Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/tag/europe/)
The ruling party is pushing ahead with a restriction on minors and the current abortion law—safeguarded in September–could be weakened by a decision of the country’s Constitutional Court. But for now, pro-choice activists are breathing a sigh of relief.
Spain’s failure to pass a major abortion restriction in September is far from a death knell. Anti-abortion activists in Europe have more funding, rising partisan influence and plenty of tactical lessons to borrow from the U.S. Story reported with Juhie Bhatia.
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With the European Parliament elections approaching this weekend, Spain’s center-right party that introduced a controversial anti-abortion bill has yet to pass it. Anti-abortion activists are growing impatient, resorting to violence.
The work of Gunnar and Alva Myrdal, a husband and wife team, in the 1930s shaped Sweden’s progressive population policies, says Steven Philip Kramer in this excerpt from “The Other Population Crisis.” For Alva Myrdal, including feminism was key.
The government is likely to face difficult questions from the U.N. Human Rights Committee when it convenes in October and women across the country are already enraged. This move puts the country out of step with the majority of EU member states.
A testosterone patch touted as a way to boost sex drive after menopause and hysterectomy is now on the market in Europe. Some in the U.S. say they can’t wait till it arrives; others decry it as the “medicalization” of sexual desire.
Portugal, one of four European nations where most abortions are illegal, will vote next month in a referendum to liberalize its laws. The election occurs amid efforts to challenge Portuguese and Irish anti-choice laws in European court.
A U.K. labor union plans to bring a barrage of cases that will test the significance for female workers of a recent European Court of Justice decision. Advocates hope it will ease the penalty for taking time out of the paid work force.
Much is going well for women in Europe, but not for those covering news. Given female journalists’ lagging pay, good work and scarcity from executive posts, Sheila Gibbons sees all the features of a case of gender discrimination.
As a worker shortage looms in Europe, the European Union is studying ways to boost women’s work-force participation. First in our two-part coverage of work and gender in the EU. Coming next: barriers between work and motherhood in Germany.