Abortion bans dampen Women's Day for 22m US women

International Women's Day, which originated in the early 1900s, is a day to celebrate the achievements and progress made in the fight for gender equality and women's rights of all kinds.

However, it is not just about celebrating past victories but also about raising awareness of ongoing struggles facing women and girls across the globe.

The flowers and well wishes for this year's International Women's Day were shadowed by the lawsuit filed by five women from Texas, the United States, on March 6, against the state over its abortion ban.

They claim that they were denied abortions despite their own or their fetuses' lives being at risk, which made the procedure medically necessary.

Texas, like most states with abortion bans, allows exceptions when a physician determines that there is a risk of "substantial" harm to a pregnant woman. However, doctors are hesitant to perform abortions due to the risk of severe punishments. The lawsuit seeks to affirm physicians' ability to make exceptions and clarify the conditions under which they can.

These five women's plights merely serve as a microcosm of the current human rights crisis spurred on by abortion restrictions in the US.

In a shocking turn of events, the highest court of the US overturned the federal constitutional right to abortion, effectively legalizing the state's control of women's bodies.

As a result, more than 22 million women and girls of reproductive age are now living in states where access to abortion is either prohibited or made inaccessible due to the ruling of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in June 2022.

It means a woman is no longer free to make decisions about her own body without worrying about the legal repercussions; even a miscarriage can land her in jail.

The devastating consequences of the such ban are far-reaching and horrific.

Without regard to their safety, physical or mental health, or predicament, women are being compelled against their will to carry their pregnancies to term. They are being denied essential health care, including prenatal care and cancer treatments, and forced to travel out of state to access reproductive health care.

For those who cannot afford to travel, they are left with no choice but to seek unsafe, back-alley abortions or carry their pregnancies to term. The result is an increase in maternal mortality rates and a regression of the country's health-care system, with women's bodies being treated as incubators rather than autonomous beings.

Notably, these restrictions hit black women the hardest, continuing the country's long history of devaluing their lives and bodies.

Abortion restrictions compound economic, social, and geographic barriers to health care, disproportionately impacting their ability to access the care they need.

International human rights law is clear in stating that denying pregnant individuals access to abortion is a form of discrimination and violates a range of human rights.

As a signatory to numerous international treaties, the US has an obligation to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights, including those related to sexual and reproductive health and autonomy. However, the government's actions in limiting access to abortion directly violate these commitments, putting American women's lives, health, privacy, liberty, and security at risk.

On March 2, 2023, a coalition of 196 human rights groups stirred international criticism by sending a letter to the UN Special Procedures demanding immediate action against abortion bans in the US.

In their plea, the groups argue that following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, the country's new restrictions violate international law and have "devastating" consequences.

The groups highlighted the "intensifying harms" faced by pregnant individuals in the US and pointed to the ruling of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization as a key contributor to the human rights crisis.

The coalition's letter is just one example of the international backlash and criticism confronting the US.

After all, research has already shown that restrictive abortion policies and legislation per se actually do not prevent abortions at all. Instead, they push individuals seeking abortions, particularly those in poverty or rural areas, into unsafe and unregulated settings. This increases the risk of unsafe procedures and prosecution for suspected abortions.

Thus, the ruling elites in Washington, some self-proclaimed human rights defenders, must face the grave human rights issue at hand directly.

Let "Happy Women's Day" not be just a hollow greeting but a call to action to empower pregnant women to have autonomy over their bodies.

Also, the international community must act decisively, especially by utilizing the UN human rights mechanisms, to pressure the US into making necessary changes. The human rights violations against pregnant women in the US cannot be allowed to continue unchecked. It is time for the US government to take a stand and for the world to demand justice for those affected by the country's abortion bans.

(The author is a research fellow with the School of Law, Chongqing University.)