. Wade. The turnout for the election was unprecedented for a primary in the state, and to the surprise of many, the amendment failed by a large margin in deep red Kansas. In this paper, we use both precinct-level election results and individual-level voter registration and history data to explore who was mobilized to vote in the August 2022 primary and their behavior in the November 2022 general election. We find that the primary mobilized an electorate that had more women and young people, fewer Republicans, and more first-time voters than a normal primary, but that these demographics were also more likely to then abstain in the general election. Thus, the engagement of young people, especially young women, on the abortion issue remains, but preliminary findings suggest the future of this groups' electoral participation separate from abortion activism is unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is an ample body of literature in the anthropology of moralities there is a surprising dearth of research on conscience per se. In Malta over the last ten years there has been a proliferation of a public discourse of ‘conscience’ – its affordances, freedoms and its legal safeguards. This has been the result of debates over reforms leading to the liberalization of sexual and family life, including most recently debates over the legalization of abortion. While the language of conscience in various human rights instruments claims a universal character its meanings, inflections and significance can vary in important ways. There is a blurred boundary between conscience and religion. This paper examines the ways in which conscience is deployed and the significance of the appeals to a national conscience in a European confessional state. It looks at the specific meanings of conscience in Malta and a brief lexical and political history It then moves on to look at the ways objections of conscience are framed in contemporary Malta in light of theological debates and their ramifications in Catholic Malta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Abortion has been legal for multiple indications in Ghana since 1985, and efforts have been made to expand the availability of safe abortion care in the years since. However clandestine, and potentially unsafe, abortions remain common, suggesting numerous barriers to access persist; one possible barrier is poor knowledge of the abortion law among those working in health facilities. Our study aimed to identify levels of legal knowledge among health facility staff across Ghana. Methods: Data for this paper are drawn from a nationally representative cross-sectional health facility survey conducted in 2018; our analytic sample includes 340 facilities that provide induced abortion and/or postabortion care (PAC). The survey collected data on provision of abortion and PAC, as well as knowledge of abortion legality and recommendations for reducing unsafe abortion. We used descriptive statistics to examine levels of knowledge and recommendations, and logistic regression to assess associations with individual and facility characteristics. Findings: Comprehensive knowledge of the legal indications for abortion was low among health facility staff; just 6% identified all legal indications, and the majority (83%) underestimated the number of conditions under which abortion is legal. Knowledge was higher for more restrictive indications, such as a woman's life being at risk, which was identified by 72% of respondents, than more broadly interpretable indications, such as mental health, identified by 29%. Respondents in facilities providing both induced abortion and PAC had better knowledge of several legal indications than those in facilities providing PAC only. Conclusions: Health facility staff have significant gaps in their knowledge of abortion legality. Knowledge of the law among this population is highly important for ensuring that abortion care is made available to the fullest extent of the law. Efforts are needed to improve knowledge of the law among providers and facility staff, particularly for indications with broad interpretability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite efforts to reduce stillbirths and neonatal deaths, inconsistent definitions and reporting practices continue to hamper global progress. Existing data frequently being limited in terms of quality and comparability across countries. This paper addresses this critical issue by outlining the new International Classification of Disease (ICD‐11) recommendations for standardized recording and reporting of perinatal deaths to improve data accuracy and international comparison. Key advancements in ICD‐11 include using gestational age as the primary threshold to for reporting, clearer guidance on measurement and recording of gestational age, and reporting mortality rates by gestational age subgroups to enable country comparisons to include similar populations (e.g., all births from 154 days [22+0 weeks] or from 196 days [28+0 weeks]). Furthermore, the revised ICD‐11 guidance provides further clarification around the exclusion of terminations of pregnancy (induced abortions) from perinatal mortality statistics. Implementing standardized recording and reporting methods laid out in ICD‐11 will be crucial for accurate global data on stillbirths and perinatal deaths. Such high‐quality data would both allow appropriate regional and international comparisons to be made and serve as a resource to improve clinical practice and epidemiological and health surveillance, enabling focusing of limited programmatic and research funds towards ending preventable deaths and improving outcomes for every woman and every baby, everywhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, Republican-controlled legislatures across the U.S. initiated draconian abortion restrictions. In order to appeal to anti-abortion policymakers, advocates across the country have strategically separated "maternal and child health" (MCH) issues, such as increased insurance coverage for midwifery and doula care, from issues often labeled as "reproductive rights," such as access to sex education, birth control, and abortion. Advocates point out this strategic separation has likely contributed overall to the downfall of abortion rights. In this paper, we analyze legislative discourse to understand the legislative challenges advocates face, the strategic separations and allyships they employ, and the implications for other states and reproductive health more broadly. We find that legislators legitimate the same scientific evidence in some contexts while not in others in order to hold onto rhetorical purity within the abortion debate. In their attempts to parse the ideal abortion seeker, conservative legislators create legal ambiguities with serious consequences for healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research documents how abortion can be emotionally difficult and stigmatising, but generally has not considered whether and how involvement in abortion may be a source of positive emotions, including pleasure, belonging and even joy. The absence of explorations that start from the possibility of abortion pleasure and joy represents an epistemic foreclosure. Moreover, it highlights how social science literature has tended to emphasise the negative aspects of abortion care in ways that produce or amplify normative negative associations. In this paper, we investigate the positive emotions, pleasure and joy of abortion involvement by drawing on interviews conducted in 2019 with 28 abortion accompaniers in Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador about their experiences accompanying abortions after 17 weeks' gestation. Abortion accompaniment is a response to unsafe and/or inaccessible abortion whereby volunteer activists guide abortion seekers through a medication abortion. Interviewees described how the practice of accompaniment generated positive emotions by building a feminist community, shared intimacy among women, and witnessing aborting people claim their strength. Importantly, these positive emotional experiences of involvement with abortion were not distinct from the broader marginalisation of abortion but were, instead, rooted in its marginalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 50 years have passed since Judith Jarvis Thomson wrote A Defense of Abortion (1971). Her article has significantly shaped the philosophical literature on abortion. In this paper, I will summarize some of the interesting and important work done on the topic since Thomson's article. I will highlight Thomson as a defender of the claim that abortion is morally permissible and Don Marquis as an influential opponent of that claim. I will start by articulating Thomson's case, focusing on the violinist analogy. I will underscore key questions, concepts, and objections the analogy raises. I will then examine briefly how philosophers have addressed some of these issues. Next, I will outline Marquis' work, provide a similar commentary on it, and discuss some of its main responses. I will then survey other philosophers who have addressed abortion beyond the scope of providing specific replies to Thomson or Marquis. I will close by highlighting significant points of agreement and disagreement in the literature, as well as crucial gaps in the current research. The paper is not an attempt to address every work on the topic over the last five decades, nor is it aimed at taking a position on the moral permissibility of abortion. My goal is to provide an overview of the dialectic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dogma accepted in many ethical, religious, and legal frameworks is that the reasons behind conscientious objection (CO) in healthcare cannot be evaluated or judged by any institution because conscience is individual and autonomous. This paper shows that this background view is mistaken: the requirement to reveal and explain the reasons for conscientious objection in healthcare is ethically justified and legally desirable. Referring to real healthcare cases and legal regulations, this paper argues that these reasons should be evaluated either ex ante or ex post and defends novel conceptual claims that have not been analyzed in the debates on CO. First, a moral threshold requirement: CO is only justified if the reasons behind a refusal are of a moral nature and meet a certain threshold of moral importance. Second, this paper considers the rarely discussed conceptual similarities between CO in healthcare and the legal regulations concerning military refusals that place the burden of proof on conscientious objectors. This paper concludes that conscientious objection in healthcare can be accommodated only in some cases of destroying or killing human organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-clinic follow-up to assess completion of medical abortion is no longer a requirement according to World Health Organization guidance, provided adequate counselling is given. However, timely recognition of ongoing pregnancy, complications or incomplete abortion, which require treatment, is important. As part of a larger trial, this study aimed to establish whether women having a medical abortion could self-assess whether their abortion was complete using an automated, interactive questionnaire on their mobile phones. All 469 participants received standard abortion care and all returnees filled in a self-assessment on paper at clinic follow-up 2–3 weeks later. The 234 women allocated to receive the phone messages were also asked to do a mobile phone assessment at home ten days post-misoprostol. Completion of the mobile assessment was tracked by computer and all completed assessments, paper and mobile, were compared to providers’ assessments at clinic follow-up. Of the 226 women able to access the mobile phone assessment, 176 (78%) completed it; 161 of them (93%) reported it was easy to do so. Neither mobile nor paper self-assessments predicted all cases needing additional treatment at follow-up. Prediction of complete procedures was good; 71% of mobile assessments and 91% of paper assessments were accurate. We conclude that an interactive questionnaire assessing completion of medical abortion on mobile phones is feasible in the South African setting; however, it should be done later than day 10 and combined with an appropriate pregnancy test to accurately detect incomplete procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-clinic follow-up to assess completion of medical abortion is no longer a requirement according to World Health Organization guidance, provided adequate counselling is given. However, timely recognition of ongoing pregnancy, complications or incomplete abortion, which require treatment, is important. As part of a larger trial, this study aimed to establish whether women having a medical abortion could self-assess whether their abortion was complete using an automated, interactive questionnaire on their mobile phones. All 469 participants received standard abortion care and all returnees filled in a self-assessment on paper at clinic follow-up 2–3 weeks later. The 234 women allocated to receive the phone messages were also asked to do a mobile phone assessment at home ten days post-misoprostol. Completion of the mobile assessment was tracked by computer and all completed assessments, paper and mobile, were compared to providers’ assessments at clinic follow-up. Of the 226 women able to access the mobile phone assessment, 176 (78%) completed it; 161 of them (93%) reported it was easy to do so. Neither mobile nor paper self-assessments predicted all