WUNRN
Mujer
SaludHable Newsletter, Year X, No. 11, November 2011
Laws
that Criminalize Abortion Violate Women’s Human Right to Health
A
Declaration from Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Networks, Coalitions,
Groups and Organizations
On August 3, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly received the interim
report prepared by Anand Grover, the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights
Council on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health, in accordance with Human Rights Council
resolutions 15/22 and 6/29.
The interim report of the Special Rapporteur, entitled “The human right of
everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health,” addresses international human rights law and the right to
sexual and reproductive health as well as the impact of criminal laws and other
legal restrictions on sexual and reproductive health, with an emphasis on the
practice of abortion. The Special Rapporteur also considers conduct during
pregnancy, contraception and family planning and the provision of sexual and
reproductive education and information. The report specifically indicates that
“some criminal and other legal restrictions in each of those areas, which are
often discriminatory in nature, violate the right to health by restricting access
to quality goods, services and information. They infringe human dignity by
restricting the freedoms to which individuals are entitled under the right to
health, particularly in respect of decision-making and bodily integrity.”
Furthermore, the report adds: “Realization of the right to health requires the
removal of barriers that interfere with individual decision-making on
health-related issues and with access to health services, education and
information, in particular on health conditions that only affect women and
girls. In cases where a barrier is created by a criminal law or other legal
restriction, it is the obligation of the State to remove it” (emphasis
added). Therefore, in its recommendations, the report maintains that States can
and should take the necessary measures ensure full enjoyment of the right to
health by all, without for the exception, and ensure that no barriers, such as
those indicated above, hinder the full and effective exercise of this right.
The undersigned networks, coalitions, groups and organizations – historically
committed to an agenda that promotes and defends the right to health as a human
right and as a social good for all women, free from discrimination based on
age, socio-economic status, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender
identity, religious belief, place of residence, disability, health status or
any other characteristic – enthusiastically and wholeheartedly applaud the
spirit of this document, which is the result of efforts by high-level experts,
developed with complete independence from any government or religious or
ideological position.
As a result, we embrace this report as an indispensable tool for political
action and citizen monitoring efforts, with which to challenge the governments
of Latin American and Caribbean, demanding that they ensure the best possible
conditions for the exercise of the right to health with dignity and integrity,
free from all forms of violence, coercion or discrimination.
And finally, we draw attention to the fact that at the presentation of this
report only the Argentinean delegation to the UN expressed active support for
its content, including the content on abortion and the recommendations calling
for the revision of laws that criminalize the interruption of pregnancy, while
the rest of the Latin American and Caribbean delegations failed to express
their support and some even rejected the recommendations on this particular
issue, demonstrating their unwillingness to recognize the critical and urgent
needs of women in terms of of sexual and reproductive autonomy and voluntary
motherhood.
These reactions clearly demonstrate that even in the 21st century, the women’s
right to comprehensive health care, especially for women who are poor,
adolescent, indigenous, of African descent, of different sexual identities,
immigrants, residents of rural areas, HIV +, displaced, victims of violence,
etc., these women are still overlooked in the hot national and regional debates
of today and in public policymaking in our countries, which must not fail to
guarantee women's human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Santiago, Chile, November 2011
Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network, LACWHN
Alianza Nacional, Bolivia
Alianza Nacional por el Derecho a Decidir, Mexico
Articulación Feminista Marcosur
Articulación Feminista por la Libertad de Decidir, Chile
Asociación Milenia Comunicaciones, Peru
Base Educativa y Comunitaria de Apoyo, BECA, Paraguay
Campaña 28 de Septiembre por la Despenalización del Aborto en América Latina y
el Caribe
Campaña 28 de Septiembre por la Despenalización del Aborto, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Campaña 28 de Septiembre por la Despenalización del Aborto, Punto Focal
Nicaragua
Campaña 28 de Septiembre por la Despenalización del Aborto, Punto Focal Chile
Campaña Nacional por el Derecho al aborto legal, seguro y gratuito, Argentina
Campaña por una Convención Interamericana de los Derechos Sexuales y Derechos
Reproductivos
Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir, Bolivia
Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir, Chile
Centro de la Mujer Peruana “Flora Tristán”, Peru
Centro de Investigación para la Acción Femenina, CIPAF, Dominican Republic
CLADEM, Honduras
Colectiva Mujer y Salud, Dominican Republic
Coletivo Feminino Plural, Brazil
Colectivo Cons-pirando, Chile
Colectivo Feminista Mujeres Universitarias, Honduras
Colectivo Juvenil “DECIDE,” Bolivia
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, IGLHRC
Comité de Servicio Chileno, COSECH
Comunicación, Intercambio y Desarrollo Humano para América Latina A. C.,
CIDHAL, Mexico
Coordinación de Mujeres del Paraguay (CMP)
Diálogos Feministas, Bolivia
Educación Popular en Salud, EPES, Chile
El Closet de Sor Juana, Mexico
Equidad de Género, Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia, Mexico
Equifonia, Colectivo por la Ciudadanía, Autonomía y Libertad de las Mujeres,
Mexico
International Planned Parenthood Foundation, Western Hemisphere Region,
IPPF/WHR
Feministas en Resistencia, Honduras
Foro de Mujeres y Políticas de Población, Mexico
Foro de Mujeres por la Igualdad de Oportunidades, Salta, Argentina
Foro Red de Salud y Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos, Chile
Fundación Arcoiris por el respeto a la diversidad sexual, Mexico
Fundación para el Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer, FEIM, Argentina
Gestos- HIV, Comunicação e Genero, Brazil
International AIDS Women's Caucus, IAWC
Instituto de la Mujer, Chile
Isis Internacional, Chile
Kolektiva Rebeldías Lésbicas, Peru
La Ciudad de las Diosas, Chile
Mesa por la Vida y la Salud de las Mujeres, Colombia
Movimiento pro Emancipación de la Mujer Chilena, MEMCH, Chile
Mujer y Salud en Uruguay, MYSU
Observatorio de Sexualidad y Política, Brazil
Observatorio de Equidad de Género en Salud, Chile
Red Chilena contra la Violencia Doméstica y Sexual, Chile
Red de Educación Popular entre Mujeres para América Latina y el Caribe, REPEM
Red Dominicana por la Salud de las Mujeres, Dominican Republic
Red Latinoamericana de Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir
Red Mujer y Hábitat de América Latina
Red Nacional de Mujeres, Colombia
Rede Feminista de Saúde, Direitos Sexuais e Direitos Reprodutivos, Brazil
SI MUJER, Nicaragua
SI Mujer, Cali, Colombia
Solidarité Fanm Ayisyen (SOFA), Haiti
Tierra Viva, Guatemala
To support this declaration, contact LACWHN’s Coordinating Office at secretaria@reddesalud.org