On April 13, 2007, the Center filed a third party intervention in support of the national reproductive health and family planning regulations authorizing the free distribution of emergency contraception (EC). The Center’s intervention was a direct response to a petition filed before the Chilean Constitutional Court by a group of conservative parliamentarians to outlaw the […]
17-year-old K.L. took on the country Peru for enabling officials to force her to carry a fatally-impaired fetus to term. When our client K.L. was seventeen years old, she found out that she was pregnant with an anencephalic fetus. Even though abortion is legal in Peru for therapeutic reasons, K.L. was illegally denied access to […]
I. Nepal’s existing abortion law, in permitting abortion during the first trimester without restriction as to reason or need for spousal consent, respects women’s basic human rights and should be reaffirmed.The current law on abortion as provided in the Eleventh Amendment of the Muluki Ain respects rights and principles recognized by the Nepalese Supreme Court […]
Filing date: Amicus brief submitted to Supreme Courts in February 2008 Country/Region: , Mexico -LAC Plaintiff(s): GIRE Center Attorney(s): , Lilian SepulvedaPartners: International Commission of Jurists, GIRE Summary: In February of 2008, the Center, in collaboration with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), drafted a third-party brief before the Mexico Supreme Court, arguing in favor […]
I. IntroductionThe issue presented before the honorable Constitutional Court of Colombia in this case – whether the categorical ban on abortion in Article 122 of the Colombian Penal Code is constitutional – raises a question of first impression for this Court that involves the most fundamental rights of life, health and dignity.Constitutional courts and legislatures […]
What is FGM? Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the collective name given to a number of cultural practices that involve the partial or total cutting of female genitals. FGM can be performed as early as infancy and as late as age thirty. However, most commonly, girls experience FGM between four and twelve years of age. […]
Nepal’s punitive approach to abortion has threatened women’s lives and health, reinforced entrenched gender discrimination, and interfered with women’s decision-making on a matter with immense personal implications. Those who have been arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned on abortion-related offenses have been subjected to violations of their basic rights as criminal defendants and prisoners. Abuses include systematic […]
Filing date: April 2004 Country/Region: , Nepal Plaintiff(s): Achyut Prasad Kharel Center Attorney(s): , Melissa Upreti Partners: Forum for Women, Law, and Development (FLWD) Summary: On August 4, Nepal’s Supreme Court dismissed a case that had aimed to overturn the country’s abortion law, which allows abortion upon request up to 12 weeks. The law was […]
In 2005, anti-choice organizations in Ecuador filed a suit to outlaw emergency contraception, alleging that EC violates the right to life as established in the Ecuadorian constitution. As a result of their lawsuit, a lower court banned distribution of EC, and the Ministry of Health appealed this decision. The Center, in collaboration with the Latin […]
On June 5, 2008, in a landmark decision, the Colombian Council of State ruled against anti-choice groups’ efforts to ban emergency contraception. The court found that emergency contraception, commonly known as the “morning-after pill,” is a contraceptive method and not an abortifacient, and therefore, access to emergency contraception is in accordance with the right to […]