cases needing additional treatment at follow-up. Prediction of complete procedures was good; 71% of mobile assessments and 91% of paper assessments were accurate. We conclude that an interactive questionnaire assessing completion of medical abortion on mobile phones is feasible in the South African setting; however, it should be done later than day 10 and combined with an appropriate pregnancy test to accurately detect incomplete procedures. RésuméSelon les directives de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé, le suivi dans le centre de santé pour s’assurer que l’avortement médicamenteux est complet n’est plus nécessaire, pourvu que des conseils adaptés soient prodigués. Néanmoins, il est important de déceler rapidement une poursuite de la grossesse, des complications ou un avortement incomplet, qui exigent un traitement. Dans le cadre d’un essai plus large, cette étude visait à déterminer si femmes ayant eu un avortement médicamenteux pouvaient évaluer elles-mêmes si leur avortement était complet, à l’aide d’un questionnaire interactif automatisé sur leur téléphone portable. Toutes les 469 participantes ont reçu des soins types liés à l’avortement et toutes les patientes revenues au centre ont rempli une autoévaluation sur papier lors du suivi dans ce centre, deux ou trois semaines plus tard. Les 234 femmes sélectionnées pour recevoir les messages téléphoniques ont aussi été invitées à faire une évaluation sur téléphone portable chez elles dix jours après la prise de misoprostol. L’achèvement de l’évaluation sur le portable a été contrôlé par ordinateur et toutes les évaluations complétées, sur papier et téléphone, ont été comparées à l’évaluation des praticiens lors du suivi dans le centre. Des 226 femmes ayant eu accès à l’évaluation sur portable, 176 (78%) l’ont complétée ; 161 d’entre elles (93%) ont indiqué que cela avait été facile. Les autoévaluations, que ce soit sur portable ou sur papier, n’ont pas prévu tous les cas nécessitant un traitement complémentaire lors du suivi. Les prédictions de la complétude de la procédure étaient bonnes : 71% des évaluations sur portable et 91% sur papier étaient exactes. Nous avons conclu qu’un questionnaire interactif évaluant la complétude de l’avortement médicamenteux sur le téléphone portable est faisable dans le contexte sud-africain ; néanmoins, il devrait être soumis plus tard que le dixième jour et associé à un test de grossesse approprié pour détecter rigoureusement les procédures incomplètes. ResumenEl seguimiento en la unidad de salud para determinar si la mujer tuvo un aborto con medicamentos completo ya no es un requisito, según la guía de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, siempre y cuando se brinde consejería adecuada. Sin embargo, es importante reconocer con prontitud la continuación del embarazo, complicaciones o aborto incompleto, que requiere tratamiento. Como parte de un ensayo clínico más extenso, este estudio tuvo como objetivo establecer si mujeres en proceso de aborto con medicamentos podrían determinar por sí mismas si tuvieron un aborto completo, utilizando un cuestionario interactivo automatizado en su teléfono móvil. Todas las 469 participantes recibieron servicios estándares de aborto y todas las que regresaron llenaron un formulario de autoevaluación durante el seguimiento en la unidad de salud 2 o 3 semanas después. A las 234 mujeres asignadas para recibir los mensajes por teléfono también se les pidió que hicieran una evaluación domiciliaria por teléfono móvil diez días post-misoprostol. La conclusión de la evaluación móvil fue seguida por computadora y todas las evaluaciones terminadas, en versión impresa y móvil, fueron comparadas con las evaluaciones de los prestadores de servicios durante el seguimiento en la unidad de salud. De las 226 mujeres que tenían acceso a su evaluación por teléfono móvil, 176 (78%) la concluyeron; 161 de ellas (93%) informaron que fue fácil de hacer. Ni la autoevaluación móvil ni la impresa previeron todos los casos que necesitaban tratamiento adicional en el seguimiento. La predicción de procedimientos completos fue buena; el 71% de las evaluaciones móviles y el 91% de las evaluaciones impresas fueron precisas. Concluimos que un cuestionario interactivo que evalúa la finalización del aborto con medicamentos por teléfono móvil es factible en Sudáfrica; sin embargo, debe hacerse después del décimo día y combinarse con una prueba de embarazo apropiada para detectar con precisión los procedimientos incompletos. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: Given Iran's recent shift towards pronatalist population policies, concerns have arisen regarding the potential increase in abortion rates. This review study examines the trends of (medical), intentional (illegal), and spontaneous abortions in Iran over the past two decades, as well as the factors that have contributed to these trends. Methods: This paper reviewed research articles published between 2005 and 2022 on abortion in Iran. The study employed the PRISMA checklist for systematic reviews. Articles were searched from international (Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science) and national databases (Magiran, Medlib, SID). Once the eligibility criteria were applied, 42 records were included from the initial 349 records. Results: Abortion is influenced by a variety of socioeconomic and cultural factors and the availability of family planning services. Factors that contribute to unintended pregnancy include attitudes toward abortion, knowledge about reproductive health, access to reproductive health services, and fertility desires, among others. In addition to health and medical factors, consanguineous marriage plays an important role in spontaneous and therapeutic abortion. A higher number of illegal abortions were reported by women from more privileged socioeconomic classes. In comparison, a higher number of medical and spontaneous abortions were reported by women from less privileged socioeconomic classes. Conclusion: Iranian policymakers are concerned about the declining fertility rate and have turned to pronatalist policies. From a demographic standpoint, this seems to be a reasonable approach. However, the new population policies, particularly, the Family Protection and Young Population Law, along with creating limitations in access to reproductive health services and prenatal screening tests as well as stricter abortion law could potentially lead to an increase in various types of abortions and their associated consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After experiencing my own miscarriage, I was told by a pro-life advocate that the miscarriage should be easy for me to "get over" because, as a pro-choice advocate, I didn't regard embryos or fetuses as persons. While such a comment can be attributed to