Last week, the United States Supreme Court issued its predicted but nonetheless stunning opinion overturning the constitutional guarantee of abortion access in the US. In doing so, the court reversed half a century of court protection for this fundamental right. In one blow, the court has decimated protections for a key right that is closely bound up with gender equality, racial justice, and basic economic and social rights, instead opening the door for government control of one of the most private decisions someone can consider. Access to abortion is a right critical to guaranteeing a wide range of other human rights, including the rights to life and security of person, privacy, nondiscrimination, and freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, among others. And we know that when abortion is banned or restricted, abortions do not cease, they just move underground. This increases the risk both of unsafe procedures and that people will be reported to police or prosecuted for suspected abortions. This is likely to particularly affect adolescents, Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, people living in rural communities or in poverty, and people discriminated against based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Unlike the United States, countries around the world, from Thailand to Ireland to Mexico, have moved to expand legal abortion, and this decision leaves the US as a human rights outlier. The experiences of other nations have taught us that the US should now brace for maternal mortality and morbidity to rise, particularly among Black people and people living in poverty. Make no mistake; what will unfold will be a human rights tragedy. | 
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten