Democrat Lawmakers falsely claim international right to abortion

By | October 17, 2024

WASHINGTON DC., October 18 (C-Fam) Democrat lawmakers introduced a Congressional resolution declaring an international right to abortion supposedly based on U.S. treaty obligations.

The resolution sponsored by Congresswoman Nikema Williams (D-GA) claims that U.S. states are required to decriminalize abortion in all circumstances under international treaties ratified by the federal government and citing the World Health Organization’s guidance on abortion.

Congresswoman Williams said, “Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including the United States, are obliged to protect reproductive freedom.”

The resolution cites several non-binding recommendations to the U.S. government from UN human rights bodies calling on the U.S. government to decriminalize abortion after the Dobbs Supreme Court decision that reversed Roe v. Wade. However, the resolution fails to cite any specific treaty provision in support of a right to abortion, nor could it. No UN human rights treaty mentions abortion. In fact, every time an international right to abortion has been proposed for inclusion in UN treaties or other UN agreements it has been rejected.

The Human Rights Committee, which monitors compliance with UN civil rights treaty, ratified by the U.S. government, routinely goes beyond its mandate calling on governments to decriminalize abortion in all circumstances.

When the committee reviewed U.S. compliance in 2023, they directed the U.S. to “[p]rovide legal, effective, safe and confidential access to abortion for women and girls throughout its territory” and put an end to the criminalization of abortion by repealing laws that criminalize abortion.”

“The text of the House resolution is misleading and full of legal inaccuracies,” said Stefano Gennarini, Vice President for Legal Studies with the Center for Family and Human Rights, publisher of the Friday Fax. “There is no international right to abortion under any treaty ratified by the U.S. government. The lawyers who advised Democrat lawmakers have committed malpractice.” Gennarini was the principal author of an amicus brief to the Supreme Court examining the treaty obligations of the U.S. government in relation to abortion.

The congressional resolution has over one hundred Democrat co-sponsors. While the resolution has no legal implications at the federal level, it could be cited in international courts and even foreign courts as evidence that the U.S. government recognizes an international right to abortion under customary international law.

Williams said the resolution was partially inspired by the recent deaths of two women in her state. Both women died from complications after taking abortion pills. Democrats claimed the deaths were caused by restrictive abortion laws, but doctors familiar with the cases contradicted the claims. According to doctors with the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists the tragic deaths of two women, Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, were a result of state laws permitting easy access to medical abortion pills, which are inherently dangerous, especially when not medically supervised.

The congressional resolution is endorsed by many global abortion groups working to establish an international right to abortion including the Global Justice Center and IPAS.

In support of the resolution, IPAS admitted a larger effort to create a right to abortion by using local and state governments to urge the US to “uphold its human rights obligations.” “These local resolutions, proclamations and ordinances are the first step in implementing the recommendations from the United Nations Human Rights Committee to take swift actions to protect access to critical reproductive healthcare including abortion.”

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