How a UN Committee’s Ruling on Abortion in Ireland Holds Countries Accountable

How a UN Committee’s Ruling on Abortion in Ireland Holds Countries Accountable

Jan 27, 2017, 6:02pm Jamie J. Hagen

The case of Amanda Mellet, who had to leave Ireland to get an abortion due to a fatal fetal condition, has created a roadmap for advocates to call out the prohibition and criminalization of abortion by any country as a violation of human rights.

By now, the stories of people denied access to abortion in Ireland and facing financial, physical, and emotional hardships as a result are likely well known to reproductive rights advocates. Last year, for the first time, one Irish woman took it upon herself to appeal to the United Nations that, in being denied access to a safe and affordable abortion, her human rights were violated by the constitution of her home nation. The UN Human Rights Committee agreed that she faced “discrimination and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment” because of Ireland’s ban on most abortions; in response, Ireland has paid her financial reparations. Now, her case has created a roadmap for advocates to call out the prohibition and criminalization of abortion by any country as a violation of human rights.

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Source, Rewire: https://rewire.news/article/2017/01/27/how-a-un-committees-ruling-on-abortion-in-ireland-holds-countries-accountable/