The Population Institute applauds the reintroduction of the Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Act today in the House and Senate. The bill, sponsored by Representatives Katherine Clark (MA-05), Gregory Meeks (NY-05), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Lois Frankel (FL-21), Grace Meng (NY-06), Norma Torres (CA-35), and Sara Jacobs (CA-53) in the House of Representatives and by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) in the Senate, would ensure that the State Department reports on reproductive rights in a way that aligns with international human rights standards, and would prevent future administrations from eliminating this crucial reproductive rights reporting.

Under the provisions of the Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Act, the State Department’s annual human rights report would include the status of key reproductive rights issues around the world, such as access to abortion, contraception, and family planning information; access to safe, respectful maternity care; current rates of preventable pregnancy-related deaths and injuries; and information on systemic forms of reproductive coercion, including coerced abortion, involuntary sterilization, coerced pregnancy, and obstetric violence.

Speaking about the reintroduction of the Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Act, Population Institute President and CEO Kathleen Mogelgaard said: “When governments restrict people’s ability to plan their families, they are attacking a fundamental human right. The freedom to choose whether and when to become a parent is a vital component of our economic, social, and political rights. Unacceptably, for the last four years, reproductive rights violations were eliminated from the State Department’s human rights reports. By passing the Reproductive Rights Are Human Rights Act, Congress can ensure that the United States will always shine a light on efforts to take away people’s reproductive freedom around the world.”