ignorance, it is true that the pro-choice community in general has been reluctant to acknowledge grief after pregnancy loss, whether through miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. In this paper, I argue that it is imperative that abortion rights advocates acknowledge the ambivalence and grief that can follow abortions and that they help create feminist, women-centered ways of addressing and alleviating any negative post-abortion feelings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pro-life and pro-choice advocates battle for rational dominance in abortion debates. Yet, public polling (and general legal opinion) demonstrates the public's preference for the middle ground: that abortions are acceptable in certain circumstances and during early pregnancy. Implicit in this, are two contradictory intuitions: (1) that we were all early fetuses, and (2) abortion kills no one. To hold these positions together, Harman and Räsänen have argued for the Actual Future Principle (AFP) which distinguishes between fetuses that will develop into persons and those that will never develop into persons. However intellectually ingenious their solutions are, they fail to account for a third intuition: that the death of a wanted fetus – e.g. through termination or miscarriage – is of moral significance. Not only is this practically important, but it is also supported by public opinion. The authors of this paper argue that relational ontology can modify the AFP to better account for all three intuitions. Furthermore, it further emphasizes the pivotal role of the pregnant person who relates to their own fetus in either personal or impersonal ways. Addressing the fundamental challenges of relational ontology, the authors defend the position that human personal identity is ultimately relational. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractUnsafe abortions contribute significantly to maternal mortality and morbidity in Ghana. To reduce this, in 1982 abortion laws in Ghana underwent reform to broaden the conditions under which abortion is accessed. Although, evidence in other contexts highlights the contribution of violence to women’s experience of unwanted pregnancy and abortion, such evidence is limited within the Ghanaian abortion literature. This study aims to fill that gap. Informed by phenomenology, interviews were conducted with 10 women who had experienced various forms of violence leading to unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortions. Participants were recruited between June 2017 and March 2018 in the Ashanti region of Ghana where they sought hospital care for unsafe abortion related complications. Participants mentioned intimate partners as the main perpetrators of violence. Financial challenges were also identified as important in increasing women’s vulnerability to violence. Verbal abuse from health workers contributed to denying women access to safe abortion. This paper advances dialogue about the ways in which women’s experience of violence from intimate/non-intimate partners and healthcare workers impacts their overall abortion experience. It advocates the empowerment of women to enable them to leave violent relationships, and the retraining of health workers to enable them to adopt respectful and empathetic care practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are few reliable Iranian‑induced abortion data. The aim of this paper was to investigate the prevalence and socioeconomic characteristics of women and men who report having had or been a partner in an abortion. Materials and Methods: A cross‑sectional survey of women and men aged 15–49 years referred to the health center that randomly selected from 110 health center that was used. Results: Data from 1520 women and men surveys were analyzed. One in 10 women and one in 12 men had experienced or been a partner in an abortion. In adjusted analyses, women and men in the 34–49 age group [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.62, 95% (CI) 0.41, 0.96], the importance of religion in fertility (AOR = 0.42; 95% CI 0.26, 0.67), dissatisfied general health (AOR = 0.52; 95% CI 0.32, 0.87), and history of unwanted pregnancy for twice (AOR = 2.32; 95% CI 1.43, 3.77) and history of unwanted pregnancy for three‑time or more (AOR = 2.69; 95% CI 1.59, 5.49) were associated with significantly increased odds of abortion. Haven’t heard of medication abortion, that is, abortion with tablets (AOR = 0.43; 95% CI 0.29, 0.67) was associated with significantly reduced odds of abortion. Conclusions: The findings contribute to scarce information about abortion in Iranian. Due to the high prevalence of abortion and the country’s population growth policy, Iranian women need a full range of sexual and reproductive health services, including contraceptive counseling and accessible abortion care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Islamic government of Iran recently passed and announced a new law titled "Rejuvenation of the Population and Protection of the Family." This legislation is a noteworthy example of biopolitics-influenced biolaw. In terms of abortion, contraception, prenatal screening, and population control, this law clearly contrasts with women's fundamental rights and freedoms and has significant health-related consequences for different sectors of the population. A historical review of the population policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran shows the occurrence of multiple abrupt and radical changes in such policies over the past four decades. This new law, promoted by religious biopolitics, is the most recent example, and places stringent limits on abortion. According to it, all decisions concerning abortion must be made in courts rather than in health clinics. Such courts are typically presided over by male religious scholars. This law also limits prenatal screening to the degree that will increase the rate of genetic defects, especially in the population's lower socioeconomic strata. By strictly limiting access to contraception, this law will increase the rate of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. This paper argues that such an influence of biopolitics on biolaw contrasts with the principles of bioethics. Still, Iran's current institution of bioethics cannot address it effectively. Therefore, a new model of interaction between bioethics, biopolitics, and biolaw is needed to prevent the detrimental consequences of such pieces of legislation. Such a paradigm shift is demanded by the current "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement of the Iranian people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the protection of equality and non-discrimination of healthcare professionals who refuse to perform abortions for reasons of conscience. It also discusses to what extent