Abortion Rights are Human Rights: Daily Brief

On Monday night, POLITICO published a leaked draft US Supreme Court opinion on the Mississippi case that would overturn Roe v. Wade. Roe v Wade is a landmark ruling in the US, which struck down laws that criminalize abortion. Human rights groups and activists have outlined how banning abortion would have a significant negative impact on the health of pregnant people. The worst impact would be on marginalized groups, including people living in economic poverty and young people, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color who already face barriers accessing abortion care. Abortion bans don’t decrease the number of abortions, but rather increase unsafe abortions.

Two key witnesses in the Philippine government’s case against Senator Leila de Lima, a longtime critic of President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs,” have retracted their testimonies. De Lima, 62, has been in police custody for five years, facing charges alleging that she received money from drug lords while serving as justice secretary. She denies these charges, contending the Duterte administration is retaliating against her for investigating extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s anti-drug campaign. 

At a May 2 conference entitled “Managing the Beautiful Game,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino shockingly downplayed deaths and hardships of migrant workers in Qatar who have literally built the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Infantino refused to commit to compensating families of workers who lost wages – or their lives – delivering the World Cup. He further insulted those workers by declaring, “When you give work to somebody, even in hard conditions, you give him dignity and pride.” He later added, “Now 6,000 might have died in other works and so on … [but] FIFA is not the police of the world.” With the World Cup barely six months away, FIFA needs to step up and meet its human rights responsibilities.

And finally, speaking in New Delhi on April 25, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen referred to India as a “vibrant democracy,” sharing common values and interests with the European Union. But these cliches, do not reflect the reality of growing abuses and discriminatory policies under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule. Germany, France, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden should reconsider their ‘quiet diplomacy’ on rights abuses in India at their meetings with Modi.