The World Health Organization expressed concern on Tuesday about courts limiting women’s right to safe abortion services, following recent legal developments in the United States. WHO Director‑General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that restricting access to safe abortion methods would push women and girls toward unsafe alternatives.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency “administrative stay,” temporarily preserving access to a widely used abortion pill. The stay halted lower‑court restrictions on the drug until Wednesday, allowing parties to present their arguments. This move reflects the latest battleground in America’s ongoing conflict over reproductive rights.
At a press conference, Tedros said, “WHO is concerned that the right of women to access safe abortion services, including through the use of medical abortion medicines, is being limited by legislators and/or courts. Women should always have the right to choose when it comes to their bodies and their health. Restricting access to abortion does not reduce the number of procedures; it only drives women and girls toward unsafe ones, and even death. Ultimately, access to safe abortion is healthcare that saves lives.”
The U.S. Justice Department filed an emergency appeal asking the Supreme Court to block lower‑court rulings that would have banned or limited access to the drug mifepristone. More than a dozen states have enacted laws banning or severely restricting abortion since the conservative‑dominated Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, ending a half‑century constitutional right to the procedure.
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