Two pro-abortion legislators in Congress have asked the State Department to weigh in on pro-life laws and how they affect the international human rights protections as outlined by the United Nations.
Reps. Joaquin Castro of Texas and Sara Jacobs of California sent a letter to Richard Visek, the State Department’s acting legal adviser, to review how pro-life laws in individual states “comply with international human rights and treaty obligations.” They also asked Visek to clarify the United States’ commitment to protecting abortion internationally.
“In particular, we ask that the State Department confirm U.S. support for and understanding of international human rights protections for abortion to the relevant UN bodies, including and especially the UN Human Rights Committee,” they wrote.
“We are deeply concerned by the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey,” they continued, adding that they “believe the Dobbs decision is not only harmful to individuals in the United States who seek safe, legal access to abortions, but it also impacts the U.S. commitment to international human rights and its legal obligations.”
According to an anonymous congressional staffer, who spoke with CNN, the United States is bound to treaties which protect abortion access internationally, and the Biden administration may have further opportunities to review additional treaties soon. “The previous administration did disavow reproductive rights as human rights and this administration has clarified that the United States does uphold reproductive rights,” the congressional staffer said. “There may be other opportunities during this administration, for the US to present its record and to be very clear about what the administration’s commitments are and how it’s seeking to uphold those commitments.”
The United Nations, for its part, has made it clear where it stands on abortion. It has previously called for U.S. pro-life laws to be revoked, calling them “incompatible” with international law. The UN Human Rights Committee has also gone so far as to call on every single country to legalize abortion. Kate Gilmore, a deputy high commissioner for the UN, likewise called pro-life laws “torture” and “extremist hate.”
Yet abortion is the intentional killing of human beings in utero — an actual violation of their human rights. As outlined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person,” and “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.”
And it is abortion itself that deprives human beings of their most intrinsic right: the right to life.
