New ‘San Jose Articles’ Push Abortion Stigma & False Science
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Image: OC Reproductive Rights Resources
On October 6, an international group of anti-choice parliamentarians, lawyers, academics and NGOs launched the San Jose Articles, a nine-point declaration of anti-rights principles intended as a counterpoint to international work supporting women’s access to safe legal abortion as part of their human rights.
Apparently, the launch event at the United Nations was more of a plop than a splash, with only about 20 people in attendance. This month the Articles will be launched in eleven cities in Europe and Latin America and supposedly each member of the European Parliament has already received a copy. Eesh.
In addition to asserting bogus “scientific” claims and promoting a warped interpretation of human rights, these Articles attempt to undermine the mandate of UN treaty monitoring bodies and Special Rapporteurs to interpret and apply international law and agreement principles to the realities in countries. This comes just as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health is about to present a groundbreaking report on criminalization on October 24th.
This is a scary update on the global fight against women’s rights…and you better believe is not unrelated to efforts to limit women’s reproductive access in the US. For more or to share info on SJA events in your region, take a look at this alert and be in touch with those monitoring these efforts.
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8:34 pm
Abortion rights seem to be under attack from all sides recently. I am glad there are blogs like this that speak out about the threat to our rights. Keep it up.
12:45 am
Would you mind mentioning what the “bogus “scientific” claims” are?
It just doesn’t look that credible when points are made with no citations.
10:53 am
Lisa, if you click through to the alert we linked to you can actually see for yourself. Here’s a sneak peek: the articles state that “life begins at conception” (Article 1) and that zygotes and blastocysts are “living members of the human species” (Article 2). You should also take a look at the articles themselves for more information.
Alisha, thanks for the support!
11:19 am
It’s an obvious scientific fact that life does start at conception. The life that continues past that point would then be living members of the human species.
Not a complex issue.
5:23 pm
I read your critique of Kate Bolik’s article, and since you are only 28 yrs old, your naivete can be forgiven.
But in ten years time if you are unmarried and childless, you will feel like a total loser.
Nothing can ever change that. Not even a sociology/gender studies class.
6:54 pm
someone asserts that the right to life begins at conception, and the global feminists start panicking. amusing.