GENEVA, June  24, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The decision by the US Supreme Court on

Friday to end the right to abortion is "a huge blow to women's human rights and
gender equality," UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said.
       
"Access to safe, legal and effective abortion is firmly rooted in
international human right law and is at the core of women and girls' autonomy
and ability to make their own choices about their bodies and lives," Bachelet
said in a statement.
      
 "This decision strips such autonomy from millions of women in the US, in
particular those with low incomes and those belonging to racial and ethnic
minorities, to the detriment of their fundamental rights."
      
 More than 50 countries with restrictive laws have relaxed their abortion
laws in the past 25 years, the former Chilean president said.
       
"With today's ruling, the US is regrettably moving away from this
progressive trend."
      
 The ruling does not make terminations illegal but returns the United States
to the situation before the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973, when each
state was free to allow them or not.  
      
 Several US states announced measures to ban abortions in their jurisdiction
shortly after the court's announcement.