Landmark Decision Establishing Women's Right to Access to Legal Abortion

Center For Reproductive Rights

Today, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) decided its first abortion case, Karen Llontoy v. Peru. The decision establishes that denying access to legal abortion violates women’s most basic human rights. This is the first time an international human rights body has held a government accountable for failing to ensure access to legal abortion services. The Human Rights Committee monitors countries’ compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

"We are thrilled that the UNHRC has ruled in favor of protecting women’s most essential human rights," says Luisa Cabal, Director of the International Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights. "Every woman who lives in any of the 154 countries that are party to this treaty – including the U.S – now has a legal tool to use in defense of her rights. This ruling establishes that it is not enough to just grant a right on paper. Where abortion is legal it is governments’ duty to ensure that women have access to it."