05.07.14 – (PRESS RELEASE) Representatives of the Holy See were asked by a United Nations Committee yesterday to answer for its interference with women’s access to reproductive health care across the globe leading to cruel and degrading treatment.

Over the last two days, the UN Committee against Torture reviewed the Holy See on its record related to torture and human rights violations—from clerical sexual abuse to violations of women’s reproductive rights—as the Holy See committed to ensure that all people are free from torture or other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment by ratifying the UN Convention against Torture.

The Committee, which will issue findings for its review of the Holy See later this month, has consistently questioned states about reproductive rights as part of its mandate to monitor this commitment. The Center for Reproductive Rights submitted a shadow letter to the Committee about how the Holy See’s efforts against abortion and contraception access has caused women and girls severe pain and suffering in countries across the world.