Since the historic decision of the Supreme Court to revoke the constitutional right to abortion in the United States and while seven states have already banned it, numerous demonstrations by supporters of abortion have taken place throughout the country.
- The United States overturned Roe v. Wade who had guaranteed the right to abortion throughout the country.
- From now on, each American state will be free to authorize or prohibit abortion, as was the case before 1973.
- Voluntary termination of pregnancy has been legal in France since 1975.
It was an essential right of women’s freedom, the constitutional right to abortion, established for almost half a century… The Supreme Court revoked it this Friday, June 24, which means that it now depends on the goodwill of each State
This weekend, many rallies took place to protest against this decision. Most often peaceful, they have been the scene of clashes in rare cases, such as in Phoenix, Arizona.
“The health and lives of the women of this country are now in danger”
“The health and lives of the women of this country are now in danger“, lamented the president of the United States Joe Biden in a solemn address in the wake of the historic judgment.
Indeed, the consequences of this decision are potentially disastrous. Thirteen conservative American states (Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North and South Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming) had adopted “trigger laws”, “automatic” laws allowing them to make any abortion illegal as soon as the decision is announced or within 30 days thereafter.
A fine or jail time
These laws prohibit abortions with nuances: Idaho provides exceptions in the event of rape or incest, Kentucky only in the event of danger to the life of the pregnant woman; Louisiana provides up to ten years in prison for health professionals, Missouri up to fifteen years in prison…
In other states, women who have abortions may be fined or imprisoned.
Abortion could be banned or restricted in more than half of the 50 states
Thus, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and South Carolina have laws prohibiting abortions as soon as the heartbeat of the embryo is perceptible, i.e. around six weeks of pregnancy when most women are still unaware of their existence. pregnant.
From now on, a dozen other states should follow with an outright ban, or a reduced legal period of fetal viability, from 22 weeks to six or eight.
Abortion should thus be prohibited or extremely limited in more than half of the 50 American states, pushing women wishing to terminate a pregnancy to sometimes travel more than 1,000 km to go to the clinic in a neighboring state where abortion is legal and incur health risks.
Access to abortion essential for WHO
Also called “voluntary termination of pregnancy” (or IVG), abortion can be triggered in several ways, including taking “abortive” drugs or by aspiration of the fetus.
The laws governing access to abortion (or its prohibition) differ from one country to another. But according to WHO, access to safe abortion is essential for the health of women and girls:
“Nearly all deaths and injuries resulting from unsafe abortion are entirely preventable. That’s why we recommend that all women and girls can access abortion and family planning services when they need them.“, says Craig Lissner, Acting Director of the Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at WHO.
More restrictions but not fewer abortions
Data shows that restrictions on access to abortion do not reduce the number of abortions but are more likely to encourage women and girls to resort to unsafe procedures:
“The data is clear: if you want to prevent unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions, you must provide women and girls with comprehensive sexuality education and accurate family planning information and services, and give them access to quality abortion care“, explains Doctor Ganatra, Head of the Prevention of Unsafe Abortion Unit at WHO.
According to the WHO, a woman dies every eight minutes worldwide due to abortion-related complications.
It is estimated that one in four pregnancies worldwide ends in abortion each year.
