COVID and reproductive rights

Richard A. Sokerka

Inclusion of a reference to “reproductive rights” in a United Nations resolution on combating the coronavirus has the Vatican up in arms.

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, called the resolution “deeply concerning and divisive” in remarks he made Sept. 11 after the UN General Assembly in New York endorsed the resolution, entitled “Comprehensive and coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Archbishop Caccia said, “The Holy See considers it most unfortunate that the adopted resolution includes the deeply concerning and divisive reference to ‘sexual and reproductive health, and reproductive rights.’ ”

The resolution appealed to states “to take all measures necessary to ensure the right of women and girls to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, including sexual and reproductive health, and reproductive rights.”

But Archbishop Caccia said this is not the first time the UN has inserted this language about “reproductive health” in resolutions. “In line with its reservations expressed at the international conferences held in Beijing and Cairo, the Holy See rejects the interpretation that considers abortion or access to abortion, sex-selective abortion, abortion of fetuses diagnosed with health challenges, maternal surrogacy, and sterilization as dimensions of ‘reproductive health,’ or as part of universal health coverage.”

Backing the criticism of the UN resolution by the Vatican was the United States, which voted against the resolution.

In a statement the same day, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations said it objected to the resolution’s inclusion of “reproductive rights.”

“We do not accept references to ‘sexual and reproductive health,’ ‘sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights,’ or other language that suggests or explicitly states that access to legal abortion is necessarily included in the more general terms ‘health services’ or ‘health care services’ in particular contexts concerning women,” it said.

“The United States believes in legal protections for the unborn, and rejects any interpretation of international human rights to require any state party to provide safe, legal, and effective access to abortion.”

The U.S. also voted against the resolution because it endorsed the World Health Organization’s “key leadership role” in fighting the virus.

Despite the vociferous opposition to the resolution by the Vatican and the U.S., it was adopted by a vote of 169–2 (the U.S. and Israel). Archbishop Caccia added that although he endorsed the resolution’s appeal for “extensive immunization” to fight COVID­­-19, he made sure to point to the importance of vaccines that are “free from ethical concerns” and available to all.

We applaud the Vatican and the U.S. for their single-mindedness as a voice for the voiceless in the womb whom the UN fails to recognize as part of the human family in its resolutions.