In light of the Planned Parenthood/SCOTUS news and it being #HumanRightsDay, a thread on how abortion rights are human rights. 1/
It should go without saying, but bodily autonomy and human rights go hand in hand. Denying half the human population the right to bodily control is an abuse of human rights. Period. 2/
Where abortion is illegal &unsafe, women are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term or suffer serious health consequences & even death. 13% of maternal deaths worldwide are attributable to unsafe abortion—btwn 68,000 and 78,000 deaths annually. hrw.org/legacy/women/a… 3/
Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services" 4/
Abortion is medical care. And the ability to time and space offspring doesn't only have physical implications for women, but social, financial, and emotional ones as well. 5/
Under international human rights law, everyone has a right to life, a right to health & a right to be free from violence, discrimination, and torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
It's not a far leap to argue that forced pregnancy is cruel, inhuman & degrading. 6/
It's not a far leap to argue that forced pregnancy is cruel, inhuman & degrading. 6/
Forcing someone to carry on an unwanted pregnancy, or forcing them to seek out an unsafe abortion (because making abortion illegal isn't the same as eliminating the practice), is a violation of their rights to privacy and bodily autonomy. 7/
I want to emphasize the point that making abortion illegal will NOT make it disappear. Doing so only makes it unsafe and potentially fatal. According to the WHO, 22 million unsafe abortions take place each year. 8/
Indeed, unsafe abortions are the THIRD LEADING CAUSE of maternal deaths worldwide and lead to an additional 5 MILLION largely preventable disabilities. youthsextion.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/2011fa… 9/
Beyond health risks, those who resort to unsafe abortions also risk prosecution and punishment, including imprisonment, and can face cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and discrimination in, and exclusion from, vital post-abortion health care. amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/… 10/
To recap: access to safe, legal abortion is foundational to women's human rights. If you don't have rights over your own body carte blanche, you have no rights.
And spare yourself from @'ing me about fetal rights. Because NOPE.
Finis.
And spare yourself from @'ing me about fetal rights. Because NOPE.
Finis.