ethos-based healthcare entities can discriminate their employees on religious or ideological grounds and subject them to duties of loyalty towards their ethos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the main factors contributing to maternal morbidity and mortality is induced abortion. The WHO estimates that over 44 million induced abortions take place annually around the world. The majority of these abortions—about 50%—are unsafe, significantly increasing maternal morbidity and contributing to 13% of maternal deaths. Thus, this review aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of induced abortion and its associated factors in Africa. Methods: To find literature on the prevalence of induced abortion and its associated factors, a thorough search of the internet databases such as PubMed/MEDLINE, African Journals Online, and Google Scholar was conducted. The data were extracted using a structured method of data collection. Software called STATA 14 was used to do the analysis. funnel plot and Egger regression test were used to evaluate potential publication bias. I2 statistics and Cochrane's Q were used to measure the heterogeneity at a p-value < 0.05. Results: 976 studies were found through a thorough search of electronic databases. Finally, 46 full-text abstract papers were included in this study. The estimated pooled prevalence of induced abortion was 16% (95% CI: 13%-19%). According to the sub-group analysis, most studies were conducted in Ethiopia, and the pooled prevalence was 19% (95% CI: 10%–30%). Similarly, the subgroup analysis by year of study showed that the prevalence of induced abortion was 39% (95% CI: 17%–64%) among studies conducted in 2019. Conclusion: The results of this study thus imply that the pooled prevalence of induced abortion is higher than that of earlier studies that were published in some nations. the data from this study are needed to support reproductive and adolescent health programmers and policymakers and to formulate recommendations for future clinical practice and guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Advantages and challenges of a dedicated patient registry for people with CFTR-RD. • The CFTR-RD risk for infants with a CRMS/CFSPID designation. • Peculiarities of genetic counseling in people and families with CFTR-RD. • Identification of barriers to disseminate, implement and monitor CFTR-RD management. • Feasibility of clinical trials in people with CFTR-RD. After three publications defining an updated guidance on the diagnostic criteria for people with cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)-related disorders (pwCFTR-RDs), establishing its relationship to CFTR-dysfunction and describing the individual disorders, this fourth and last paper in the series addresses some critical challenges facing health care providers and pwCFTR-RD. Topics included are: 1) benefits and obstacles to collect data from pwCFTR-RD are discussed, together with the opportunity to integrate them into established CF-registries; 2) the potential of infants designated CRMS/CFSPID to develop a CFTR-RD and how to communicate this information; 3) a description of the challenges in genetic counseling, with particular regard to phenotypic variability, unknown long-term evolution, CFTR testing and pregnancy termination 4) a proposal for the assessment of potential barriers to the implementation and dissemination of the produced documents to health care professionals involved in the care of pwCFTR-RD and a process to monitor the implementation of the CFTR-RD recommendations; 5) clinical trials investigating the efficacy of CFTR modulators in CFTR-RD and how endpoints and outcomes might be adapted to the heterogeneity of these disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For 49 years, the right to abortion was taken for granted—inhaled by every girl, every woman—by all people assigned female at birth in the United States. This right no longer exists. In 2022, with the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, the Supreme Court removed federal protection for the legal right to abortion and therefore women's agency over their bodies. This paper will contextualize abortion as part of a continuum that encompasses gender, motherhood and the meaning of reproduction and reproductive rights as sociocultural and intrapsychic phenomena. The expectation that mature female-bodied people are child-desiring women persists and is not conceptualized as optional. It is the original choice women do not have. The next choice women no longer have, if they become pregnant, is whether or not to continue a pregnancy. The Dobbs decision means the cultural reinstatement of female de-sexualization, along with the suffocating and silencing of agency—a negation of women's voices, desire, power and subjectivity—a recipe for psychological destabilization. Personal and clinical material will illustrate these points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contextualizes the Dobbs v. Jackson decision within the history of how children have been used, literally and symbolically, as commodities, to serve political, economic and religious goals. Also examined are attitudes toward women and moral decision-making, and motives behind state interference in reproductive choice. Focus is placed on the promotion of adoption, by some anti-abortionactivists, as the moral alternative to abortion. The recent activities of some evangelical Christian groups to deploy adoption as away to increase their numbers, as well as the Spanish government's history of stealing babies from anti-governmentmothers, and the history in the U.S.of the use of sterilization as apurported means of reducing poverty, are offered as evidence. Suggestions are made for how psychoanalysis might expand theory to include the role of the social unconscious, particularly in understanding the development of female subjectivity and awoman's capacity to make moral/ethical choices for herself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal narratives about families, ranging from individual discourses to public discourse, do not always reflect the reality of family lives. This is also valid for Narratives of Return (NoR), which propose a return to a "natural" family order and lean on conservative ideological values. However, such a notion does not rely on actual past and present social practice but tries to reshape it. It deliberately omits the variety of existing forms and relationships present among families. