US gov affirms no 'human right' to abortion, rejoins international declaration
The federal government under President Donald Trump rejoined the Geneva Consensus Declaration (GCD) on Friday, affirming there is no "human right" to abortion.
The U.S. rejoined the international declaration last week, according to a communication from the United States Mission to the United Nations. The coalition of governments, which was first adopted in October 2020, are united around a pro-life policy stance. The Biden administration exited the coalition by Executive Order in January 2021.
"The Trump Administration has stated its commitment to promoting women's health and the preservation of the family values that the international coalition as a whole, and its individual member states, support through national policy and legislation," the message reads.
The U.S. was a founding member of the GCD, which is now comprised of 40 signatory countries that uphold the right to life of the unborn and affirm national sovereignty with regard to pro-life laws and policies.
The Declaration states that "every human being has the inherent right to life" and declares that there is no international obligation to promote or fund abortion. It also promotes holistic strategies for advancing women's health and well-being, including maternal care, education and economic development.
"The United States will pursue these objectives in cooperation with member states in the UN system and through our continued shared ambition for improved health for women and girls," the message announcing the move reads. "Investing in women's health and well-being saves lives, allows women and girls more opportunities and protects the family as the fundamental unit of society."
Elyssa Koren, an international human rights lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, said that by rejoining the GCD, the United States sends a clear message that it is committed to advancing a pro-life stance on the world stage and that there is no international "human right" to abortion.
"This signals a massive reorientation away from the virulent abortion promotion that characterized the Biden administration's international engagement, particularly with the developing world," Koren said. "With this action, the United States is decisively rejecting ideological colonization by saying no to the imposition of abortion pressure on sovereign nations."
She also said the decision to rejoin the Geneva Consensus Declaration carries significant legal weight in that it prevents the emergence of a false "human right" to abortion by customary international law.
"The Trump Administration should be commended for recognizing the importance of defending unborn life at the international level," she added. "This is sure to have an enormously empowering effect on governments across the world that are trying to uphold their pro-life laws and policies in the face of enormous pressure from the pro-abortion lobby."
Valerie Huber, the founder and president of the Institute for Women's Health (IWH) and architect of the Geneva Consensus Declaration, commended Trump for fulfilling his promise to rejoin the GCD.
"By rejoining, President Trump sends a bold message that the United States stands with sovereign nations to defend the real health needs of women against coercive tactics by global power players," she said.
"I was a special representative for global women's health under Trump 45 and saw how ideological colonialism was standing in the way of authentic gains for women and girls, especially in the developing world," she told Fox News Digital. "I also saw firsthand during negotiations at the United Nations, how countries were being disrespected, that something needed to change because women and girls were unnecessarily dying or have developing lifelong health conditions that were totally preventable."
Huber said ideology was taking priority over real health, prompting the creation of the GCD.
Abortion "is not a fundamental human right," she said. "It's up to the countries to decide themselves. We know that if something is deemed a human right, then countries have no sovereign authority to set their own laws and that is the direction that far too many organizations and advocates under the name of women's health are putting their time and effort."
Through the GCD, she said, developing nations are given a voice, instead of being "drowned out by intimidation and even threats for silence."
"When a coalition of nations make a statement or negotiate a particular policy position, the power is much greater than the sum of its parts, and so the GCD is important for multilateral negotiation," she said.
"Biden removed the U.S. from the GCD in day eight of his administration, which shows that what should not be a political issue was heavily politicized," she added. "The fact that Trump rejoined in the first hundred hours, I think it shows that women's health is going to be about women's health again, and I'm happy to see that."
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