Here’s a little-known fact: the United States now has a policy on - and can support- sexual and reproductive health and rights.
This policy is groundbreaking for the United States, which has in the past held up progress in international policy dialogues insisting on using the modified phrasing of “sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.”
The rhetorical difference may seem simplistic, but this phrase has undermined global efforts to recognize that sexual rights exist and affirm state obligations to recognize and uphold them. This has far-reaching consequences for the health and rights of women, girls and sexual minorities. 47,000 girls and women die each year from unsafe abortions; 23,000 of those take place in the least developed countries. The most recent data available, from 2003, shows that 14% of all unsafe abortions in developing countries were among women younger than 20. For marginalized populations whose fundamental rights are not protected, such as LGBTI individuals, or those living in crisis or conflict settings, preventing pregnancy can be even more difficult, and one could imagine that these numbers would rise significantly.
