SHOBHA SHUKLA
“Abortion is health care. Access to abortion is a human rights issue. Full stop.” With these words, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, set the tone for a high-level SHE & Rights anniversary session held ahead of the 80th UN General Assembly, World Contraception Day (26 September), and International Safe Abortion Day (28 September).
Dr Mofokeng stressed that sexual and reproductive health rights are integral to the right to health but face entrenched barriers across health systems and policy frameworks. She emphasised that safe abortion saves lives, protects reproductive autonomy, and is vital for LGBTQIA+ communities as well. Restrictive laws and discriminatory practices, she said, not only violate rights but also worsen health inequalities.
The session, themed “Abortion Rights are Human Rights”, was co-hosted by several global organisations, including CeHDI, ICFP, IPPF, ARROW, WGNRR, ASAP, APCAT Media, and CNS.
Kelcey Armstrong-Walenczak of CeHDI highlighted that under international law, states have three obligations: to respect by removing legal barriers to abortion; to protect by safeguarding against discrimination and coercion; and to fulfill by ensuring availability and quality of reproductive health services. “Without safe abortion care, the right to health cannot be fully realised,” she said, warning against regressive global policies, anti-science rhetoric, and politicisation of health that threaten hard-won rights.
Echoing this, Dr Mabel Bianco, veteran Argentine activist and president of FEIM, underlined that denying abortion rights is a violation of women’s rights. She recalled that Safe Abortion Day began in Latin America in 1990 to advocate for decriminalisation. Since then, global mobilisation has grown, with 28 September now marked internationally.
Dr Bianco shared the long struggle in Argentina to secure reproductive rights, culminating in the passage of a safe abortion law in 2020 after years of resistance. She called medical abortion a major feminist achievement, giving women the power to decide when and how to access safe care.
She also urged governments to provide comprehensive sexuality education and ensure contraception, stressing that the denial of such services contributes to maternal deaths, gender-based violence, and femicides.
As the world marks 30 years since the Beijing Declaration, speakers at the session demanded that safe abortion be recognised as central to women’s rights, health, and dignity. “Those who oppose abortion rights are not pro-life—they are against the lives of women and society,” concluded Dr Bianco.