The end of constitutional protections for abortion in the United States has been described as a “backward” move by world leaders and health organizations, while giving a big boost to pro-life groups around the world.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson all condemned the Supreme Court’s annulment of the historic Roe v Wade decision, while the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, said the decision. it was “incredibly annoying.”
“Seeing how a woman’s fundamental right to make decisions about her own body is removed is incredibly annoying,” she said.
“Here in New Zealand we have recently legislated to decriminalize abortion and treat it as a health problem rather than a criminal one.
“This change was based on the fundamental belief that it is a woman’s right to choose. People have an absolute right to have deep convictions on this issue. But these personal beliefs should never deprive another of their own decisions. .
“Seeing this principle lost now in the United States seems like a loss to women everywhere. When there are so many problems to address, so many challenges facing women and girls, we need progress, not to fight the same struggles. and step back “.
Johnson described the sentencing as a “big step backwards,” and hundreds took to the streets of London and Edinburgh to protest the decision.
Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party, the third largest party in the UK parliament, said it was “one of the darkest days for women’s rights in my life … this will brave the anti-government forces abortion and against women in other countries as well ”.
One of the darkest days of my life for women’s rights. Obviously, the immediate consequences will be borne by women in the United States, but this will embolden anti-abortion and anti-women forces in other countries as well. Solidarity is not felt enough now, but it is necessary. https://t.co/T1656BPQuL
– Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 24, 2022
Trudeau said “no government, politician or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body,” and added that “one cannot imagine the fear and anger” they must have. be experiencing women in the United States as a result of the crisis. decision.
No government, politician or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body. I want women in Canada to know that we will always stand up for your right to choose.
– Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 24, 2022
The French Foreign Ministry urged US federal authorities “to do everything possible” to ensure that American women have continued access to abortion, calling it a “health and survival issue.” “. French President Emmanuel Macron added in a tweet that “abortion is a fundamental right of all women.”
Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard called on women to continue fighting for their rights and retweeted Michelle Obama’s statement in which the former First Lady of the United States said she was “heartbroken” by the decision.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said on Twitter that he was “concerned and disappointed” by the ruling and that he had reduced both “women’s rights and access to health care.”
The United Nations agency on sexual and reproductive health said that whether the abortion was legal or not, “happens too often” and global data showed that restricting access meant that abortion is more deadly.
The United Nations Population Fund issued a statement following the Supreme Court decision stating that its 2022 report said that almost half of all pregnancies worldwide were unwanted and that more than 60% of these pregnancies could end in an abortion.
“A staggering 45% of all abortions worldwide are unsafe, making it one of the leading causes of maternal death,” the agency said.
He said almost all unsafe abortions occurred in developing countries and feared that “more unsafe abortions will occur worldwide if access to abortion is restricted.”
The court’s annulment of the historic Roe v Wade ruling “shows that such rights always run the risk of being stranded,” said Ruth Zurbriggen, an Argentine activist and member of the Companion Network of Latin America and the Caribbean, a pro-abortion group. rights.
However, anti-abortion activists applauded the sentence, with legislator Amalia Granata tweeting: “There is justice in the world again. We will achieve that in Argentina too !!”
In El Salvador, abortion activist Sara Larín expressed hope that the ruling would strengthen campaigns against the procedure around the world.
Larín, president of the Vida SV Foundation, said: “I trust that this ruling can abolish abortion in the United States and around the world.”