C. was a 13 year-old girl who became pregnant as a result of rape allegedly by a family friend and was now in State care. The health board sought a court order to allow her to travel outside the State to obtain an abortion because abortion was illegal in Ireland except where the pregnancy formed a real and substantial risk to the woman's life. The Court granted the health board's order permitting C. to travel outside the State to obtain an abortion.
A petition to require consent from the woman’s husband in a law in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal allowing women to have an abortion on fetuses of less than 12 weeks cited CEDAW conventions mandating equality between men and women on matters relating to family planning. The Court dismissed the petition emphasizing that CEDAW is intended to promote and protect women’s rights and to consider the wording of equality in such absolute terms would, in fact, be contrary to this original intent.
The Infant Life (Preservation) Act, (the “Act”) criminalizes child destruction, defined as any act causing the death of a child “before it has an existence independent of its mother.” The punishment for such an offence is life imprisonment, with or without hard labor. For the purposes of the Act, the child must be capable of being born alive. A pregnancy lasting for a period of 28 weeks or more is prima facie evidence of this.
A 17 year old was diagnosed with an anencephalic fetus. Her hospital physician recommended a lawful therapeutic abortion, but the hospital director refused, forcing her to carry to term. The newborn died four days after birth, and the 17 year old suffered severe physical and psychological harm. Peru offered no effective administrative or judicial remedy and did not cooperate before the Committee.
VDA, on behalf of her daughter LMR, filed a petition alleging violations of LMR’s rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Amendments to the Abortion Act of Finland, which widened the previously strict laws on abortion, entered into force on September 1, 2023. The amendments allow a pregnancy to be terminated solely at the pregnant woman’s request until the end of the twelfth (12th) week of pregnancy, i.e., without requiring justification. The previous conditions for terminating a pregnancy dated back to 1970 and provided that opinions by two doctors and the presentation of grounds were needed.
Under the Penal Code of Malaysia (Act 574, Chapter XVI, sections 312–316), abortion is generally criminalized except under limited statutory exceptions. Section 312 makes it an offense for any person, including a pregnant person themself, to voluntarily cause a miscarriage. The punishment is up to ten years in prison, a fine, or both.
Forced motherhood after rape. A complaint was lodged against Mexico for failing to allow a minor to receive an abortion after she was raped.
Citing the prevalence of uterus prolapse in pregnant women in Nepal, the petitioner filed that the government should be responsible for providing infrastructures to support women’s reproductive health under Article 20 of the Interim Constitution of Nepal which guarantees the right to reproductive health for all women.
