Think the effect of Roe v Wade has disappeared? Think again
We are already seeing horror stories about women and people who can become pregnant being denied their right to health services
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Your support makes all the difference.The mood this International Safe Abortion Day is sombre.
It is three months since the US Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v Wade, restricting access to safe abortion across the US. Not only is the decision devastating access to abortion in the US – with the greatest impact on the most marginalised people – but campaigners across the world are concerned that the anti-choice movement, emboldened by this recent victory, could push for reproductive rights and other human rights to be rolled back elsewhere.
Access to safe abortion is not just a concern in the US. Around the world, many countries restrict access to safe, legal, affordable abortion – putting thousands of lives at risk.
Health services have been decimated by Covid-19, affecting women and girls’ health in particular. Already, scarce resources have become more constrained, and health facilities and staff overwhelmed – further limiting access to healthcare, including sexual reproductive health information and services, with girls and young people bearing the brunt. According to WHO, it is estimated that 30 women die for every 100, 000 unsafe abortions. Now the cost of living crisis is making an already fraught situation worse.
Argentina, Benin, Colombia, Mexico and Thailand recently relaxed their laws, but other countries – where abortion is already illegal or restricted – could use the US as an example to legitimize their own punitive policies. India, Bangladesh, Hungary, Malawi, Poland and Sierra Leone are already reporting pushback on reproductive justice – as part of the wider roll back against gender equality and women, girls, and trans rights.
In the wake of the overturning of Roe v Wade, we are already seeing horror stories about women and people who can become pregnant being denied their right to health services. Pregnant people and health providers in certain states are also living in constant fear of persecution as more strict abortion bans go into effect.
Between this and the proposed national abortion ban, the US government is sending the message to its people, and to other countries, that human rights wins can be rolled back. We must not allow this to happen – there must be global pushback in the face of globalised attacks on human rights.
Meanwhile, the UK is not immune. Already, we’ve seen worrying statements in parliament by MPs, the removal of pro-choice wording in a multi-national statement, ongoing barriers to abortion access in Northern Ireland and even women facing criminal charges for having medical abortions. The recent appointment of Therese Coffey MP as secretary of state for health, who has expressed anti-choice views, is causing further concerns.
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When the UK government cut its overseas development assistance in 2020/2021, funding for sexual and reproductive health and rights overseas was particularly affected – including 37 per cent for family planning, 48 per cent for reproductive healthcare, 10 per cent for women’s rights organisations and an 85 per cent reduction in support to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).
This funding would have helped prevent a quarter of a million child and maternal deaths, 14.6 million unintended pregnancies and 4.3 million unsafe abortions. It would have saved lives.
The funding cuts are particularly catastrophic because complications from pregnancy and childbirth remain the leading causes of mortality, in particular for adolescent girls. Sexual and reproductive health and rights can transform people’s lives, giving them control over their bodies and futures.
Governments can play an important role in upholding those rights and the UK prime minister Liz Truss must restore and increase funding for sexual reproductive health services overseas.
Anne Quesney is senior women’s rights advocacy adviser, ActionAid UK. Brandon Wu is director of policy and campaigns, ActionAid USA
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