Archives: News

Custom News Post Type

Women Enabled International (WEI), the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), Legal Voice, and Covington & Burling LLP filed an amicus brief on behalf of thirteen disability rights organizations and scholars in the United States Supreme Court, advocating for the Court to uphold the federal protections of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) and allow doctors to provide necessary abortions in the case of medical emergencies, which Idaho’s abortion ban currently criminalizes. The brief highlights that people with disabilities will suffer disproportionate harm if Idaho is permitted to criminalize health-preserving and life-saving abortion care.

About the case

Idaho legislators passed an abortion ban in 2020, prior to the end of the federal right to an abortion under Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health. After Dobbs, Idaho’s law took effect and the most current version of the law (amended in 2023) criminalizes nearly all forms of abortion, except those that are “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman,” termination of an ectopic pregnancy, or abortions that resulted from rape or incest in extremely limited circumstances.

This Idaho law directly conflicts with the well-established federal law, EMTALA, which requires hospitals to treat patients experiencing an emergency medical condition with stabilizing care. EMTALA applies not only when a patient has a life-threatening condition but also when a patient has a condition that places their health “in serious jeopardy” that threatens “serious impairment to bodily functions” or “serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.” Pregnant disabled people can experience a range of conditions that threaten their lives or health; in such circumstances, EMTALA may require hospitals to provide abortion care as necessary stabilizing treatment.

The conflict between Idaho’s abortion ban and EMTALA’s requirement for stabilizing medical care put healthcare providers in an impossible position. If they provide health stabilizing care, they could face criminal prosecution under Idaho’s ban, but if they withhold care, they leave patients in crisis and violate EMTALA. Because of this conflict, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit in a federal district court challenging the Idaho abortion ban to the extent that it conflicts with federal law.

On January 5, 2024, the United States Supreme Court announced that it would hear the case. The Supreme Court will determine whether the federal law of EMTALA preempts the Idaho abortion ban, in which case the federal law would take precedence over the narrow exceptions of Idaho’s abortion ban. If the Supreme Court does not hold that EMTALA protects health-preserving abortion care in medical emergencies, emergency medical care will be denied to those who most need it and are least likely to be able to access it.

About the amicus curiae brief

An amicus curiae (“friend of the court,” in Latin) is a person or organization with a strong interest in the issues brought up in a case to which they are not a party. The amicus curiae may submit a written brief stating its interpretation of the law or arguments relating to the facts under consideration by the Court.

WEI, DREDF, Legal Voice, and Covington & Burling LLP have filed an amicus brief with thirteen other disability rights organizations and scholars including:

The American Association of People with Disabilities
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center
Disability Rights Advocates
Disability Rights California
Disability Rights Washington
Katherine Pérez, Director of the Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, and Innovation, and Visiting Professor of Law at Loyola Law School*
The National Council on Independent Living
National Health Law Program
Professor Robyn M. Powell, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law*
Ruth Colker, Distinguished University Professor and Heck Faust Memorial Chair in Constitutional Law at Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University
Tony Coelho, former U.S. Congressman, Founder of the Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, and Innovation

* Participating in their individual capacity, not as representatives of their institutions. Institutions are listed for affiliation purposes only.

The amicus brief highlights the barriers to accessing medical care and the increased likelihood of medical complications for people with disabilities, both of which make it more likely that disabled people will need the emergency abortion care that EMTALA protects, but that is criminalized under Idaho’s abortion ban. It argues that upholding the Idaho ban’s narrow exceptions for only life-saving care will prevent Congress’s core purpose in enacting EMTALA: to ensure that hospitals provide emergency medical care to those who most need it and are least likely to be able to access it.

WEI, DREDF, and Allen & Overy’s amicus brief argues the following key points:

Congress enacted EMTALA to ensure that at-risk people—including people with disabilities—receive stabilizing medical treatment in emergency situations. It is clear from the legislative history of EMTALA and other health care legislation that Congress intends for disabled people to have full access to all health care services without discrimination.
Disabled people are particularly likely to need the stabilizing abortion care guaranteed under EMTALA. People with disabilities are more likely to have serious pregnancy-related health complications and less likely to have access to regular prenatal and primary care. This makes it more likely that disabled people will need health-preserving, stabilizing care in hospital emergency rooms.
Without EMTALA’s protections, state abortion bans will undermine the medical system in important ways, causing additional harm to people with disabilities. Idaho’s ban has driven qualified health care providers from the state with the fear of prosecution, leading to a significant gap in obstetric care. Disabled people without financial resources face logistical barriers—including transportation barriers—to access essential medical care.

