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State Department to Strip Mention of Reproductive Health and Rights in Human Rights Report

Friday, February 23, 2018

State Department to Strip Mention of Reproductive Health and Rights in Human Rights Report

"In the latest move of a long string of attacks by the Trump administration on women’s health and rights, the State Department has been directed to censor mentions of women’s reproductive rights and discrimination in its annual report on human rights, according to Politico.

The Trump administration’s reported directive calls for “stripping passages that describe societal views on family planning, including how much access women have to contraceptives and abortion.” In addition, the directive would allow for paring down sections of the report focusing on ethnic, racial, and sexual discrimination.

Said Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights:

“From day one, this administration has displayed a startling disregard for the reality of women’s health and lives. Failing to call out human rights violations because they pertain to reproductive rights is a disgrace. Obscuring and censoring mentions of discrimination against women sends the signal that the U.S. tacitly condones marginalization of women and girls around the world..."

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