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia, many processes, patterns, and problems in society became more visible. The crisis put particular pressure on families and intergenerational relationships, mainly regarding care. This paper analyses micro-narratives about families, relationships, and care, juxtaposed to actual practice, during the pandemic. We rely on data from a two-year-long ethnographic research project using online surveys, ethnographic interviews, and autobiographical texts. We compare these data with political discourse and its presentation in media, where we looked for aspects of NoR. It seems that the political discourse was primarily focused on securing public health but was at the same time oriented towards particular problems (such as natality or abortions), constructing an ideological narrative with specific family structures in mind (in accordance with NoR). Simultaneously, it put older adults at the forefront as a uniform social group that was vulnerable and dependent on others, omitting their function as caregivers of the youngest generation in the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a response to a letter regarding a case report titled "Maternal strangulated diaphragmatic hernia with gangrene of the entire stomach during Pregnancy: A Case Report and Review of the Recent Literature." The author addresses comments made about the paper, clarifying that it focused on a specific type of hernia and provided a comprehensive review of reported cases. The author also defends the references used in the paper and provides insights from colleagues in radiology and surgery. The article emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis and treatment for favorable outcomes in cases of maternal hernia during pregnancy. The author concludes by discussing the limitations of research on rare tumors and suggesting improvements for treatment guidelines. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Despite the increased availability of safe abortion methods in sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls continue to use unsafe abortion methods and procedures to terminate their unwanted pregnancies, resulting in severe complications, lifelong disabilities, and death. Barriers to safe abortion methods include restrictive laws, low awareness of safe abortion methods, poverty, and sociocultural and health system barriers. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of data on the decision-making around and use of abortion methods. This paper aims to provide answers to the following questions: Which abortion methods do women and girls use and why? Who and what influences their decisions? What can we learn from their decision-making process to enhance the uptake of safe abortion methods? We focus our in-depth analysis on the rationale behind the choice of abortion methods used by women and girls in Kilifi County in Kenya and Atlantique Department in Benin. Methods: We draw on data collected as part of an ethnographic study conducted between January and August 2021 on lived experiences, social determinants, and pathways to abortion. Data were collected using repeated in-depth interviews with 95 girls and women who had a recent abortion experience. Data from the interviews were supplemented using information from key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation. Data analysis was conducted through an inductive process. Results: Our findings reveal that women and girls use various methods to procure abortions, including herbs, high doses of pharmaceutical drugs, homemade concoctions, medical abortion drugs, and surgical abortion methods. Procedures may involve singular or multiple attempts, and sometimes, mixing several methods to achieve the goal of pregnancy termination. The use of various abortion methods is mainly driven by the pursuit of social safety (preservation of secrecy and social relationships, avoidance of shame and stigmatization) instead of medical safety (which implies technical safety and quality). Conclusion: Our findings reaffirm the need for comprehensive access to, and availability of, abortion-related information and services, especially safe abortion and post-abortion care services that emphasize both medical and social safety. Plain Language Summary: Despite the availability of safe abortion methods in sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls in the region continue to resort to unsafe methods, leading to severe complications, disabilities, and maternal death. This can be attributed to restrictive abortion laws, lack of awareness on safe abortion methods, poverty, and sociocultural and health system barriers. This paper uses data from a larger ethnographic study in Kilifi County, Kenya, and Atlantique Department, Benin, to understand which methods women and girls use, and why, to help improve the use of safe abortion methods. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 95 girls and women who had recently undergone an abortion, as well as key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation. The findings reveal that women and girls use various methods to terminate their pregnancies, including herbs, high doses of pharmaceutical drugs, homemade concoctions, medical abortion drugs, and surgical methods. They often use these methods once, multiple times, or in combination to achieve their goal. The main reason for their choice of methods is not medical safety but social safety, including preserving social relationships and avoiding shame and stigma. We conclude that there is a pressing need for greater access to accurate, well-framed information about safe abortion methods. Abortion services should consider not only medical safety but also discretion to mitigate the social implications of having an abortion in a medical facility. By addressing these factors, it is possible to enhance the use of safe abortion methods and reduce the reliance on unsafe practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the current abortion regulation by Law 194/1978 is an inadequate basis for the provision of good quality abortion care and must be reformed. First, the paper explains why Law 194/1978 creates a hyper‐regulatory regime that is inconsistent with the best clinical evidence and practices in the field as well as relevant international human rights law, as outlined in the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2022 Abortion Care Guideline. Second, it highlights gaps between what the law says and what happens in practice, pointing out how the everyday life of Law 194/1978, especially in the practices of gynecologists, is far removed from international standards of quality abortion care and has yet to comply with international human rights law. Third, it sets out some alternative routes to abortion access "outside" Law 194/1978. Finally, it concludes with some suggestions for a change in the practice of gynecology and a call for the reform of Law 194/1978, in favor of a bodily autonomy model of regulation grounded on decriminalization, demedicalization, dehospitalization, and self‐management to ensure compliance with the WHO standards