09.27.2022
Q&A: How International Law Protects Abortion Access in the US
Related Publications
Legal Filings
10.22.2024
Amicus Brief — United States v. Idaho (October 2024)
Idaho’s “Defense of Life Act” (“Act” or “Idaho’s Law”), a near-total abortion ban, restricts access to necessary emergency reproductive healthcare, exacerbating preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and otherwise negatively impacting pregnant people. The law’s narrow exception for life-saving care will not prevent or mitigate these harms and will leave patients without access to emergency reproductive healthcare. The United States has ratified several human rights treaties that require it to guarantee access to safe and legal reproductive health services, in particular in emergencies or acute medical crises governed by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (“EMTALA”). Under these treaties, the U.S. is required to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to life; freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment; non-discrimination; and privacy. Idaho’s draconian abortion law fails to respect these rights and violates the U.S.’s treaty obligations. This violation of the U.S.’s treaty obligations militates in favor of affirming the preliminary injunction issued by the District Court. Causing the U.S. to violate its international obligations will result in irreparable harm and is not in the public interest.
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UN/Government Submissions
06.13.2024
Statement: US House Hearing on Liberia War Crimes Court
Letters
05.22.2024
Joint NGO Letter to President Biden on the International Criminal Court
Advocacy Resources
10.30.2023
In Geneva, United States Dodges Key Questions on its Abortion Rights Record
On October 17-18 in Geneva, the United States government faced questions from civil society and the Human Rights Committee on the country’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In addition to questions on immigrants’ rights, racial discrimination, and more, US officials were pressed repeatedly on the state of abortion access in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
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Fact Sheets
10.17.2023
How the Dobbs Ruling Put the United States in Violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Abortion
Human Rights Council
Human Rights Treaties
Reproductive Rights
United States
US Abortion Laws
The June 2022 Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eliminated federal constitutional protection for access to abortion in the United States. Following Dobbs, more than a dozen states fully banned abortion, and many others passed or proposed increased restrictions. On October 17-18, 2023, the Human Rights Committee will review US compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including the impact of Dobbs on its human rights obligations.
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Briefs and White Papers
10.05.2023
Draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity Should Advance Justice for Reproductive Autonomy
It is imperative that the 2019 Draft articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity (the “Draft Crimes Against Humanity Convention”) protect the value of “reproductive autonomy,” meaning the right of every individual to exercise agency over their fertility; their choice about whether, and in what circumstances, to reproduce.
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UN/Government Submissions
09.20.2023