The world’s largest Roman Catholic country is helping to make birth-control pills more affordable, subsidizing a program that will allow people to buy a year’s supply for $2.40. Weeks after Pope Benedict XVI used a five-day visit to Brazil to denounce government- backed contraception efforts, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced a program to give masses of poor people access to birth-control pills that other citizens take for granted. Read more>
Archive for the 'Reproductive Rights' Category
Brazil government to subsidize contraception
May 30, 2007Mexico City abortion law goes into effect
May 30, 2007Women’s groups have praised city officials for moving quickly to put the law into effect after its April 24 approval by the Mexico City legislature. Abortion remains illegal in the rest of Mexico. This capital city, along with Puerto Rico, Cuba and Guyana, are the only places in Latin America where abortion is legal. Read more>
Aspiring abortion doctors drawn to embattled field
May 23, 2007Medical students cite defiance and conscience as a reason to choose the career. ‘It doesn’t matter what you believe if you don’t back it up with action,’ one says. Read more>
Helpline delivers hope for India’s expectant mothers
May 23, 2007A new hotline is cutting maternal mortality rates in a corner of India where they had remained stubbornly high. “We can’t build clinics in all the villages, but the helpline ensures we get expectant mothers to the nearest one as quickly as possible,” says the charity’s Ashok Tiwari, adding government officials hope to extend it to other parts of the state. Read more>
Egypt slashes child and maternal mortality rates
May 10, 2007Through a multi-year effort involving training, education, and funding, Egypt has cut child and maternal mortality rates significantly, according to a recent UN report. Between 1990 and 2005, child mortality rates declined by 68%. Maternal mortality rates have declined almost 60% due to improvements in pre- and post-natal healthcare, better funding for healthcare facilities, and targeted healthcare training for women.
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Mexico City votes for choice
May 4, 2007Mexico City’s legislative assembly voted 46 to 19 in favor of a law that would permit abortion of pregnancies in the first 12 weeks. Previously, abortion was legal only in cases of rape, if the woman’s life was at risk or if there were signs of severe defects in the fetus.
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