The end of constitutional protection for abortion in the United States has been described as a step backwards by world leaders and health organizations, while giving a huge boost to pro-life groups around the world.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the Supreme Court’s overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, while New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the decision was “incredibly upsetting”.
“Watching the abolition of a woman’s basic right to make decisions about her own body is incredibly frustrating,” she said.
“Here in New Zealand, we have recently passed legislation to decriminalize abortion and treat it as a health problem, not a criminal one.
“This change is based on the basic belief that women are the right to choose. People have an absolute right to have deep convictions on this issue. But these personal beliefs should never take anyone else to make their own decisions.
“Seeing this principle, which is now lost in the United States, feels like a loss to women everywhere. When there are so many problems to deal with, so many challenges that women and girls face, we need to make progress, not fight the same battles and move backwards. ”
Johnson described the court ruling as a “big step backwards,” and hundreds took to the streets of London and Edinburgh to protest.
Nicolas Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party, the third largest party in the UK Parliament, said it was “one of the darkest days for women’s rights in my life … it will boost anti-abortion forces and women in other countries as well. “
One of the darkest days for women’s rights in my life. Obviously, the immediate consequences will be borne by women in the United States – but this will encourage anti-abortion forces and women in other countries as well. At the moment, solidarity is not enough – but it is necessary. https://t.co/T1656BPQuL
– Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 24, 2022
Trudeau said that “no government, politician or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body,” adding that “she cannot imagine the fear and anger” that women in the United States should to experience as a result of a ruling.
No government, politician or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body. I want women in Canada to know that we will always stand up for your choice.
– Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 24, 2022
The French Foreign Ministry called on the US federal authorities to “do everything possible” to ensure that American women have permanent access to abortion, calling it a “health and survival problem.” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that “abortion is a fundamental right of all women.”
Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard called on women to continue fighting for their rights and retweeted Michelle Obama’s statement, in which the former US first lady said she was “heartbroken” about the decision.
Tedros Adanom Gebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said on Twitter that he was “concerned and disappointed” by the decision and that it reduced both “women’s rights and access to health care”.
The UN Agency for Sexual and Reproductive Health has said that whether abortion is legal or not, “it happens too often” and global data show that restricting access makes abortion more deadly.
The UN Population Fund issued a statement following the Supreme Court ruling, noting that its 2022 report said that almost half of all pregnancies in the world were unforeseen and more than 60% of those pregnancies could end in abortion.
“A staggering 45% of all abortions in the world are dangerous, making it a leading cause of maternal death,” the agency said.
It says almost all dangerous abortions have occurred in developing countries and fears that “there will be more dangerous abortions in the world if access to abortion becomes more restricted”.
The court’s overturning of the remarkable Roe v. Wade ruling “shows that these types of rights are always at risk of being destroyed,” said Ruth Zurbrigen, an Argentine activist and member of the Latin American and Caribbean Companion Network, an abortion group. rights.
However, anti-abortion activists welcomed the decision, with legislator Amalia Granata tweeting: “There is justice in the world again. We will achieve this in Argentina too !! ”
In El Salvador, anti-abortion activist Sarah Larin expressed hope that the decision would step up campaigns against the procedure around the world.
Larin, president of Fundación Vida SV, said: “I believe that this decision will make it possible to eliminate abortion in the United States and around the world.
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