FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— January 22 2017

[NEW YORK] –  Today marks the 44th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade, two days after the inauguration of Donald Trump, and one day after millions of women all over the world marched in support of women’s rights. Any moment now Mr. Trump is expected to reinstate the Global Gag Rule, which bars US foreign aid from going to any foreign organization that performs or provides information about abortions as a method of family planning.

Mr. Trump has promised to appoint anti-choice Supreme Court judges who will overturn Roe, has said that women who have abortions should be punished and chose as his Vice-President a man with one of the most anti-choice records in the country. Mr. Trump’s election has also emboldened legislators at the state and federal levels to attempt to enact extreme anti-choice measures, many of which are blatantly unconstitutional. This includes a “heartbeat” bill introduced in Ohio less than 6 weeks after the election which would have effectively banned abortions, which was also introduced at the federal level last week by Representative Steve King.

“Since Roe was decided in 1973, state legislators and Congress have slowly and consistently been chipping away at women’s rights to abortion, including by limiting federal funding for abortion services and enacting restrictions which make access nearly impossible for most women,” says Janet Benshoof, President of the Global Justice Center. “These rollbacks are not limited to women in the US, but to those all around the world though the long-arm of laws such as the Helms Amendment and the Global Gag Rule.”

Under international law, abortion is protected medical care for women, the denial of which can constitute violations of women’s rights to be free from gender-based discrimination, free from torture, cruel and inhuman treatment and rights to life and health. By deconstructing Roe and imposing restrictions on abortion access in the US and abroad, the US is violating women’s human rights and its own obligations under international law.

In the past 5 years, countries and international entities including the UN and EU have recognized that abortion is protected medical care for girls and women raped in war. The European Parliament has gone as far as specifying in its budget that the EU’s humanitarian aid must be provided in accordance with international humanitarian law and not be subject to restrictions imposed by partner donors, such as the US.

“Yesterday millions marched around the world and demanded that women’s rights be respected and upheld. Trump has the ability, with a stroke of a pen, to undermine that demand. These violations of women’s rights cannot stand,” says Benshoof, “women all over the world have used international law to not only stop rollbacks on abortion rights but to make progress. It’s time for us to do the same in the US. ”

For more information contact:

Stephanie Olszewski (New York), solszewski@globaljusticecenter.net +1.212.725.6530 ext. 211