At a United Nations meeting in New York Trump administration declared that there was no international right to abortion. The meeting called upon other countries to form a coalition to eliminate “ambiguous” expressions and terms, including ‘sexual and reproductive health’ from formal UN documents.
Alex Azar, Health and Human Services Secretary, and Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, in a letter circulated before the gathering stated that “We remain gravely concerned that aggressive efforts to reinterpret international instruments to create a new international right to abortion and to promote international policies that weaken the family have advanced through some United Nations forums.”
The US statement has been objected by numerous country representatives who tweeted their comments under the hashtag #SRHR – sexual and reproductive health and rights.
“Unbelievable news” and “women’s rights must be protected at all times” was tweeted by Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation.
President of the International Women’s Health Coalition, Françoise Girard, stated that “sexual and reproductive rights are human rights, and are enshrined in UN agreements for almost 25 years now.”
Meanwhile, antiabortion groups have praised the statement as a sign of “strong pro-life leadership on the world stage” by Trump administration.
