KATHMANDU, JUNE 30
The Reproductive Health Rights Working Group, a network of 19 non-governmental organisations working in reproductive health rights, have condemned the US Supreme Court's reversal of Roe versus Wade verdict that guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion for women.
The judgment of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organisation is regressive and a violation of international human rights that the United States of America is obligated to respect, protect, and fulfil, RHRWG said in a press release issued here today.
Stating that abortion bans push people towards unsafe abortions, the group said the highly restrictive legal framework on abortion that this judgment cemented would have a disproportionate impact on minority and poor communities and further exacerbate the stigma attached to abortion, the group said.
RHRWG stands in solidarity with the American and international community in denouncing the judgment that blatantly disregards the bodily autonomy of women.
Executive Director of Women, Law and Development Sabin Shrestha said the group had condemned the US Supreme Court decision because the decision violated American women's basic human rights which were issues of global concerns.
Senior Manager and Officer In-Charge of Centre for Reproductive Rights Prabina Bajracharya said the UN bodies had condemned the US SC verdict and they would continue to raise questions in their review meetings.
Legal Adviser to the Centre for Reproductive Right Prabhakar Shrestha said the reversal of Roe versus Wade decision by the conservative majority of the SC was an act of revenge as there was no concrete ground cited for the reversal.
The group said Nepal had one of the most progressive legal guarantees on abortion rights and it would continue to work together with all the stakeholders to ensure implementation of abortion rights and amplify the progressive legal frameworks protecting abortion rights in Nepal.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 1, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
