Samantha Kamman – August 24, 2022
Delegates at the United Nations General Assembly are finalizing negotiations on a resolution that would require all U.N. agencies to declare abortion a human right, reportedly due to pressure from the European Union and the Biden administration.
The resolution contains language about abortion that has reportedly been rejected in other resolutions over the past decade. As the Center for Family and Human Rights (C-Fam) earlier reported, it’s being considered for adoption by the end of the month.
According to C-Fam, the resolution declares that governments should secure “access to safe abortion” as a matter of policy and “ensure the promotion and protection of the human rights of all women and their sexual and reproductive health.”
Western countries backing the resolution reportedly forced the inclusion of this language. Although a Japanese diplomat leading the negotiations stated that delegations could not alter the language on abortion, it remained despite repeat objections, according to C-Fam.
The resolution’s language does not outright declare abortion an international human right and includes the caveat “where such services are permitted by law.”
“The European Union and the U.S. government are trying to undermine the long-standing consensus of the General Assembly that abortion is an issue that should be decided at the national level without external interference from the United Nations,” Stefano Gennarini, vice president for legal studies at C-Fam, said in an emailed statement to The Christian Post on Monday.
Gennarini said that both had done this “intermittently” for over 30 years, but he believes they have made it a priority now due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June.