Northern Ireland violates women's rights by unduly restricting their access to abortion, a report by the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) said. CEDAW is composed of 23 independent human rights experts and oversees the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women by countries that have ratified it, but it does not have powers of enforcement.
"Denial of abortion and criminalisation of abortion amounts to discrimination against women because it is a denial of a service that only women need. And it puts women in horrific situations," the committee's vice-chairwoman, Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, said in a statement. "The situation in Northern Ireland constitutes violence against women that may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment," she said.
The report recommended changing the law to stop criminal charges being brought against women and girls undergoing abortion or against anyone assisting in the abortion, with a moratorium on the application of existing laws in the interim. It said abortion should be legal at least in cases of rape or incest or where a woman's physical or mental health was threatened, or in cases of severe foetal impairment. Among its other recommendations were ensuring contraception was available, combating gender-based stereotypes regarding women's primary role as mothers, and protecting women from harassment by anti-abortion campaigners.
http://news.trust.org/item/20180223130039-bl5cr/
"Denial of abortion and criminalisation of abortion amounts to discrimination against women because it is a denial of a service that only women need. And it puts women in horrific situations," the committee's vice-chairwoman, Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, said in a statement. "The situation in Northern Ireland constitutes violence against women that may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment," she said.
The report recommended changing the law to stop criminal charges being brought against women and girls undergoing abortion or against anyone assisting in the abortion, with a moratorium on the application of existing laws in the interim. It said abortion should be legal at least in cases of rape or incest or where a woman's physical or mental health was threatened, or in cases of severe foetal impairment. Among its other recommendations were ensuring contraception was available, combating gender-based stereotypes regarding women's primary role as mothers, and protecting women from harassment by anti-abortion campaigners.
http://news.trust.org/item/20180223130039-bl5cr/
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