Miami Herald: El Salvador, Dominican Republic can stop sending pregnant women to their deaths U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) “…Trump’s broad [Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance] directive hinders the substantial good of U.S. humanitarian efforts. Moreover, the [directive, also called the Mexico City policy or global gag rule,] takes…

The Hill: The foreign policy case for decriminalizing abortion in El Salvador Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and vice chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus “For nearly two decades, El Salvador has criminalized abortion in all circumstances…

Human Rights Watch: A Backward Step for Reproductive Rights in Chile In an opinion piece originally published in La Tercera, José Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas Division at HRW, discusses Chile’s revised abortion rules. Vivanco writes, “The Chilean government should review and amend the rules to ensure that…

STAT: More GOP lawmakers urge U.S. trade officials to lean on Colombia over drug approvals “Still more Republican lawmakers are urging the U.S. trade representative to require Colombia to change its laws governing drug approvals before supporting the country’s membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, an intergovernmental…

New York Times: Legal Abortion in Argentina? A Long Shot Is Suddenly Within Reach “…[L]awmakers in Pope Francis’ homeland began considering legislation this past week that would allow women to have an abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. If backers of the measure succeed, Argentina would become the…

U.S. Department of State: United States Assisting Venezuelans in Need “[Friday], the United States announced nearly $16 million in humanitarian assistance for Venezuelans who have fled their country due to the crisis there. This funding from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development includes a contribution to…

The Conversation: The unspeakable cruelty of El Salvador’s abortion laws Lisa Kowalchuk, associate professor at the University of Guelph “…In El Salvador, the clock is ticking towards a May 1, 2018, deadline for reform that would decriminalize abortion in two situations: When the life of the pregnant woman is in…

New York Times: They Were Jailed for Miscarriages. Now, Campaign Aims to End Abortion Ban. “…As Latin America has moved slowly toward lifting restrictions on abortion, six small countries have maintained an outright ban, including in cases where the mother’s life is at risk. And no other country enforces that…

Reuters: 800 Venezuelans flee to Brazil daily to escape insecurity, hunger: UNHCR “More than 800 Venezuelans stream into northern Brazil each day, the United Nations said on Friday, citing Brazilian government statistics on people fleeing the worsening crisis in the economically crippled nation…” (Nebehay, 4/6). U.N. News: Nearly 800 Venezuelans…

The Lancet: The collapse of the Venezuelan health system Editorial Board “…Venezuela’s health crisis is worse than anticipated. … Venezuela’s government has allowed the country’s infrastructure to crumble, with fatal consequences for ordinary Venezuelans. …[T]he Encuesta Nacional de Hospitales 2018 survey shows a shocking decline in health care performance and…