The D66 (Democrats 66) party has released a new statement advocating for abortion to become an international human right. The document argues that women from countries abroad should be able to get an abortion in the Netherlands for free.
This new statement comes in light of new anti-abortion laws internationally, such as the rollback of Roe V. Wade in the US this summer.
In a new note sent to the government, the Dutch political party wants to implement a number of new measures to help make abortion safer and more accessible to women across the world.
Unsafe abortions are a ‘war against women’
In their new statement, the D66 party outlines the importance of abortion rights for women.
They argue the point that unsafe abortions are preventable, stating that 39,000 women die from complications after unsafe abortions every year. This is something that the WHO (World Health Organisation) defines as “a pandemic that can be prevented.”
In the eyes of the D66 party, these unsafe abortions are a “war against women.” According to the party, abortion is a human right, and the fact that access to abortion has decreased instead of increased in recent years is a cause for concern.
Freedom of every individual — in the Netherlands and beyond
Some European countries, such as Poland or Monaco, make abortion incredibly hard to access. In others, like Andorra, Malta, and San Marino, abortion is strictly banned.
To combat this, D66 wants to make the Netherlands a safe haven for women to secure this right.
Already, over 3,000 women travel to the Netherlands each year to have an abortion, but this comes at a cost. How much? Between €400-1,000.
D66 MP Sjoerd Sjoerdsma wants to reduce this cost entirely by making abortion free to women everywhere. Part of this would include subsiding abortion clinics and investing more money into organisations such as Abortion without Borders and Women on Waves.
Abortion should become a human right internationally
One of D66’s major pushes is for abortion to become a human right.
And, the political party believes the Netherlands can be a leading example for paving the way for internationally legalised abortion.
The Netherlands has always been seen as a very progressive country; from being the first country to legalise same-sex marriage to the protection and rights of sex workers in the Netherlands. The party believes in the same way, the country can also pave the way towards safe, worldwide, abortion.
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