Roe vs Wade: US abortion rights’ ruling could hurt women around the world – Here’s how

While women in South Africa have the constitutional right to make decisions concerning reproduction, the US Supreme Court’s overturning on Friday of the landmark Roe vs Wade ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion shows just how tenuous those rights are, experts say.

The decision has reverberated around the world, with France one of several US allies condemning the decision.

President Emmanuel Macron denounced the threat to women’s freedom.

SA’s Women’s Legal Centre director, Seehaam Samaai, said the US case will have no direct implications on the country’s legal framework or rights to abortion.

“But it most certainly will contribute to the ever-growing list of barriers women face.

“Whenever conservative anti-rights rhetoric grows through anticipated victories, the impact is felt here in South Africa and across the globe,” she said.

“[As] a country deeply rooted in patriarchal practices and views, we increasingly see the impact of rights denial and rejection.”

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Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition founder Marion Stevens said USAid has never funded abortion work in South Africa.

“We are heavily dependent on US funding from the public and private sector for sexual and reproductive health services.

“Private foundations such as [Warren] Buffet’s and [Bill] Gates’ have a huge research complex in SA in relation to sexual and reproductive health, which is not regulated or held to account by anyone,” she said.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng said the South African constitution and courts will not make it easy for an overnight blanket overturn of the evidence-based policy that was the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1996.

“The problem with the US Supreme Court judgment is that it happened at a time when globally the anti-human rights, specifically anti-women rights distractors, are gaining popularity,” she said.

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Mofokeng said these kinds of decisions do not happen overnight and the lesson for South Africans was to remain vigilant to legislation proposals which limited rights.

“If it is an abortion today, it may be same-sex marriage or surrogacy tomorrow, because ultimately these laws and the people advocating for retrogression of these rights are anti-autonomy,” she said.

“The issue of distinction is to make sure people understand abortion is legal in South Africa.

“The problem is people who break the law in the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, which details who, where and when an abortion can take place,” she explained.

Mofokeng said so-called illegal practitioners were unsafe because they were not trained as health professionals to deliver such a service.

“We want functioning primary health clinics which don’t turn people away, which don’t stigmatise or discriminate because then people will leave the health facility to an unsafe pill seller,” she said.

“An abortion performed by a healthcare provider is safe and must be provided by the government free and without unnecessary delays.

“Contrary to what most believe, we see more older women and married couples requesting abortions,” Mofokeng added.

She said despite the failure to access modern contraception, many people were raped in South Africa and post-rape care support was fractured, as many facilities were non-functional.

“Anyone who wants an abortion must be able to get it. The only important element is that abortions are safe,” Mofokeng said.

Soul City CEO Phinah Kodisang said the inefficiencies in the provision of abortion services in South Africa continued to threaten the reproductive health of girls and women.

Kodisang added there was no accountability for the poor implementation of abortion-related services.

The increasing number of unplanned pregnancies could be attributed to these inefficiencies, she said.

“The freedom to bodily autonomy is denied. Women end up opting to exercise this right by risking their lives going to illegal and unsafe providers because they don’t want to face the stigma they receive when the service was meant to be provided for free and by a qualified professional,” she said.