Health Care Is A Human Right

November 30, 2023

Updated December 2023: RHAP explicitly condemns any and all sexual violence including but not limited to the violence occurring in Israel and Gaza. 

Health care is a human right. 

The resource restriction and violence against people in Gaza is a human rights and reproductive justice crisis. War, violence, and the destruction of access to health care and resources are in direct opposition to the tenets of reproductive justice – to have or not have families and raise them in safe, healthy environments.  

With an estimated 50,000 pregnant women* currently in Gaza and a projected 180 births per day, the ongoing violence and conflict pose an imminent threat to maternal and newborn health and human rights. 

All children deserve to live free from the fear and threat of violence. Islamophobia, antisemitism, racism and prejudice in all forms is a threat to safety. We recognize that the ongoing conflicts abroad, including but not limited to those in Ukraine, Syria, DRC, and Nagorno-Karabakh, directly affect the health of communities and individuals. 

As an organization committed to protecting and expanding access to sexual and reproductive health care services domestically, we also are in solidarity with the civilians, providers, medical workers, press, and humanitarian aids who are risking and losing their lives to provide for their communities. We are following and uplifting the guidance of global leaders and organizations doing work on the ground including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and join the global call for a permanent ceasefire, immediate return of all hostages, and protection of schools, hospitals, and health care centers from being used as political tools and targets.

All people, regardless of where they live, should be safe from violence and have access to health care, including the medical care they need during pregnancy, childbirth, and their sexual and reproductive lives. 

*We want to highlight that the data cited in this statement includes an estimate of cis-gendered pregnant women. Studies often do not include or examine data for all birthing people. We recognize that people of all genders, including transgender and non-binary people, also experience pregnancy, use contraception, and have abortions.*