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vaginapaginaN.Y. Abortion Rights Group Criticizes Nepal
Mar 21, 2002 7:43 am US/Eastern
KATMANDU, Nepal -- A New York abortion rights group demanded on Thursday that the Nepalese government release all women in jail for having abortions or performing them.
Abortion is illegal in Nepal, although midwives perform the procedure clandestinely, resulting in a high mortality rate for pregnant women.
To reduce the number of deaths of women and allow doctors to perform abortions, Parliament approved a bill last week that would make most abortions legal. It will become law once King Gyanandra approves it, which is considered a formality.
The law does not address women already serving sentences of one year to life in prison for abortion-related convictions. At least 65 such women are imprisoned, the Nepal-based Forum for Women, Law and Development said in a study released Thursday.
At a news conference announcing the study, a representative for the New York group, the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, said that the imprisonment of the women violated human rights and they should be freed.
"We are calling for release of all the women who are currently in prison on abortion related charges. Their imprisonment violated international and national standards of human rights," said Laura Katzive, an attorney for the New York group.
Hundreds of Nepalese women die each year from excessive bleeding and infections resulting from unsafe abortions performed by midwives.
Nepal has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Asia. The World Health Organization estimates the rate of maternal deaths in childbirth at 1,500 per 100,000 live births.
Under the pending law, women would be able to have legal abortions up to 12 weeks into their pregnancies and up to 18 weeks if a pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.
When pregnancy poses a danger to the physical or mental health of the mother, or where medical investigations prove that the fetus is likely to become a disabled child, the new law would permit the woman to have an abortion at any time.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Mar 21, 2002 7:43 am US/Eastern
KATMANDU, Nepal -- A New York abortion rights group demanded on Thursday that the Nepalese government release all women in jail for having abortions or performing them.
Abortion is illegal in Nepal, although midwives perform the procedure clandestinely, resulting in a high mortality rate for pregnant women.
To reduce the number of deaths of women and allow doctors to perform abortions, Parliament approved a bill last week that would make most abortions legal. It will become law once King Gyanandra approves it, which is considered a formality.
The law does not address women already serving sentences of one year to life in prison for abortion-related convictions. At least 65 such women are imprisoned, the Nepal-based Forum for Women, Law and Development said in a study released Thursday.
At a news conference announcing the study, a representative for the New York group, the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, said that the imprisonment of the women violated human rights and they should be freed.
"We are calling for release of all the women who are currently in prison on abortion related charges. Their imprisonment violated international and national standards of human rights," said Laura Katzive, an attorney for the New York group.
Hundreds of Nepalese women die each year from excessive bleeding and infections resulting from unsafe abortions performed by midwives.
Nepal has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Asia. The World Health Organization estimates the rate of maternal deaths in childbirth at 1,500 per 100,000 live births.
Under the pending law, women would be able to have legal abortions up to 12 weeks into their pregnancies and up to 18 weeks if a pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.
When pregnancy poses a danger to the physical or mental health of the mother, or where medical investigations prove that the fetus is likely to become a disabled child, the new law would permit the woman to have an abortion at any time.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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