and international human rights law. Synopsis: The paper evaluates the inconsistencies of current abortion regulation and clinical practice in Italy against the 2022 WHO Abortion Care Guideline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article contributes to a genealogy of the global articulation of reproductive rights principles, as established at the 1994 United Nations (UN) Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo and the UN Women's Conference held in Beijing the following year. It highlights the key role played by an emerging global women's health movement in the 1970s–80s, in shaping UN debates on family planning, women's rights in procreative choice and women's roles in socio‐economic development. The article focuses on the International Campaign for Abortion, Sterilisation and Contraception (est. London 1978) and the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (Amsterdam and Manila 1984; ECOSOC consultative status in 1992). Adopting an intersectional perspective, the paper highlights the local embeddedness of feminist positions, the shortcomings of Western feminism and the ways in which conflicts between women's organisations allowed for an original and evolving concept of reproductive rights to emerge. It is based on UN papers and the archives of the above organisations and family planning movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the legal framework concerning the conscientious objection rights of employees in Ireland and critically considers how the various sources within that legal framework may overlap and intersect. It specifically considers the uncertainties created by section 22 of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 and its interaction with the Constitution of Ireland, the common law, other statutory regimes in employment law, EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights. In conducting this analysis, the paper attempts to map out likely future directions of travel within the law of conscientious objection in the context of termination of pregnancy in Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the risk of miscarriage in IVF cycles in women with PCOS. Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and Google Scholar. The language search was restricted to English, Spanish and French, from 2000 to 2019, with crosschecking of references from relevant articles. Inclusion criteria were: (1) IVF cycles (2) a group of patients with PCOS was considered separately, (3) the miscarriage rate was reported, (4) there was a control group, (5) definition of PCOS according the Rotterdam criteria. Exclusion criteria were been excluded from the meta-analysis: (1) publication prior to the year 2000, (2) animal studies, (3) reviews, (4) abstracts or conference papers, (5) letters, (6) case reports, (7) studies comparing different IVF techniques, (8) studies comparing groups with and without metformin or other treatments, (9) studies on induced abortions. Risk of bias was assessed by the Newcastle–Ottawa score (NOS). All the included studies had a low risk of bias (NOS scores ranging 7–8). The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020186713). Seventeen studies were included in the meta-analysis. There was a total of 10,472 pregnancies (2650 in PCOS and 7822 in controls) of which 1885 were miscarriages (682 in PCOS and 1203 in controls). We considered the miscarriage rate (MR), preclinical MR, early MR, and late MR. Results: In IVF pregnancies the risk of miscarriage was significantly increased when considering miscarriages in total (RR = 1.59; CI = 1.45–1.75), preclinical miscarriages (RR = 1.59; CI = 1.35–1.88), and early miscarriages (RR = 1.44; CI = 1.16–1.79). The increased miscarriage rate persisted in Chinese and Western populations when considered separately. The risk of miscarriage was increased in the subgroup of fresh transfers (RR = 1.21; CI = 1.06–1.39) as well as in the subgroup including either fresh or frozen transfers (RR = 1.95; CI = 1.72–2.22). Conclusion: PCOS is linked to an increased MR in IVF pregnancies both of miscarriages in total, and to an increase in preclinical and early miscarriages. Prospero number: CRD42020186713. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent issue of the Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, Emily Carroll and Parker Crutchfield published a paper entitled, "The Duty to Protect, Abortion, and Organ Donation." They argued that a prohibition on abortion is morally equivalent to a positive mandate for parents to donate organs to their children and that opponents of abortion must be prepared to accept these mandates to remain consistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In September 2021, the Mexican Supreme Court issued a decision disallowing any federal or local judicial authority to indict someone for the offense of voluntary or consensual abortion. This decision also declared unconstitutional penalties imposed on medical personnel who facilitate or assist such procedures. Furthermore, the Court decided that limiting access to abortion in cases of rape to a specific time frame was disproportionate. Later on, in September 2023, the Supreme Court confirmed that absolute criminalization of abortion was unconstitutional and declared that the rule supporting criminalization in the Federal Penal Code was without effects. Consequently, healthcare providers who work in public federal health institutions cannot be criminalized for guaranteeing the right to abortion. This article reviews the reasons advanced by the Supreme Court to guarantee the right of reproductive self‐determination, as well as the effects of both decisions beyond the decriminalization of abortion by Mexican federal and state legislatures. The paper also examines the scope and limitations of these rulings and identifies the remaining challenges regarding voluntary abortion procedures in Mexico. Synopsis: This article reviews how the Mexican Supreme Court decriminalized abortion in 2021 and 2023 and the effects of the decisions for promoting reproductive health care and self‐determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 was commenced on 01/01/2019 in Ireland. The Act provides for legal termination of pregnancy under defined circumstances including for any reason at < 12 weeks gestation; and where two doctors agree there is 'a condition affecting the foetus that is likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before, or within 28 days of, birth'. As such, abortion for congenital anomaly (CA) can occur at a number of time points, depending on the adjudged severity. Infants born with CAs frequently require significant medical intervention and account for a high proportion of admissions to paediatric intensive care units (PICUs). The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the