Statement by the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva
Geneva – May 28, 2020
We note with great regret the most recent statement from the United Nations working group on the protection of women and girls that draws attention to alleged undue restrictions on access to supposedly “essential” abortion services for women in the U.S. during the time of COVID-19. It needs to be emphasized that under international human rights law there is no recognized human right to an abortion. The U.S. government strongly disagrees with the characterizations and conclusions expressed in this statement and rejects any attempt to use the COVID 19 pandemic as a way to assert that there is an international right to abortion. At a time when there are many documented cases of human rights abuses of women and girls during the pandemic, it would behoove the working group’s representatives to focus on these real human rights abuses.