• Maternal mortality under scrutiny
    Commentary
    May 4, 2012
    Since the 1990s South Africa has not reduced the number of women who die needlessly each year from preventable and treatable causes linked to pregnancy and childbirth.
  • Brazil: Supreme Court Abortion Ruling a Positive Step
    Press release
    Apr 19, 2012

    The ruling by Brazil’s highest court on April 12, 2012, expanding exceptions from criminal penalties for abortion is a positive step toward protecting women’s human rights.

  • In Argentina, Court Reaches Out to Rape Victims
    Commentary
    Apr 1, 2012
    The Argentine Supreme Court's ruling earlier this month in the case of A.G., a 15-year-old girl who became pregnant after her stepfather raped her, does not decriminalize abortion. But it does humanize the judicial process for rape victims seeking timely medical intervention after suffering unspeakable violence.
  • A sick system abuses its refugees
    Commentary
    Mar 18, 2012

    South Africa's tourism website describes the country as the "land of good times and friendly people". Sadly, Araya Y, a pregnant Somali refugee living in Port Elizabeth, did not experience this side of the country. Instead, when she went to a government district hospital in July 2010 to give birth, she was abused by medical staff and denied care. 

  • Hope for BC at BC?
    Commentary
    Feb 8, 2012

    When I went to college, I chose a highly regarded university with a strong tradition as a Jesuit institution. I was pleased with my undergraduate education at Boston College, but I still lament that my alma mater denies students access to contraceptive services through its health system.  

  • New, unneeded obstacles to abortion
    Commentary
    Jan 22, 2012
    A federal appeals court this month upheld a Texas law that requires a woman seeking an abortion to undergo a sonogram, forces doctors to describe that sonogram in detail to her and then requires that she wait 24 hours before she can undergo the procedure.
  • Sweden: Letter to the Prime Minister Regarding Transgender Law
    Letter
    Jan 14, 2012
  • Healthcare is failing women
    Commentary
    Dec 20, 2011

    South Africa has one of the world's highest incidences of violence, including rape and domestic violence, against women. A study by Interpol estimates that, in South Africa, a woman is raped every 17 seconds and one in four South African women suffers domestic violence.

      

  • Yemen Could Seize Moment to Ban Child Marriage
    Commentary
    Dec 20, 2011
    Yemen's version of the Arab Spring has eclipsed urgent social concerns both in debates within Yemen and with donor countries. One of these issues is the widespread forced marriage of girls; very young girls in some cases.Now that President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to cede power, there may be an opportunity to press for social reform as part of the transition process.
  • South Africa: LGBT Rights in Name Only?
    Press release
    Dec 5, 2011
    Black lesbians and transgender men in South African townships and rural areas face an overwhelming climate of discrimination and violence despite protections promised them in the country’s constitution, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.