number of infants with CAs admitted to an Irish PICU in the period before and after the implementation of the Act. All PICU admissions < 1 month of age to a single Irish paediatric hospital between 2012 and 2021 were analysed. CAs were recorded, and the periods before and after the commencement of the Act compared. We found a difference in admissions involving CAs, particularly those related to congenital heart disease involving single ventricle anatomy. It is plausible that this difference was as a result of improved access to abortion services following the implementation of the Act. This article explores the legal conditions related to the abortion of a foetus with a CA in Ireland, and the possible impact of the Independent Review of the Operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Editors of Obstetrics & Gynecology are pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 Roy M. Pitkin Award and the 2018 Harold A. Kaminetzky Prize Paper. Articles published in 2018 were selected by the editors, and a panel of former Editorial Board members chose the winner. On behalf of the selection committee, the Editors, and the Editorial Board, we congratulate each recipient of the 2018 Roy M. Pitkin Award and the 2018 Harold A. Kaminetzky Prize Paper. [Extracted from the article]

The letter is a response to a paper discussing the intrauterine repair of myelomeningocele (MMC), a type of neural tube defect. The authors of the letter, who have extensive experience in managing MMC, address ethical considerations, the etiology of neural damage, selection criteria, the risk of the procedure, efficacy of closure techniques, neurological results, and the management of complications such as hydrocephalus. They emphasize the need for rigorous regulations and centralization of cases to improve surgical outcomes. The authors conclude that intrauterine repair can improve the neurological outcomes and quality of life for MMC patients and reduce the burden on parents. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Losing a baby during pregnancy can be a devastating experience for expectant parents. Many report dedicated, compassionate healthcare provision as a facilitator of positive mental health outcomes, however, healthcare services have been severely impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aim: To explore women's experiences of healthcare service provision for miscarriage and termination of pregnancy for medical reasons (TFMR) on the island of Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Findings combine data from elements of two separate studies. Study 1 used a mixed methods approach with women who experienced miscarriage and attended a hospital in Northern Ireland. Study 2 was qualitative and examined experiences of TFMR in Northern Ireland and Ireland. Data analysed for this paper includes open-ended responses from 145 women to one survey question from Study 1, and semi-structured interview data with 12 women from Study 2. Data were analysed separately using Thematic Analysis and combined for presentation in this paper. Results: Combined analysis of results indicated three themes, (1) Lonely and anxiety-provoking experiences; (2) Waiting for inadequate healthcare; and (3) The comfort of compassionate healthcare professionals. Conclusions: Women's experiences of healthcare provision were negatively impacted by COVID-19, with the exclusion of their partner in hospital, and delayed services highlighted as particularly distressing. Limited in-person interactions with health professionals appeared to compound difficulties. The lived experience of service users will be helpful in developing policies, guidelines, and training that balance both the need to minimise the risk of infection spread, with the emotional, psychological, and physical needs and wishes of parents. Further research is needed to explore the long-term impact of pregnancy loss during a pandemic on both parents and health professionals delivering care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Teenage pregnancy is a concerning public health problem in India. Misperception and misunderstanding about pregnancy and its preventive methods lead to pregnancy when adolescents are involved in unsafe sexual intercourse. This scoping review aims to discuss the evidence on the perception, practices, and understanding related to teenage pregnancy among adolescent girls in the Indian context. Method: The Arksey and O'Malley scoping review framework and Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers' Manual were used for the scoping review. The Population, Concept, and Context strategy (PCC) ensured the review questions, eligibility criteria, and search strategy. The Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) was used. A literature search was done using electronic databases by specific keywords such as "teenage", "adolescences", "pregnancy", "perception", "knowledge", "awareness", etc. Relevant grey literature was identified through further searching. The review included studies that fulfil inclusion criteria having female adolescent groups aged from 10 to 19 years in the Indian context between the years 2000 and 2021. Result: We found 40 eligible studies; more than half of these were from southern (35%) and northern (27.5%) regions, and studies from the rest of India were very sporadically distributed. Most studies (72.5%) were published in the last 10 years. The relevant extracted data from individual studies were synthesized and presented in the two major sections, perception, practices, and the second one, understanding and experiences among teenage girls. The understanding of pregnancy and teenage pregnancy-related preventive methods was detailed analysis in about 72% of papers whereas other aspects, such as perception (22.5%), practices (25%), and experiences (7.5%) were discussed in the remaining papers related to pregnancy among adolescent girls. Conclusion: Evidence in the selected studies shows that understanding and practices are the major areas that were primarily explored, where perception, practices and experiences are the topics that are relatively less investigated. Literature synthesis derives misconception, lack of understanding, and practices without knowing the consequences are the key factors responsible for early pregnancies. Future interventions like increasing awareness, providing comprehensive reproductive knowledge, convenient health care aids, and proper counselling are adequate measures for minimalising the problem. The present analysis showed that studies are limited in their scope concerning various aspects of teenage pregnancy in India, so this scoping review gives essential perspectives on future research and implementation plans and policies in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]