The World Health Organisation, WHO on Wednesday warned that the US Supreme Court’s ruling which has put an end to the nationwide right to abortion risked having a detrimental impact far beyond the United States.
‘The decision by the top US court to eliminate 50 years of constitutional protections for abortion rights was referred to as ‘a setback’ by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organisation.
No fewer than eight conservative-led US states have moved quickly to outlaw abortion, with many of them only allowing exceptions in life-threatening situations. Within a few weeks, a comparable number is anticipated to follow suit.
Speaking to reporters from the UN health agency’s headquarters in Geneva, Tedros voiced alarm that a country as influential as the United States would move ‘many years backwards’ on the issue.
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‘Many countries… may follow suit,’ he warned, stressing that ‘the global impact is also a concern’.
Tedros insisted that ‘all women should have the right to choose when it comes to their bodies and health. Full stop.’
But he insisted that the issue of access to safe abortion was about much more than the right to choose.
‘Safe abortion is health care. It saves lives,’ he said.
‘Restricting it drives women and girls towards unsafe abortions, resulting in complications, even death,’ he said.
‘The evidence is irrefutable: limiting access to safe abortion costs lives and has a major impact, particularly on women from the poorest and most marginalised communities.’
The WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan agreed.
‘Having access to safe abortion is a life-saving measure,’ she told journalists.