In the next weeks after the Supreme Court's decision, there were several debates about whether abortion should be legal and accessible or criminalized by law. So far, misinformation controls the narrative. Where to stand towards abortion, depends on beliefs instead of facts.
Amnesty International, a global movement that campaigns to end the abuse of human rights, provides facts about abortion on its website. The need for abortion is common and happens for several reasons, but access to a safe and legal procedure is far from guaranteed.
Each year, there are 25 million unsafe abortions. Criminalizing abortion doesn't stop abortion, just makes it more dangerous for women. Unsafe abortions are the third leading cause of maternal deaths. Almost every death and injury from unsafe abortion is preventable. A safe abortion performed by professionals is safer than childbirth.
"There are violent, even deadly laws. Not only do they control women’s bodies but they force women to seek clandestine, unsafe abortions, with serious risks for woman’s health, sometimes putting her in danger."
The rollback of abortion rights in the USA has been mirrored by many other nations globally, where the rise of pro-life movements coincides with radical politics. Abortion bans don’t affect only US citizens, there are 24 countries where is completely prohibited, including El Salvador, the Philippines, Senegal, and Honduras. And more than 50 countries and regions permit abortions only when the woman’s health is at risk. Is estimated that 90 million women of reproductive age live in countries where abortion altogether is illegal.
One of the most-heard pro-life arguments is "just don’t have sex if you don’t want a baby". However, girls and women live in a world where sometimes having sex is not their choice. In the US, a sexual assault occurs every 68 seconds. 1 in every 6 women was a victim of an attempted or completed rape. And is estimated that 63,000 children per year were victims of sexual abuse. According to The World Health Organization, nearly one-third of women worldwide have been subjected to sexual violence in their lifetime.
On the 24 of June, UN human rights experts denounced the Supreme Court decision. "The right of a woman to make autonomous decisions about her own body and reproductive functions is at the very core of her fundamental right to equality, non-discrimination, health, and privacy."
Movements pro-life and laws that ban abortion attack women’s liberty. Women are forced to give birth against their will. Criminalizing abortion is a form of discrimination, that further fuels stigma. Is a form of violence against women with physical and mental consequences. Access to abortion is a matter of human rights.