Abortion

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Protesters taking part in a Women's Solidarity March in Tbilisi on 2 April 2023. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Abortion

Rights defenders raise concerns as Georgia introduces mandatory pre-abortion consultations

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•3 min read

Georgia’s Health Ministry has complicated the process a person has to go through to obtain an abortion, introducing mandatory counselling with a psychologist and social worker prior to the procedure, in a move that women’s rights defenders say could be aimed at providing a barrier to access. A decree announcing the changes was published on the Georgian Legislative Herald’s website on 27 October, but was discovered by Georgian media on Tuesday. From 1 January 2024, anyone seeking to terminate

Abkhazia

‘Everything that breathes must be born’: Abkhazia’s total ban on abortion

by Marianna Kotova

•5 min read

Abkhazia’s abortion ban is back in the news after a woman spoke out about a relative being forced to carry her pregnancy to term in spite of medical complications. Earlier in October, Victoria Gularya posted on Facebook the story of a relative who was being forced to take her pregnancy to term. Despite doctors telling her relative that the baby would certainly die, she was unable to get an abortion. Saria (not her real name), a gynaecologist and ultrasound diagnostician, told OC Media that

Abortion

Analysis | Despite opinion shift a third of Georgians still prefer sons to daughters

by CRRC

•2 min read

Preferences for the gender of children has a long history around the world and Georgia is no exception. CRRC-Georgia examines how attitudes have changed over the last decade. In Georgia, having a boy has traditionally been desirable as sons are often considered the main successors in the family line, and they stay at home to take care of their parents as they age in contrast to women who traditionally move in with their husband’s family. Preferences for sons are manifested in sex-selective

Meeting of the Holy Synod (patriarchate.ge)

Abortion

Georgian Church slams ‘drug legalisation’

by OC Media

•5 min read

The Georgian Orthodox Church has come out against ‘the legalisation’ of drugs in Georgia, saying it is considering denying religious rituals to Orthodox Christians who die of an overdose. In a meeting of the Holy Synod, the Church’s ruling body, they called for harsh sentences for drug dealers, while also advocating treatment for users. In a record of Thursday’s Holy Synod meeting published on the their official website, the Church said that allowing the cultivation of cannabis would mean l

Abortion

Armenian parents dream of having a son

by Armine Avetisyan

•6 min read

Despite their number slowly decreasing, Armenia still has one of the highest rates of sex-selective abortions in the world. OC Media talked to a number of women who faced pressure from their families after falling pregnant with a daughter about the decision they were forced to make, and the consequences they’ve had to live with. [Read in Armenian — Հոդվածը հայերեն կարդացեք] An unexpected daughter ‘I got married at the age of 17, and five months later I was already pregnant. The pregnan

Abortion

Protesters demand abortion ban in Daghestan

by OC Media

•2 min read

Around 150 people gathered in Makhachkala on 14 July calling for a ban on abortion. The protest was followed by heated exchanges on social media over the issue. The Give Me Life rally was organised by the Daghestan’s Ministry of Health. According to a spokesperson of the ministry, Zarina Murtuzaliyeva, it is held annually. Employees the ministry attended the rally, announcing that the number of abortions being performed in the republic is on the decline. ‘For example, in 2015 there were

Abkhazia

The women affected by Abkhazia’s abortion ban

by Marianna Kotova

•6 min read

A year and a half after Abkhazia banned abortion, reportedly to increase the number of births, reports of women’s deaths and pregnancy complications have became more numerous, while the number of babies being born has not increased. Local activists have called on parliament to change the law, which they say discriminates against women. The amendment to the Law on Healthcare passed in early 2016 banned abortions in Abkhazia in almost all circumstances. It has provoked heated discussion