Joint Statement for Human Rights Committee Day of Discussion on the Right to Life

The Center and over 50 human rights organizations from across the globe issued this joint statement to the Human Rights Committee for its day of discussion on the right to life, calling on the Committee to take into account the risks women and girls face to their lives as a result of their gender and reproductive capacities. The statement urges the Committee to further elaborate on the measures states must take to prevent maternal mortality and morbidity, including providing quality contraception and safe abortion services. It further calls on the Committee to reaffirm the long-established principle that the right to life begins at birth, and ensure states do not misuse the right to life in order to undermine women’s fundamental human rights.