U.S. Signs Anti-Abortion Declaration With A Group Of Primarily Conservative Governments

In news that definitely shouldn’t send you into a panic, on Thursday the United States signed an anti-abortion declaration with a group of approximately 30 other governments, the majority of which are conservative or authoritarian regimes. The declaration, called the “Geneva Consensus Declaration,” calls on countries to promote women’s rights and health while also reaffirming that there is “no international right to abortion, nor any international obligation on the part of states to finance or facilitate abortion.”

The central supporters of the declaration are Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, and Uganda, and the other signatories include Saudi Arabia, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, and more. Georgetown University’s “Women, Peace, and Security Index” ranks most of the governments that signed the declaration among the 20 worst countries to be a woman.

When speaking about the declaration, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said:

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States has defended the dignity of human life everywhere and always,” Pompeo said. “He has done it like no other president in history. We have mounted an unprecedented defense of the unborn abroad.”

Everything about that language is deeply terrifying, but especially the part where Pompeo alludes to the possibility of the U.S. getting involved in anti-abortion efforts in other nations.