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6/22/23, 8:32 AM UN urged to intervene over destruction of US abortion rights | Abortion | The Guardian
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Abortion
UN urged to intervene over destruction of US
abortion rights
Exclusive: letter from human rights groups says overturning of the
constitutional right violates US’s obligations as a UN member state
Poppy Noor
@PoppyNoor
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/02/destruction-us-abortion-laws-human-rights-violation-un 1/11
Thu 2 Mar 2023 05.01 GMT
3 months old
Top human rights organizations are calling on the United Nations to

intervene over the destruction of abortion rights in the US.
In a letter shared in advance with the Guardian and sent on Thursday by

nearly 200 organizations and experts, the authors detail how, since the
overturning of the federal constitutional right to abortion in June 2022,
some 22 million women and girls of reproductive age live in states
where abortion access is now either banned or inaccessible.
More on this topic Among the signatories are the Global Justice Center,
‘I cried with her’: Pregnancy Justice, Amnesty International and
the diary of a
Human Rights Watch. They are joined by a broader
doctor
navigating a coalition of groups and individual advocates for
total abortion human rights and racial and economic justice.
ban
Abortion restrictions, the signatories write, deny
“women’ Advertisement
s decisional and bodily
autonomy in a way that
rejects the agency, dignity
and equality of people who
can become pregnant.”
The groups in the letter claim

that overturning the
constitutional right to
abortion contravenes the US’s

international obligations as a
UN member organization.
Member states are obliged to
protect and uphold the rights
to life, health, privacy, liberty
and security, along with
freedoms from torture and
inhumane, cruel or degrading
treatment.
The US’s role as a leader on

the world stage does not
exempt the country from
these obligations – in fact, it
should require them to do
more, said a representative
from the Global Justice
Center, which is one of the
signatories.
“The US must be castigated Advertisement

on the world stage for its
treatment of women, girls
and others who can become
pregnant – the scale and
intensity of human rights
violations that the US is
inflicting on its population
are near unfathomable at this

point,” said Christine Ryan,
legal director of the Global
Justice Center, in a phone
interview.
“It has become almost

tragically ironic that the US
government uses the
language of human rights to
condemn state abuses against
citizens of other countries, be
that in Iran, or Belarus. These
norms must be deployed
against the state here at
home as well. And for too
long, the US has been able to
avoid that type of
international scrutiny,” she
said.
The authors say the curtailment of abortion rights in the US is of a piece

with the country’s history of devaluing the lives of Black women, who
are hit worst by abortion restrictions.
“The Dobbs ruling pushed Advertisement
the US even further out of

line with its human rights
obligations, including its
obligation to ensure access to

abortion and to eliminate
structural racism and
discrimination,” said
Annerieke Smaak Daniel,
women’s rights researcher at
Human Rights Watch.
“Abortion restrictions
compound economic, social,
and geographic barriers to
healthcare, including
contraception,
disproportionately impacting
Black women’s ability to
access the care we need.”
The letter sent on Thursday

was addressed to a number of
UN agencies and officials,
including the Working Group
on Discrimination against Women and Girls; the Special Rapporteur on
Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment; and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy. In the
letter, the signatories ask recipients to communicate with the US about
these violations, to request an official visit to the US, and to ask the
country to comply with its obligations under international law as a UN
member state.
Ending the constitutional right to abortion has had far-reaching, and in

some cases life-threatening risks, the authors write – including for those
seeking miscarriage care, those forced to travel across state lines for
abortion, and those denied care for potentially fatal complications such
as ectopic pregnancies.
More on this topic Officials from the US mission to the UN and the US
The US Gender Policy Council, a White House office
government just
established by the Biden administration, did not
took two big
steps on respond to a request for comment in time for
abortion. Will publication.
they matter?
Signatories in the letter list prior actions from the
UN Advertisement
Human Rights Committee’s
over abortion access in
countries such as Ireland and
El Salvador, arguing for
similar scrutiny of the US.
They note that the UN

committee has already
established that denial of
abortion can cause “physical
and mental suffering so
severe in pain and intensity
as to amount to torture”.
The letter also includes

damning examples since Roe
was overturned, including

the case of one patient in
Wisconsin who was left to
bleed at home for 10 days
following a miscarriage
because hospital staff feared
violating the state’s abortion
ban if they intervened to give
care. It also details cases of
several patients who had to
travel out of state for an
abortion after being refused
care for an ectopic
pregnancy, and others who
were denied chemotherapy
care due to pregnancy.
Any exceptions allowing

abortion in very narrow
circumstances – for example,
where an abortion is Advertisement
necessary to save the life of

the pregnant person’s life, or
when the pregnancy is the
result of rape – are practically
unworkable, the signatories
write.
These abuses lie firmly at the

Biden administration’s door,
added Ryan from the Global
Justice Center.
“We’ve seen consistent lip

service from the Biden-Harris
administration”, but not
enough action, she said. She
pointed out, for example,
that even with the loss of
Roe, the Biden
administration could make
abortion drugs more readily
available by removing
unnecessary regulations on
certain drugs.
“There has been an absolute

calamity in terms of public
health, human rights, and the
response has been middling to poor,” Ryan said.
Topics
Abortion
Human rights / Law (US) / United Nations / news
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6/22/23, 8:32 AM UN urged to intervene over destruction of US abortion rights | Abortion | The Guardian

News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle

Thu 2 Mar 2023 05.01 GMT

Top human rights organizations are calling on the United Nations to

In a letter shared in advance with the Guardian and sent on Thursday by

The groups in the letter claim

abortion contravenes the US’s

The US’s role as a leader on

“The US must be castigated Advertisement

are near unfathomable at this

“It has become almost

The authors say the curtailment of abortion rights in the US is of a piece

“The Dobbs ruling pushed Advertisement

the US even further out of

obligation to ensure access to

The letter sent on Thursday

Ending the constitutional right to abortion has had far-reaching, and in

They note that the UN

The letter also includes

was overturned, including

Any exceptions allowing

necessary to save the life of

These abuses lie firmly at the

“We’ve seen consistent lip

“There has been an absolute

About us All topics

Contact us All writers

Complaints and corrections Modern Slavery Act

SecureDrop Digital newspaper archive

Work for us Facebook

Privacy settings Twitter

Terms & conditions

Advertise with us Support the Guardian

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