This statement was submitted to the 47th Session of the Human Rights Council Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health on behalf of ARROW and the Safe Abortion Advocacy Initiative Global South Engagement (SAIGE). Watch the video statement here.
We commend the Special Rapporteur for recognising the impact that criminalisation and other legal restrictions continue to have on abortion and we welcome the initiative to conduct a thorough appraisal of existing legal and policy restrictions to highlight their discriminatory nature and the impact they have on the enjoyment of the right to health.
The most recent available global data estimates that 45% of all abortions were unsafe.[1] About 3.9 million girls aged 15-19 years undergo unsafe abortions each year in developing regions.[2] Young people across the world face unique vulnerabilities when accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, including abortion, because of their age, race, caste, class, residence, marital status and gender. They are denied bodily autonomy and choice due to imbalance in power relations based on these intersecting facets of discrimination.
Legal and policy barriers have been recognised as amongst the leading barriers to safe abortion, contributing to and compounding other obstacles such as cost, lack of skilled providers, stigma and discriminatory gender norms. Restrictive laws not only harm public health, but also social justice. Young people, especially adolescents are not able to access SRH services, including information and education. This puts them at increased risk of exposure to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, unwanted pregnancies and other health risks due to unsafe abortion. The age of consent restrictions further impede access to SRH services.
Young people have the right to have access to the full spectrum of SRH services, including contraception, comprehensive sexuality education, maternity care, post abortion care and safe abortion.[3] We need an intersectional understanding and a rights-based approach to the provision of abortion services for young people that recognises the principle of evolving capacities and their ability to make autonomous decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. Furthermore, we need to reform colonial-era penal codes and adopt legal frameworks that truly advance bodily autonomy, sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality.
[1] https://arrow.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAIGE-Decriminalisation-of-Abortion.pdf
[2] https://www.guttmacher.org/report/adding-it-meeting-contraceptive-needs-of-adolescents#
[3] https://arrow.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/SAIGE_Young-Women-and-Abortion.pdf
