Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO), ignoring that the so-called right to abortion does not exist within international law, released its new guidelines on abortion. Self-management abortion and telemedicine are their recommendations “to keep women and girls safe.”
According to their press release, abortion is an “extremely safe procedure when it is carried out using the method recommended by WHO, the UN agency.” One of these methods is using a “combination of mifepristone plus misoprostol or misoprostol.”
Despite the fact that WHO is an institution whose focus is supposed to be on health, it does not step back from making recommendations to policymakers—asking them to remove barriers to safe abortion, barriers such as the criminalization of abortion, mandatory waiting times, or the need for the parents to give their approval, among others. They also recommend “over-the-counter emergency contraceptive pills, without prescription to individuals who wish to use emergency contraception.”
Sadly, these new guidelines from the WHO are clear evidence that the UN and its institutions do not care about women and girls. It is not news that abortion, like any other medical procedure, presents a risk. This risk could increase when it is done without a proper medical evaluation. The pro-abortion agenda of the WHO seems to matter more than the safety of women and girls.
The Lozier Institute and its report “The Evolution of ‘Self-Managed’ Abortion: Does the Safety of Women Seeking Abortion Even Matter Anymore” presents a study in which one out of five women who had a chemical abortion presented complications and required surgery. Accordingly, with this study, the rates of complications for a medical abortion vs. surgical abortion are four times higher.[1]
Other risk factors for “self-managed” abortion are infections, hemorrhaging, pelvic inflammatory disease, mental health complications, etc. Still, the WHO has ignored this information and is now promoting abortion on demand. The WHO is also demanding that countries make abortion services affordable for women. In other words, they require that abortion be publicly funded and free so the cost will not be a burden.[2]
The U.S. government is the number one donor to the WHO, followed by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation[3]. This means that our tax dollars are promoting these outrageous recommendations.
Abortion hurts women and girls, and ultimately it hurts us as a society. We must continue to defend the unborn and stand for women and girls who sadly are misled by institutions like WHO. Our government must be held accountable for having a part in the misinformation.
[1] Ingrid Skop, The Evolution of Self-Managed Abortion: Does the safety of Women Seeking Abortion Even Matter Anymore? Charlotte Lozier Institute (March 1, 2021) https://lozierinstitute.org/the-evolution-of-self-managed-abortion/#_edn11
[2] As part of an enabling environment, considerations of gender equality, human rights and equity should guide the
design of health financing policy to reduce if not eliminate the financial barriers for the most vulnerable, and to
ensure equitable access to good-quality services (93). The CEDAW Committee has described fees for abortion
as being burdensome to women’s informed choice and autonomy (94, para. 37). Where user fees are charged
for abortion, this should be based on careful consideration of ability to pay, and fee waivers should be available
for those who are facing financial hardship and adolescent abortion seekers. World Health Organization, Abortion care guideline, (2022) https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/349316/9789240039483-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
[3] https://www.who.int/about/funding/contributors/usa