Abortion Rights as (Inter)national Human Rights: Dobbs and the Noncompliance of U.S. Abortion Policies Under International Human Rights Law

Authors

Sydney Chong Ju Padgett

Author Details

Sydney Chong Ju Padgett, Executive Editor, Lewis & Clark Law Review.

First Page

925

Abstract

The current state of reproductive rights in the United States following Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization constitutes yet another chapter in the saga of the United States’ hypocrisy in failing to uphold international human rights at the domestic level. International human rights law unequivocally provides that safe and legal abortion access is a fundamental human right. Yet, applying treaty body guidance to the cruel and irrational legislation enacted in Dobbs’ wake, it is clear: the United States has wholly and dangerously failed to comply with its international commitments to protect and uphold the fundamental rights at stake in regulating abortion. If the United States has pledged to uphold human rights at the international level, why then can U.S. states so fragrantly perpetuate human rights violations within U.S. borders? This Comment confronts the challenges of domestic implementation and enforcement of international human rights law. Despite the structural and ideological impediments, international obligations create binding intranational obligations, and U.S. domestic institutions have the legal authority and responsibility to bring the country as a whole into compliance with its international human rights law commitments. As such, international human rights law will be an essential tool in the ongoing fight for reproductive rights in the United States.

Recommended Citation

Sydney C. Padgett, Abortion Rights as (Inter)national Human Rights: Dobbs and the Noncompliance of U.S. Abortion Policies Under International Human Rights Law, 27 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 925 (2023).
Available at: https://lawcommons.lclark.edu/lclr/vol27/iss3/5