Tannuka Juneja
The long-awaited US Supreme Court decision on Abortion Rights was rendered by a 6-3 vote in the so-called “Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health”.
“Today’s Supreme Court ruling represents a powerful blow to five decades of sexual and reproductive health protection and to human rights and gender equality in the United States in general,” Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.
According to the High Commissioner, “Access to safe, legal and effective abortion is firmly rooted in international law and is essential for the independence of women and girls.” She believes that all women on the planet should be able to make decisions about their own bodies and be protected from discrimination, violence and coercion.
“The decision [of the US Supreme Court] has deprived millions of women in the US of independence, especially for poor American women and representatives of racial and ethnic minorities,” Bachelet said in a statement.
Over the past 25 years, more than 50 countries have relaxed legal restrictions on abortion. “Unfortunately, the US is moving in the opposite direction,” the High Commissioner stated.
Also reacting to the Court’s decision without specifically referring to it, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) pointed out that 45% of abortions performed in the world were considered “unsafe”, making abortion a leading cause of death among pregnant women.
UN agencies have said it is inevitable that more women will die as restrictions are imposed by governments. According to the agency’s report on the state of the world population in 2022, almost half of pregnancies in the world are unintended, and more than 60% of them can end in abortion.
