The overturning of Roe v Wade could harm women across the world
The overturning of Roe v Wade could harm women across the world
The US policies on abortion, whether we like it or not, significantly influence how seriously governments around the world take the issue of unsafe abortions.
Stephanie Musho
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A pro-choice activist holds a sign that reads 'keep abortion legal' in front of the US Supreme Court on January 22, 2009 in Washington, DC to mark the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme Court abortion ruling [Alex Wong/Getty Images]
A leaked draft of a United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) opinion that would overturn Roe v Wade, a landmark 1973 decision that gave women the constitutional right to abortion, recently put abortion rights once again on the global agenda. As a human rights lawyer in Kenya, I too am watching the developments in Washington, DC with worry. This is not only because I feel for American women being forced to fight for their right to bodily autonomy, but also because case law in commonwealth jurisdictions such as Kenya is sometimes influenced by decisions taken in US courtrooms.
Consider the recent decision in Constitutional Petition E009 of 2020, which strongly affirmed that abortion care is a fundamental right under the Constitution of Kenya and outlawed arbitrary arrests and prosecution of patients and healthcare providers for seeking or offering such services. In its determination, the court cited and relied upon the principles set out in previous SCOTUS decisions including Roe v Wade; Griswold v Connecticut; Eisenstadt v Baird; and Rochin v California among others. Thus a move by the SCOTUS to overturn Roe v Wade would also put the right to abortion in further jeopardy in my own country. In Kenya, the Constitution in Article 26 (4) allows for abortion under certain conditions. That is if, in the opinion of a trained health professional, there is a need for emergency treatment; or the life or health of the mother is in danger; or if permitted by any other written law. Nonetheless, 11 years after passing the Constitution, Kenya’s male-dominated legislature is yet to pass any law on reproductive health. Moreover, the executive continues to threaten access to safe abortion for women and girls by adopting a narrow and restrictive approach to public policy on the issue.
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According to the World Health Organization, about 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year. Global estimates from 2010 to 2014 demonstrate that 45 percent of all induced abortions are unsafe and that developing countries bear the burden of 97 percent of all unsafe abortions. In Africa, where the risk of dying from an unsafe abortion is the highest in the world, Roe v Wade has long been an important weapon in the arsenal of those fighting to liberalise abortion laws and make the procedure safer for women and girls despite it rarely being invoked by name. Tunisia, which previously allowed only access to safe abortion for population control purposes, liberalised the law just nine months after the Roe v Wade ruling – allowing women to access the service on demand. Additionally, in 1986, Cape Verde allowed for abortion on request prior to 12 weeks gestation which aligns with Roe v Wade holding of the same.
After a drawn-out fight – some 30 years after Roe v Wade – in 2003, the African Union finally adopted the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, known as the Maputo Protocol. The protocol explicitly requires countries to authorise medical abortions in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest, or where the continued pregnancy endangers the health of the mother. This specific provision draws from the 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which in turn hooked its clause on access to safe abortion on Roe v Wade. Today, of the 55 member countries in the AU, 49 have signed the protocol and 43 have ratified it.
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https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/19/the-overturning-of-roe-v-wade-could-harm-women-across-the-world