January 18, 2008

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This month, What's New looks at how the international human rights system can help expand reproductive freedom worldwide.

GETTING THE U.S. TO ADDRESS RACIAL DISPARITIES IN HEALTHCARE An African-American woman is four times more likely to die in childbirth than a white woman. She is also more likely to be poor and lack private health insurance, making it difficult for her to obtain reproductive healthcare. Despite the stark figures, equal access to healthcare has not been recognized as a right by U.S. courts. But it is guaranteed by human rights treaties. For that reason, U.S. groups such as the Center have increasingly turned to the international human rights system for domestic issues, even though the government continues to dismiss human rights standards as largely inapplicable. Most recently, the Center highlighted how U.S. policies have harmed the reproductive health of women of color in a shadow letter to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The information is intended to provide the committee, which will review the U.S. on February 21-22, with a full picture of racial disparities in access to reproductive healthcare. The Center also contributed to a more comprehensive report on racial discrimination submitted by a coalition of 250 U.S. organizations. The goal is not only to get the UN to hold the U.S. accountable for failing to address racial inequalities in reproductive healthcare in the committee's final observations. It is also to use any statement from the committee, along with the data compiled for the reports, to educate members of Congress and other social justice organizations. The larger shadow report provided an opportunity to combine the Center's expertise in international human rights law with other groups' deep knowledge of U.S. public policy. That collaboration has laid the foundation for on-going alliances that can build widespread support for the right to healthcare, including reproductive healthcare. These advocacy efforts will also be assisted by the Center's new Federal Policy Agenda, which calls on policymakers to tackle racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare.

GLOSSARY: SHADOW REPORT When a government reports to an United Nations human rights body on its compliance with a human rights treaty, groups such as the Center are given an opportunity to submit shadow reports. These reports point out shortcomings and highlight violations that are often ignored by governments in their own progress reports. Members of human rights bodies use these shadow reports to guide discussions with governments and develop suggestions for how governments can do a better job of meeting human rights standards. Groups may also submit "shadow letters" instead of full-length reports.

Q AND A: CYNTHIA SOOHOO Cynthia Soohoo joined the Center in January as director of the Domestic Legal Program. Previously, she directed the Bringing Human Rights Home project at Columbia University School of Law. Among other things, her expertise will help the Center integrate human rights strategies into its U.S. work. Q: How will focusing on human rights approaches change the way the Domestic Legal Program has been doing its work so far? A: Federal and state courts will remain key vehicles for rights protection in the U.S. The Center is not pulling back from its commitment to vigorously protect existing rights under U.S. law and to develop innovative new constitutional theories and strategies. At the same time, while U.S. courts may not yet be receptive to human rights arguments, in the very near future, we will begin to lay the groundwork for the acceptance of human rights principles in the decades to come. To that end, we will develop an integrated strategy that combines litigation with documentation, education, organizing, and policy work. In fact, we are already planning a fact-finding mission in the U.S. this year, and have crafted the Center's first Federal Policy Agenda. Q: Why have social justice groups in the U.S. become more interested in using human rights strategies? A: U.S. activists are increasingly recognizing that the adoption of a human rights framework can profoundly change public perception of an issue, as well as empower and mobilize those most affected. Given the current political environment and composition of the Supreme Court, building strong coalitions and developing strategies that look beyond litigation is crucial. Adopting a human rights framework that emphasizes equality and access to healthcare creates an opportunity for the Center to work with other U.S. advocacy groups around issues of common concern, such as maternal mortality, access to contraception, and reproductive healthcare. By partnering the Center's in-depth legal expertise on reproductive rights with the expertise of healthcare activists and the communities most directly affected by lack of reproductive healthcare access--women of color, immigrant women, indigent women, and adolescents--the Center will be well-positioned to deepen and broaden its impact.

CENTER BRINGS FIRST-EVER INTERNATIONAL MATERNAL MORTALITY CASE TO UN Six months pregnant with her second child, Alyne da Silva knew her nausea and abdominal pain were not normal, so she went to a state clinic just outside Rio de Janeiro for help. But the attending physician refused to admit her, sending her away with just vitamins and cream. One week later, she died in a state hospital after delivering a stillborn baby. That was November of 2002. Four-and-a-half years later, Alyne's family has yet to have its day in a Brazilian court. The Center, along with its local partner Citizens' Advocacy for Human Rights (ADVOCACI), has now taken the case to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the UN body that monitors compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Over 500,000 pregnant women die worldwide each year, mostly from preventable causes, but Alyne's case is the first time the issue of maternal mortality has been brought before an international human rights body. Brazil accounts for over a quarter of Latin America's maternal deaths, and indigenous, poor, and Afro-Brazilian women such as Alyne are disproportionately affected. The Center has asked the CEDAW Committee to look at how poverty and inequality contributed to Alyne's death. In addition to compensation for Alyne's family, the Center is calling for reforms to Brazil's public health system that will ensure all pregnant women in that country get the healthcare they need. At the same time, a decision in favor of Alyne's family from the CEDAW Committee could help reduce maternal mortality far beyond Brazil's borders; such an outcome can be used to push for social and legal reforms in any of the 185 countries that have ratified the treaty.