First Online Conference for Lawyers on Human Rights in Pregnancy and Birth of the Social project "Miracle in the Heart"

Unification of experience of Russia, Ukraine and Kenya! 

September 17, 2016

The idea of the conference appeared after the webinar of Evelyne Opondo (Kenya) during the Second International Online Festival (2015), where Evelyne demonstrated overwhelming facts of violence against women’s rights telling about real legal cases.

Participants – experts in medical law:

1. Ruslan Trofimov (Russia), medical and family law expert (among others consulted  Regional Alliance of Midwives and Mothers “MAMA”).
2. Moreen Majiwa (Кenya), Advocacy Advisor, Africa Program in Center for Reproductive Rights.
3. Olga Vishkina (Ukraine), lawyer, organizer of International Social Project  «Miracle in the Heart».

Conference Partner – Ukrainian Civic Initiative “Birth Rights”.

Conference objectives:

exchange of international experience in protection of individual and family rights, specifically, the rights in pregnancy and childbirth, in order to implement this experience in those rights' protection in courts and in dealing with social power bodies, as well as issuing proposals in the legislation of the participating countries.

The following questions were discussed within the conference: 

1. How to negotiate with pregnancy and childbirth rights ‘violators’? Which goal is to be pursued?
2. How to promote pregnancy and childbirth rights among the masses?
3. How to improve the system of citizens’ complaints with respect to pregnancy and childbirth rights violations? (There are supervision authorities that control activities of health care centres, and there is a problem that in case a person lodges a complaint, a huge time lag occurs up his/her complaint is considered).
4. How to improve the cooperation with a Ministry of Internal Affairs and other state institutions?
5. How to improve the citizens’ awareness of their rights in accordance to international standards (e.g. a desk of patient’ rights and his priority, as it is recommended by WHO and International Code of Medical Ethics)?
6. How to promote the understanding both among the state bodies and among citizens that home birth is a right of a woman (family) and not a crime?

We are sure that the video might be useful not only for lawyers but also for couples in planning and parents, as well as to the representatives of medical bodies and authorities.

With pleasure that Supreme Forces lead us on the Way of Miracles
to let us inspire the world and be the witnesses of your Miracles,