UN condemns US Supreme Court decision on abortion rights

The decision by the US Supreme Court on Friday to end the right to abortion in some states is “a huge blow to women’s human rights and gender equality,” UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said.

“Access to safe, legal and effective abortion is firmly rooted in international human right law and is at the core of women and girls’ autonomy and ability to make their own choices about their bodies and lives,” Bachelet said in a statement.

“This decision strips such autonomy from millions of women in the US, in particular those with low incomes and those belonging to racial and ethnic minorities, to the detriment of their fundamental rights.”

More than 50 countries with restrictive laws have relaxed their abortion laws in the past 25 years, the former Chilean president said.

“With today’s ruling, the US is regrettably moving away from this progressive trend.”

The ruling does not make terminations illegal but returns the United States to the situation before the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973, when each state was free to allow them or not.

Several US states announced measures to ban abortions in their jurisdiction shortly after the court’s announcement.