(1 December 2021) The following statement may be attributed to Elyssa Koren, Director of UN Advocacy for ADF International:

„Today, the US Supreme Court hears arguments for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The case presents an opportunity for the Court to uphold Mississippi’s law protecting unborn children and their mothers, affirm that life is a human right, and overturn the harmful precedent set in 1973 by Roe v. Wade.

The U.S. is an extreme outlier in abortion law and policy, allowing late-term abortions and failing to protect the lives and health of unborn children and their mothers. Indeed, the U.S. is joined by only 7 other countries, including China and North Korea, in allowing abortion on demand after 20 weeks gestational age. Such company does not represent progress on human rights. The time has come to recognize as much.

Mississippi, on the other hand, exercised its rightful prerogative to protect life after 15 weeks, which is still a later gestational limit than most of Europe. At this stage, a child has a heartbeat, can move and kick, can hiccup, and can taste the food that her mother eats. This law also promotes the well-being of women, recognizing that women deserve better than abortion, and rather should receive meaningful help and support.

The outcome of this case will have a significant impact both in the US and across the world. Domestically, the case casts serious doubt on the legitimacy of American abortion jurisprudence, offering a pivotal opportunity for the Court to set the record straight. Abroad, it is a reminder that the U.S., the primary exporter of the abortion agenda globally, has far from settled its internal abortion debate, and is thus in no position to lure and coerce other countries into removing protections for unborn life.

We hope that the U.S. Supreme Court will set an international example in affirming the fundamental human rights principle that all lives are worthy of equal dignity and respect, and that in a pregnancy, both lives matter.“

About Elyssa Koren

Elyssa Koren serves as director of United Nations advocacy in New York City, where she oversees ADF International’s UN Headquarters and Geneva legal teams. Koren’s expertise is in international human rights law, with a focus on issues pertaining to the protection of life, parental rights, and freedom of conscience as they relate to state sovereignty and the multilateral system. Find out more here.