Reports

How Florida Judges Obstruct Young People’s Ability to Obtain Abortion Care

The 39-page report, “Access Denied: How Florida Judges Obstruct Young People’s Ability to Obtain Abortion Care,” documents how in Florida many judges deny young people’s petitions, forcing them to continue a pregnancy against their wishes, travel outside the state, or seek a way to manage abortion outside the health system. Judges have the power to make highly subjective determinations about a young person’s maturity and interests. Vague criteria in state law enable highly arbitrary decision-making, with judges making decisions based on factors such as the young person’s grades and impressions of their demeanor during a nerve-wracking hearing.

Illustration of a judge presenting a paper with the words "Permission for Abortion Denied"

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  • United States’ Lack of Regulation Fuels Crisis of Unaffordable Insulin

    The 92-page report, “‘If I’m Out of Insulin, I’m Going to Die:’ United States’ Lack of Regulation Fuels Crisis of Unaffordable Insulin,” describes the human rights impacts of US government policies that make essential life-saving medication like insulin unaffordable for many people.

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  • Ending Preventable Deaths from Cervical Cancer in Rural Georgia

    The 82-page report, “‘We Need Access’: Ending Preventable Deaths from Cervical Cancer in Rural Georgia” documents how state and federal policies neglect the reproductive healthcare needs of rural Black women. Cervical cancer is highly preventable and treatable.

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  • Women’s Access to Health Care in Afghanistan

    The 39-page report, “‘I Would Like Four Kids—If We Stay Alive’: Women’s Access to Health Care in Afghanistan,” documents barriers to Afghan women and girls obtaining health care and the healthcare system’s deterioration due to declining international support.

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  • The Human Rights Consequences of Parental Notice of Abortion in Illinois

    The 73-page report, “‘The Only People It Really Affects Are the People It Hurts’: The Human Rights Impacts of Parental Notice of Abortion in Illinois,” is the product of a collaboration between Human Rights Watch and the ACLU of Illinois.

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  • Charting an Equitable Exit from the Covid-19 Pandemic

    On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that an outbreak of the viral disease Covid-19—first identified in late 2019 in Wuhan, China—had reached the level of a global pandemic.

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  • Strengthening Human Rights and Transparency Around Covid-19 Vaccines

    The 77-page report, “‘Whoever Finds the Vaccine Must Share It’: Strengthening Human Rights and Transparency around Covid-19 Vaccines,” examines three significant barriers to universal and equitable access to any vaccine that is found to be safe and effective – transparency, supply, and pricing.

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  • The Climate Crisis and First Nations’ Right to Food in Canada

    The 120-page report, “‘My Fear is Losing Everything’: The Climate Crisis and First Nations’ Right to Food in Canada,” documents how climate change is reducing First Nations’ traditional food sources, driving up the cost of imported alternatives, and contributing to a growing problem of food insecurity and related negativ

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  • The Human Cost of Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Argentina

    The 77-page report named “A Case for Legal Abortion: The Human Cost of Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Argentina,” describes the consequences of the Senate’s rejection of a 2018 bill that would have fully decriminalized abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. Human Rights Watch documented cases of

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  • Tanzania’s Anti-LGBT Crackdown and the Right to Health

    This report documents how since 2016 the government of Tanzania has cracked down on LGBT people and the community-based organizations that serve them.

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  • US Economic Sanctions Harm Iranians’ Right to Health

    This report documents how broad restrictions on financial transactions, coupled with aggressive rhetoric from US officials, have drastically constrained the ability of Iranian entities to finance humanitarian imports, including vital medicines and medical equipment.

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  • A Guide for First Nations Communities and Advocates

    This report provides an overview of the legal framework behind the human right to water and recommendations on how to work with government officials and other towards the realization of this right.

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  • How Aged Care Facilities in Australia Chemically Restrain Older People with Dementia

    This report found that instead of providing support to older people with dementia, facilities use drugs to control their behavior, a practice known as chemical restraint. Many of the drugs used to control people in aged care facilities are antipsychotics that are not approved in Australia for older people with dementia.

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  • Large-Scale UN Response Needed to Address Health and Food Crises

    This report documents increased numbers of maternal and infant deaths; the unchecked spread of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles and diphtheria; and sharp increases in the transmission of infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis in Venezuela.

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  • Improper Social Care Assessments for Older People in England

    For this report, Human Rights Watch spoke with older people and their relatives in 12 cities and towns across England. Some said that assessors appeared not to understand their disabilities and support needs.

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  • Transgender Women, HIV, and Human Rights in South Florida

    This report documents the harmful impact of state and federal policies on transgender women in two Florida counties – Miami-Dade and Broward – that have the highest rates of new HIV infection in the United States.

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