Right to safe abortion cannot be dislocated from human rights
SHOBHA SHUKLA - CNS
Abortion is a human right. Yet, abortion-related stigma - rooted in patriarchy, misinformation, and control - continues to restrict access, fuel legal persecution, and force people into unsafe conditions in several countries. This Global Day of Action to Destigmatise Abortion, there is a stronger call for an end to criminalisation, medical gatekeeping, and harmful cultural narratives that shame and silence people who undergo abortions.
"To mark the Global Day of Action to Destigmatise Abortion (28th March), we call for stronger efforts to challenge harmful narratives, dismantle barriers, and demand stigma-free access to safe abortion everywhere in a rights-based manner," said the coordinator of SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) initiative.
Even though the right to abortion is part of promises made by our governments by endorsing Beijing Declaration 1995 and legally-binding CEDAW and other agreements and declarations, and are critical to deliver on UN Sustainable Development Goal-5 for gender equality and human rights, progress is not satisfactory.
"We are not on track to realise the right to health and gender equality. Despite committing to Agenda 2030 with a common vision and work plan, we are not doing well on delivering on the promises of UN Sustainable Development Goals," said Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health.
All people, including women and girls and gender diverse peoples, have a right to bodily autonomy- that is the right to make free and informed decisions about one's own body, without coercion or violence. We see violations of bodily autonomy when a lack of choice and decision-making leads to unplanned pregnancy, or to unsafe abortion that is a leading yet totally preventable cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. Globally, six out of 10 unplanned pregnancies end in induced abortion, and around 45% of these abortions are unsafe.
Induced abortion is in fact very common - it is estimated that 73 million induced abortions occur worldwide annually. Around 61% (or 1 in 6) unintended pregnancies end in induced abortion - so these are pregnancies that were not planned - and 29% (or 3 in 10) of all pregnancies end in abortion globally. Thus quite a significant number of both- unintended and intended pregnancies- end in abortion around the world.
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