Thursday, 17 May
Honduras Weekly
The Avaaz Foundation of New York and Honduran women's groups on Wednesday delivered a global petition signed by more than 680,000 people from every country in the world calling on Honduras not to pass a law that would put women and doctors in jail for simply using or prescribing emergency contraception. The petition calls the president of the Honduran National Congress, Juan Orlando Hernández, “not to criminalize contraception” and to stop Honduras becoming "the only country in the world to punish the use or sale of the morning-after pill with jail sentences of up to six years.” The law -- Decree 54 -- is before Congress and could be approved any day now. The petition is the largest global campaign ever targeting a Honduran politician in defense of human rights.
Citizens all over the world are asking Mr. Hernández to take a step forward for women's human rights. Meanwhile, local women’s groups and Avaaz marched before Congress yesterday at 11 am to deliver this urgent message.
Emma Ruby-Sachs, Campaign Director for Avaaz said: “This proposal is regressive and alarming; in no other country in the world are members of Congress considering jailing a young girl for preventing pregnancy after sexual violence, or slamming a women in prison for accessing basic health care. An average of 25 girls a day between 10 and 14 are raped in Honduras -- these children need to protected, not criminalized. People from across Honduras and the world are calling on Mr. Hernández to reject this extremist law and ensure all women can use emergency contraception.”
Read the rest of the article here.
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