The United States — in concert with 31 other countries — joined a statement late last week declaring there “is no international right to abortion.”
“There is no international right to abortion, nor any international obligation on the part of States to finance or facilitate abortion, consistent with the long-standing international consensus that each nation has the sovereign right to implement programs and activities consistent with their laws and policies,” the document explained in part.
The two-page Geneva Consensus Declaration on Protecting Women’s Health and Strengthening the Family was co-sponsored by the U.S., Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, and Uganda. It was also signed by leaders from Bahrain, Belarus, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo, Djibouti, Eswatini, Gambia, Haiti, Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Nauru, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, and Zambia.
Signatories also reaffirmed the “inherent ‘dignity and worth of the human person’ and that ‘every human being has the inherent right to life.’” The letter also reestablished the commitment “to enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant.”
The declaration’s contents were further broken down by Alison Centofante of the pro-life group Live Action:
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States has defended the dignity of human life everywhere and always,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “He’s done it like no other president in history.”
He went on to say the White House has “mounted an unprecedented defense of the unborn abroad.”
In 2019, at the United Nations’ general assembly, President Donald Trump’s administration urged the international body to stop promoting abortion around the world.
Speaking on behalf of the president, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the U.N.’s focus on abortion “undermine[s] the critical role of the family.”
“There is no international right to an abortion and these terms should not be used to promote pro-abortion policies and measures,” he said at the time. “Further, we only support sex education that appreciates the protective role of the family in those education and does not condone harmful sexual risks for young people.”