The amicus brief can be viewed here.

New amicus curiae brief before the United States Supreme Court

Women Enabled International (WEI), the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), and Allen & Overy LLP filed an amicus brief on behalf of twelve disability rights organizations and scholars in the United States Supreme Court, advocating for a return to the use of updated regulations for mifepristone, a drug used to carry out medication abortion, that improved access to safe abortion. The brief highlights the disproportionate impact that medically unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion have on people with disabilities.

About the case

Medication abortion is the most commonly used method of abortion in the United States, accounting for more than half of all abortions.  Mifepristone is part of a two-drug regimen for medication abortion and was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000. Since its approval, the drug has established a well-documented safety record, as demonstrated by hundreds of high-quality studies and its real-world use by more than five million people.

This lawsuit—filed by anti-abortion advocates against the FDA and the manufacturer of mifepristone, Danco Laboratories, in November 2022—challenges the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone as well as its more recent actions to increase access to the drug. The Fifth Circuit, a U.S. Court of Appeals, did not block the FDA’s 2000 initial authorization of mifepristone in its ruling, it reinstated burdensome restrictions on the drug from before 2016. These restrictions included: ending the ability of certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe mifepristone; reinstating in-person dispensing requirements for prescriptions; and stopping a new pharmacy certification process, which enabled retail pharmacies to dispense mifepristone directly to patients.

In December 2023, the United States Supreme Court announced that they would hear the case on appeal from the Fifth Circuit’s decision. The Supreme Court will be determining if the FDA’s 2016 and 2021 changes to mifepristone regulation should be reinstated.

If the Supreme Court does not reverse the Fifth Circuit’s decision, access to the most common medication abortion regimen used in the U.S. would be limited across the country—even in those states where abortion rights are protected.

About the amicus curiae brief

WEI, DREDF, and Allen & Overy LLP have filed an amicus brief with twelve other disability rights organizations and scholars including:

The American Association of People with Disabilities
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center
Disability Rights Advocates
Disability Rights New York
The National Council on Independent Living
Katherine Pérez, Director of the Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, and Innovation, and Visiting Professor of Law at Loyola Law School*
Professor Ruth Colker, Distinguished University Professor and the Heck Faust Memorial Chair in Constitutional Law at the Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University*
Professor Robyn M. Powell, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law*
Tony Coelho, former U.S. Congressman

* Participating in their individual capacity, not as representatives of their institutions. Institutions are listed for affiliation purposes only.

The amicus brief outlines how reinstating outdated restrictions on medication abortion disproportionately burdens pregnant people with disabilities, who face more barriers to accessing care. The amicus brief urges the United States Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit’s decision which rolled back the clock on medication abortion access.

WEI, DREDF, and Allen & Overy’s amicus brief argues the following key points:

Restricted access to mifepristone creates a healthcare crisis that disproportionately harms people with disabilities. People with disabilities are more at risk for severe maternal morbidities and maternal mortality during their pregnancies than non-disabled people and pregnancy can worsen disability-related health outcomes.
Unnecessary restrictions to mifepristone exacerbate the harms that people with disabilities already encounter in terms of physical barriers to accessing abortion care (such as inaccessible medical clinics and non-existent adaptive equipment). Telehealth abortion appointments and mailed prescriptions give people with disabilities the option to access care without the delays of navigating inaccessible facilities.
Without expanded options for medication abortion care, people with disabilities will continue to experience transportation and logistical barriers to reproductive health care that raise privacy, abuse, and coercion concerns. Inaccessible travel options and logistical barriers like transportation reliance on third parties place people with disabilities at risk for reproductive coercion and compromise their medical privacy.
Regulation of mifepristone that is not supported by medical research further harms people with disabilities who already face disproportionate financial barriers and medical system discrimination.

The amicus brief can be viewed here.

By Cristina Dueñas Díaz-Tendero

**Esta publicación está disponible en español aquí**

In the feminist movement and at many defining moments for gender equality, the lack of representation, participation, and leadership for one particular community has been clear — namely, feminists with disabilities.

