26 June 2022 (Geneva, Switzerland) – On Friday, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling overturning federal protections for abortion rights and allowing
states to impose severe restrictions on reproductive healthcare access across the country.
"For many individuals and families, reproductive healthcare is the first point of entry to the formal health care system
and a critical link to HIV prevention, testing and treatment," Adeeba Kamarulzaman, President of IAS – the International
AIDS Society – said. "The impact of the US Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion rights will be felt around the world."
More than half of US states are certain or likely to ban or severely restrict abortion access as a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
"Restrictions to healthcare anywhere are a blow to our efforts everywhere," Susan Buchbinder, IAS Governing Council
member and Director of HIV Prevention Research at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said.
"The US Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade ends five decades of protection for bodily autonomy. The
implications of stripping away these rights affect not only women and people seeking abortion care, but all of us
fighting for the right to live healthy lives and control our destinies."