Tell the government to condemn this assault on women's rights in America

Dear Rt Hon Liz Truss, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs

The revocation of women's constitutional right to abortion in the US is what is nothing short of an assault on women, their families and their lives. The UK government must show leadership. We, the undersigned, ask that you publicly condemn this appalling breach of human rights, and make a clear commitment to funding abortion care overseas. 

There are 26 states who are certain or likely to outlaw abortion in the wake of this ruling. This would impact over 30 million women who could lose access to safe, legal abortion care overnight. 

The UK government must be clear - banning abortion puts women's health, and indeed lives, at risk. Banning abortion does not remove women’s need to end a pregnancy. It simply makes it more difficult and more dangerous for women. It forces women to either make long journeys to access the care they need, or take matters into their own hands. Those that suffer the most are those who can least afford it. Faced with a pregnancy they are unable to continue, and lacking the financial resources to travel to another state for treatment, vulnerable and desperate women will be forced to take matters into their own hands, restoring to illegal - and potentially unsafe - methods.

We urge the UK government to send a clear signal on the international stage that removing these women’s access to swift, safe abortion services is utterly contemptible and has absolutely no place in a society that calls itself civilised in the 21^st Century. 

The revocation of Roe Vs Wade sends a dangerous message to the world at a time when women in many countries are still struggling to achieve abortion rights. The US is one of the biggest forces on the global political stage, and also a significan financial donor towards healthcare services overseas. Furthermore, many countries shape their reproductive healthcare frameworks to align with US policies in order to secure funding.

We ask that you, in your role as Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, publiclly commit to protecting funding commitments to reproductive health and rights programmes globally.

The government must not watch quietly as women's rights are rolled-back. We need leadership from this government to show that, in a climate where women’s rights are being actively rolled back elsewhere, the UK is committed to protecting and furthering their reproductive rights.

Silence is complicity. We urge you to act as a matter of urgency.