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Amnesty International Objects to Babies’ Protections in Dominican Republic : 22nd Jun 09
Amnesty International (AI) has asserted that Constitutional and legal reforms underway in the Dominican Republic to protect unborn babies’ lives could lead to violations of women’s human rights. The organisation, which until recently defended all human rights, said the measures might be used to justify criminalising abortion in all circumstances, including where the mother’s life or health is purportedly in danger, or where the pregnancy is the result of rape.
The Congress is considering a new constitutional provision that upholds the inviolability of the right to life “from conception to death”. AI asserted this would infringe the rights of women, including their rights to life and health, and have called for changes that would effectively allow abortion on demand. According to AI, “In order to give effect to its obligations under international human rights law, Amnesty International calls on the Dominican Republic authorities to reform the Penal Code to ensure that women and girls are not subject to criminal sanctions for seeking or obtaining an abortion under any circumstances”.
In particular, the group demanded, “the reform must also ensure that medical practitioners are not criminalised solely for providing abortion services that are safe.
The Dominican Government must take all necessary measures to ensure that safe and legal abortion services are accessible without unreasonable restrictions to all girls and women who require them in cases of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest and in circumstances where continuation of pregnancy would put the health or life of the woman or girl at risk”.
F&L Comment: Nowhere in international law does any “right” to abortion exist, and AI knows it. It is sad that an organisation which once did such good work should be neglecting the many real human rights abuses around the world in order to try to bully a tiny nation into allowing abortion. June 9. F&L. June 16.
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