NEWS & LETTERS, May-June 2010
Women Worldwide
by Mary Jo Grey
Editor's note: Mary Jo Grey was the "Women Worldwide" columnist for 20 years, a column first suggested by Raya Dunayevskaya as a way to bring the international scope and militancy of women's struggle for freedom onto this page. Grey loved doing this column and was proud of it. We are profoundly saddened that we can only print it one more time under her name.
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The West African country of Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore has agreed to make emergency obstetric care and access to family planning free as part of a strategy to fight maternal mortality in that country. As many as six women die every day there as a result of pregnancy or childbirth. Amnesty International said tackling the low status of women in Burkina Faso is at the heart of saving women's lives.
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An Oregon law has gone into effect requiring that all health insurance plans in the state include prescription drug coverage, including birth control. The law also mandates that hospitals inform victims of sexual assault about emergency contraception and make it available to those who want it.
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Internationally, efforts to improve abortion services are moving forward. Spain's Health Minister announced that emergency contraception is now available over-the-counter with no age restriction. And in Nepal, the Supreme Court ruled that the Nepalese government must enact legislation that guarantees women's access to safe abortion services including creating a fund to cover the costs of such services for poor women, and educate health care providers and the public on the country's abortion laws.
--Information from Feminist Daily News Wire
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