This month, we mark the one-year anniversary of two significant moments in reproductive rights history: the landmark decision in Mexico to decriminalize abortion, and the near-total abortion ban in Texas. With reproductive rights moving in such different directions, what can the U.S. learn from the progress feminists are seeing in Latin America?
Tag: Latin America
A cultural region of 20 countries and territories extending from South America to Central America, including Mexico and most Caribbean islands. Most have a history of Spanish or Portuguese colonialism and a large presence of Spanish, Portuguese or French languages.
What We Must Learn From Latin America in a Post-Roe World
While we are only just beginning to scratch the surface of the kinds of horrors that banning abortion will create in the U.S., our neighbors in Latin America have understood this reality for years. We cannot afford to ignore the wins and the lessons learned from our neighbors and friends around the globe as we embark on the long road ahead to rebuild power and restore our right to abortion in the U.S.
As Climate Change Deadline Approaches, Every Minute Counts to Urge Action
Civilians gathered in a global moment of silence to commemorate the first official Climate Emergency Day on July 22. From California to Nigeria, New Orleans to London, Ghana to Pennsylvania, Rome to Jerusalem—the world watched the Climate Clock tick over from seven years to six. I led the moment of silence under the Union Square Climate Clock in New York City. It was hot, reaching 99 degrees Fahrenheit. As we faced the clock, we felt the crisis in our bodies.
When we imagine the climate crisis together, and all that’s at stake, we are feeding the momentum of a movement with revolutionary potential. Adrienne Maree Brown wrote, “We are in an imagination battle.” The Climate Clock is the drummer of this battle.
Let’s Talk About Misoprostol—the Original Abortion Pill
As we look to the future of abortion in the U.S., we can learn from the experiences of people in countries with restrictive abortion laws who have managed to find safe, effective ways to have abortions by using the original abortion pill: misoprostol.
While mifepristone is expensive and unnecessarily restricted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, misoprostol is inexpensive and widely available by prescription for different indications in pharmacies across the country.
The U.S. Is Breaking International Human Rights Law With Roe Decision
With the Supreme Court’s abortion decision, the U.S. finds itself in numerous human rights violations: the right to equality and nondiscrimination, the right to privacy, the right to life, the right to health and the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
It is crucial to take inspiration from feminists across the globe in using international human rights laws to stop states from eroding abortion access.
Passing the Green Torch To Our Sisters: How the Green Wave Took Over the U.S.
As countless signs across the marches and rallies call for bans off our bodies and to keep abortion legal, a symbol that is new to many in this country, but beloved to the three of us, has unmistakably emerged all over the streets: a sea of green bandanas. The Green Wave, which had begun in Argentina — and then spread across all of Latin America — is now here, as a rallying cry to protect abortion.
July 2022 Reads for the Rest of Us
Books provide us not only with necessary information but also with the respite we need from the constant labor of securing our rights and humanity in all the ways they are under attack.
I hope of the 33 books here, you’ll find one that inspires, relaxes or distracts you for a little while.
Ms. Global: International Response to the Fall of Roe; Historic Representation of Women in Politics; Feminist Issues at G7 Summit
The U.S. ranks as the 19th most dangerous country for women, 11th in maternal mortality, 30th in closing the gender pay gap, 75th in women’s political representation, and painfully lacks paid family leave and equal access to health care. But Ms. has always understood: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the U.S.’s most intractable problems. Ms. Global is taking note of feminists worldwide.
Women in the ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program Must Now Be Given a True Chance To Seek Refuge
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Biden administration has the authority to terminate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as Remain in Mexico, which requires some refugees to wait outside of U.S. borders while their cases are heard. The Biden administration must now immediately take all possible steps to end MPP.
Those waiting in Mexico, like the desperate women we met who are fleeing gender-based violence at home, must have an opportunity to pursue their claims from within the U.S. with the help of local organizations and legal service providers.
Resisting the Overturn of Roe: What U.S. Feminists Can Learn From El Salvador
In a grim moment nationally, let us look to Latin America for the sustained will to resist and overturn abortion bans.
Most notably, U.S. reproductive rights organizers should think of legal and cultural campaigns that can move across states. Though combatting abortion bans in the U.S. will be difficult because states exert their own jurisdiction over abortion laws, we can create a national movement and anticipate the challenges ahead through learning from Latin American feminists, especially the resilient people of El Salvador since 1998.