The “New” American Genocide: Forced Pregnancy and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Abstract

F pregnancy, the result of making reproductive rights for women illegal, is an infringement of the genocide convention, a crime against humanity, and a violation of the rights of females to experience fundamental human rights and freedoms. While a 2022U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade returns the determination of the legal status of abortion to individual states, in states where a rape leads to pregnancy, the life of the mother is at stake, and access to reproductive care is illegal, a ban on body autonomy will undoubtedly result in forced pregnancies. Three international law conventions exist that address the emerging concerns regarding identity-based violence against females in the United States: the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Article II), the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Definition of Crimes Against Humanity (Article 7), and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (Article 1). All three prohibit discriminatory violence directed against identity groups. But it may surprise some to know that of the three documents, only two refer specifically to crimes against females, and the one that does not is the only one ratified by the United States.