UN Committee against Torture Calls for an End to Nicaragua's Life-Threatening Abortion Ban

In a precedent-setting move, the United Nations Committee
against Torture has called for Nicaragua to modify its abortion laws.
Since October 2006, Nicaragua has eliminated all exceptions to a ban on
abortions, including procedures to save the life of the pregnant
woman.

MADRE applauds the Committee for recognizing that the law poses a
serious risk to the human rights of women and girls and contravenes the
Nicaraguan government's obligations under the Convention against
Torture.

MADRE has joined with a coalition of US-based and Nicaraguan
organizations to present this case before multiple UN treaty bodies.
In conjunction with the Committee against Torture's most recent
session, this coalition submitted a report entitled the "Report on
Violations of Women's Human Rights to Therapeutic Abortion and
Emergency Medical Care."

This report demonstrates that the law places life-saving treatment out
of reach of women experiencing pregnancy complications or women who are
survivors of rape or incest. The law increases the number of women
seeking unsafe abortion methods. Furthermore, the report shows that
doctors concerned about facing possible criminal charges are dissuaded
from providing non-abortion medical treatments that may cause
unintentional damage to the fetus.

Vivian Stromberg, Executive Director of MADRE and a signatory to the coalition's report, said today, "This
law presents a direct threat to women's lives, and we commend the
Committee for taking a stand against it. Nicaraguan women's human
rights have been held hostage to this law, and the government must
prioritize women's lives over ideology. Otherwise, women will continue
to experience the emotional and physical pain created by a denial of
access to necessary medical treatment."

Available for comment:

Rhonda Copelon is an expert in reproductive rights and
health, and a signatory to the "Report on Violations of Women's Human
Rights to Therapeutic Abortion and Emergency Medical Care." She has
worked in the US and in the international arena as a professor of law
and the co-director of the International Women's Human Rights Law
Clinic at the City University of New York Law School. Previously, she
was a staff lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights. She has
published numerous texts in the field of reproductive and sexual rights
and international women's human rights.

Vivian Stromberg, MADRE Executive Director, is an educator and
expert on gender, women's economic development, US foreign policy,
human rights, sexual violence, and child development. She is the MADRE
representative to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at the
United Nations and has participated in all of the major UN Conferences
since 1992. Ms. Stromberg works in Latin America, Africa, the Middle
East, and the Balkans, and has been an activist in the peace and social
justice movements for over 45 years. Vivian Stromberg is responsible to
the Board of Directors.