Abortion

A leaked draft judgment has shown that the US Supreme Court may overturn the landmark 1973 case of Roe v Wade, which guaranteed access to abortions. The opinion, written by Republican-appointed judge, Justice Samuel Alito, was published by Politico in what is an unprecedented leak from the court.

Germany has abolished a Nazi-era law that prohibited doctors from advertising their abortion services. The 1933 law, which was adopted after Hitler came to power, prohibits the “promotion” of abortion, which is punishable by “up to two years of imprisonment or a fine”.

The Biden administration has announced plans to sue the state of Texas over an extremely restrictive new law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The Supreme Court of the United States last week rejected an emergency petition brought by Texas abortion clinics against the law, known as SB8

Plans to allow women to continue accessing early medical abortions at home after the Covid-19 pandemic have gone out for consultation. Since March, eligible women have been allowed to take both pills required for an early medical abortion (mifepristone and misoprostol) in their own homes after a tel

Two midwives who were denied employment in Sweden because of their refusal to participate in abortions have had their application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) declared inadmissible. Ellinor Grimmark and Linda Steen, who were represented by Scandinavian Human Rights Lawyers, wer

A last-ditch attempt to stop the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland by rushing a bill through Stormont in a single day has failed. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which is opposed to abortion in all circumstances, attempted to introduce the Defence of the Unborn Child Bill 2019 y

New Zealand is set to decriminalise abortion under new plans intended to bring the law "into line with many other developed countries". Under the present legal framework, which has remained unchanged since 1978, an abortion is only lawful in certain circumstances, including where continuing the preg

Plans to extend abortion access and same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland have been approved by the House of Lords, following revisions to the process and timetable. MPs voted last week to amend the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill to include provisions on abortion and marriage which will

Abortion access and same-sex marriage will be extended to Northern Ireland through secondary UK legislation if a Northern Ireland Executive is not formed by October under plans approved by MPs yesterday. In a free vote, MPs voted by 332-99 and 383-73 to support amendments to the Northern Ireland (Ex

A student anti-abortion group that launched legal action after being denied the right to affiliate now has a presence on campus. Aberdeen Life Ethics Society (ALES) claimed that an Aberdeen University Students' Association (AUSA) policy of "deplatforming pro-life student societies" ran contrary

Brent Haywood looks at a case in which a student anti-abortion group was denied affiliation and how it availed itself of the Equality Act. In the field of human rights and equalities law the cases that grab the headlines are those where a judgment is delivered after a hard-fought legal battle in cou

A county court in Alabama has recognised foetuses as having legal rights, in what is reportedly the first case of its kind in the US. A decision of the Madison County Probate Court recognised that an aborted foetus had personhood, allowing its father to sue the abortion clinic and others involved in