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Millions of women lose contraceptives, abortions in COVID-19

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and CARA ANNA August 19, 2020

People walk along a downtown street in Johannesburg, South Africa,

With hospitals and medical staff overwhelmed by the pandemic and medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) in short supply, U.S. authorities last month recommended postponing all non-urgent surgeries. Some states used this reasoning to temporarily limit access to abortions.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of women and girls globally have lost access to contraceptives and abortion services because of the coronavirus pandemic. Now the first widespread measure of the toll says India with its abrupt, months-long lockdown has been hit especially hard.

Several months into the pandemic, many women now have second-trimester pregnancies because they could not find care in time.

A tweet by Alliance for Choice, a Northern Ireland abortion rights group. /CGTN

Across 37 countries, nearly 2 million fewer women received services between January and June than in the same period last year, Marie Stopes International says in a new report — 1.3 million in India alone. The organization expects 900,000 unintended pregnancies worldwide as a result, along with 1.5 million unsafe abortions and more than 3,000 maternal deaths.

Those numbers “will likely be greatly amplified” if services falter elsewhere in Latin America, Africa and Asia, Marie Stopes’ director of global evidence, Kathryn Church, has said.

Abortion rights in time of COVID-19 - CGTN

The World Health Organization this month said two-thirds of 103 countries surveyed between mid-May and early July reported disruptions to family planning and contraception services. The U.N. Population Fund warns of up to 7 million unintended pregnancies worldwide.More Stories:

Lockdowns, travel restrictions, supply chain disruptions, the massive shift of health resources to combat COVID-19 and fear of infection continue to prevent many women and girls from care.

Continue reading “Millions of women lose contraceptives, abortions in COVID-19”

From Lockdown to Police State: The “Great Reset” in Melbourne

Featured image: A woman walks her dogs in Fitzroy Gardens park as police and defence force officers patrol in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia [David Crosling/EPA]

By Ellen Brown Global Research, August 23, 2020 Theme: Global Economy, Police State & Civil Rights, Science and Medicine

Mayhem in Melbourne

On August 2, lockdown measures were implemented in Melbourne, Australia, that were so draconian that Australian news commentator Alan Jones said on Sky News: “People are entitled to think there is an ‘agenda to destroy western society.’”

The gist of an August 13^th article on the Melbourne lockdown is captured in the title: “Australian Police Go FULL NAZI, Smashing in Windows of Civilian Cars Just Because Passengers Wouldn’t Give Details About Where They Were Going.”

Another article with an arresting title was by Guy Burchell in the August 7^th Australian National Review: “Melbourne Cops May Now Enter Homes Without a Warrant, After 11 People Die of COVID — Australia, This Is Madness, Not Democracy.”

Burchell wrote that only 147 people had lost their lives to coronavirus in Victoria (the Australian state of which Melbourne is the capital), a very low death rate compared to other countries.

Coronavirus-Woman-Anxiety-Worry-Outbreak

Australian police go FULL NAZI, smashing in windows of civilian cars just because passengers wouldn’t give details about where they were going

The ramped up lockdown measures were triggered by an uptick in cases due to ramped up testing and 11 additional deaths, all of them in nursing homes (where lockdown measures would actually have little effect).

The new rules include a six week curfew from 8 PM to 5 AM, with residents allowed to leave home outside those curfew hours only to shop for food and essential items (one household member only), and for caregiving, work and exercise (limited to one hour).

“But the piece de resistance,” writes Burchell, “has to be that now police officers can enter homes with neither a warrant nor permission. This is an astonishing violation of civil liberties…. Deaths of this kind are not normally cause for government action, let alone the effective house arrest of an entire city.”

Continue reading “From Lockdown to Police State: The “Great Reset” in Melbourne”

Call for Solidarity Actions with Anarchist Prisoners 23rd – 30th August 2020 — Derry Anarchist Black Cross

As part of the International Week of Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners we thought that it would be good to issue a call out to anarchists across the country, groups or individually, wherever you are, be it in a town, city or village.

Whether you’re good at art or not, look at creating a D.I.Y banner to take part in a banner drop across Ireland. On Sunday 30th of August anarchists will do a banner drop in solidarity with anarchist prisoners in Ireland and internationally…

solidariteitsdemonstratie_Amsterdam_7juli2016

We encourage you to talk to your friends and comrades to take part in towns where you live, with anarchists near you and get active in support and solidarity with anarchist prisoners.