Supporters of reproductive rights protested outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as justices heard oral arguments over access to mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortion. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
Ipas, a global reproductive justice organization, has been on the front lines of many of the legal battles and wins around the world where abortion has been liberalized. Our driving force is our belief that abortion is a human right, and our work is firmly grounded in a human rights frame — the right to health, nondiscrimination, gender equality, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and many others.
Human rights are universal — they transcend borders. Seeing how local legislators here in North Carolina and many other states are using this frame to change the narrative and demand more for their communities and constituents gives me hope that we will build back a legal doctrine that is much stronger than what we knew before, and one that will stand the test of time.
The U.S. has ratified three human rights treaties and has distinct obligations under each of them. State and local governments play an important role in ensuring these obligations are met and that everyone’s human rights are protected. In fact, when I listened to the United Nations Human Rights Committee question the United States delegation in Geneva, Switzerland during its review of the U.S.’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights last year, I heard this theme ring true loud and clear and it was echoed in the recommendations it issued to the U.S. government.
Now, one year later, and just two months before the Trump-Vance administration takes office, this strategy has never been more important. And in fact, building legal frameworks rooted in human rights locally and at the state level is a critical solution to the public health crisis that will undoubtedly become exponentially worse under the incoming hostile federal administration. The threats of Project 2025 are no longer a distant possibility, but our reality and pregnant people and those who support them, will face greater surveillance and threats of criminalization. That is why Ipas US is partnering with local organizations and working in towns, cities and counties in North Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, and Maryland to recognize abortion as a human right, and to implement the recommendations from the Human Rights Committees and other human rights treaty monitoring bodies to increase access to care and to mitigate harm.
Health care providers and facilities must guarantee access to life saving abortion care in emergency situations as part of the human right to health. Human rights principles require governments to ensure fair access to health care and to include women’s rights to equal application of the law and access to life saving services, as part of the right to be free from inhuman and degrading treatment. These principles ground abortion as a human right and they do not change depending on who controls the White House or Congress.
Hospitals cannot be allowed to turn people away when they desperately seek care in emergency situations when abortion is a human right. Doctors cannot be forced to wait until a patient has sepsis before they can intervene when abortion is a human right. People cannot be criminalized for pregnancy outcomes and circumstances surrounding their pregnancies when abortion is a human right. Our human rights are non-negotiable. The United States–and officials at every level of government–must uphold and protect them. If there was ever a time to stand up and take action, it is now.