UN experts accuse US states of ‘manipulating’ pandemic to restrict abortion access

United Nations experts accused some of the US states of “manipulating” the executive orders amid coronavirus crisis to curb women’s reproductive rights. The UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls expressed regret that the emergency orders suspending procedures not deemed immediately medically necessary had been used by states including Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Iowa, and Ohio to restrict access to abortion.

“We regret that the above-mentioned states, with a long history of restrictive practices against abortion, appear to be manipulating the crisis to severely restrict women’s reproductive rights,” said Elizabeth Broderick, Vice-Chair of the Working Group, in a statement.

The UN Working Group further highlighted the importance of access to abortion services during the pandemic as women are facing mobility restrictions due to quarantines and lockdowns. Broderick said that the ongoing situation is illustrating a pattern of restrictions and retrogressions in access to legal abortion care across the country.

“We fear that, without clear political will to reverse such restrictive and regressive trends, states will continue pursuing this pattern,” she added.

'Putting women at risk'

The Working Group expressed serious concern that the officials are putting women at risk by denying access to time-sensitive abortion care which will worsen systematic inequalities. The expert said that women will be forced to travel out of the state with such rules to access abortion care, putting their own health at risk.

Broderick emphasised that abortion care constitutes essential health care and must remain available during the COVID-19 crisis. The Working Group said it is “extremely concerned” by the US insistence to remove references to “sexual and reproductive health and its derivatives” from the Global Humanitarian Response Plan on COVID-19. It warned that removing references to sexual and reproductive health from the HRP will have devastating consequences for women worldwide.

“We reiterate that sexual and reproductive health services, including access to safe and legal abortion, are essential and must remain a key component of the UN’s priorities in its responses to the COVID-19 pandemic,” it added.

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(Image credit: AP)