In my activism, I have felt many times that we, women with disabilities, have been ignored or marginalized from the feminist movement. I remember joining the feminist movement in my region a few years ago, and the specific needs of feminists with disabilities were not addressed; nobody cared about my accessibility requirements (whether at in-person meetings, activities, or protests) or my agenda as a feminist with a disability. The intersection of gender and disability or the importance of accessibility was not even mentioned. Ultimately, I felt disappointed and left the network because it hurt me to see that my allies in the feminist movement failed to embrace inclusion and diversity.

As a feminist with a disability, I see this as a clear example of discrimination, as we are denied access to information, discussions, events, and decision-making processes concerning major issues on gender equality. Issues that impact our daily lives, such as education, health, employment, and gender-based violence, among others. Our voices are not listened to either, even though gender equality will never be achieved if we are excluded from and ignored in the progress towards gender equality.

Read the Full Article on Medium

Leadership Message

We are excited to share Women Enabled International’s 2022 Annual Report. This was a year of momentous celebration, marking our 10th anniversary and bright beginnings to help forge WEI’s future.

WEI is the only global organization focused exclusively on the human rights of women, girls, and gender-diverse people with disabilities. In the face of rising gender-based violence and anti-rights movements worldwide, we remain steadfast in our commitment to increasing the visibility of our multiply marginalized community and seeing our rights recognized and realized.

Throughout the year and at a special event in October 2022, we looked back at WEI’s impact in our first decade and paid tribute to the people who have worked to advance our mission and our movement – especially our staff and women with disabilities around the world. Click here to access a brief anniversary video featuring esteemed global advocates, allies, and champions of human rights at the intersection of gender and disability.

Every year, as WEI grows, so does our reach and impact. In 2022, WEI widened our networks, deepened our partnerships, and substantially increased our staff and budget through diversified funding sources. To sustain this growth and strengthen organizational resilience, WEI secured a coveted BUILD grant from the Ford Foundation to further invest in the people, finances, systems, and strategies needed to thrive into the future.

Thus, WEI ended 2022 perfectly positioned to develop our next 5-year strategic plan. WEI has established an incredibly strong foundation, with touchstone values that will guide our work going forward – intersectional feminism, disability justice, community, accountability, respect, and dignity.

We feel energized – and privileged – by the opportunity to shape what’s next for this unique and vital organization, understanding the great responsibility we bear as we pursue equality and justice for women, girls, and gender-diverse people with disabilities worldwide.

In gratitude and solidarity,

Maryangel García-Ramos Executive Director

Catherine Townsend President, Board of Directors

Read about our extensive programmatic impact in our 2022 Annual Report.

MENSAJE DE LA DIRECCIÓN EJECUTIVA Y LA JUNTA DIRECTIVA

Nos complace compartir el Informe Anual 2022 de Women Enabled International. Esteaño estuvo marcado por celebraciones trascendentales, como nuestro décimoaniversario y el inicio de una etapa brillante, en la que dimos la bienvenida a una nuevaDirectora Ejecutiva para ayudar a forjar el futuro de WEI.

WEI es la única organización internacional que trabaja de forma exclusiva en losderechos humanos de las mujeres, las niñas y las personas de género diverso condiscapacidad. Frente al aumento de la violencia de género y los movimientosantiderechos alrededor del mundo, nos mantenemos firmes en nuestro compromiso poraumentar la visibilidad de nuestra comunidad y garantizar el reconocimiento, laprotección y el ejercicio de nuestros derechos.

A lo largo del año y en un evento especial en octubre de 2022, reflexionamos acercadel impacto de WEI en nuestra primera década y rendimos tributo a todas aquellaspersonas que han trabajado con incansable dedicación en pos del progreso de nuestramisión y nuestro movimiento, sobre todo nuestro personal y las mujeres condiscapacidad de todo el mundo. Haga clic aquí para ver un breve vídeo de nuestroaniversario, en el que figuran grandes activistas por los derechos humanos en laintersección del género y la discapacidad y otras personas aliadas.

Con cada año que pasa, WEI ha crecido. conn ello también nuestro alcance e impacto. En 2022, WEI amplió sus redes, fortaleció sus alianzas e incrementó de maneraconsiderable su personal y presupuesto a través de fuentes de financiacióndiversificadas. Con el fin de mantener este crecimiento y consolidar una resilienciaorganizacional, WEI obtuvo la codiciada subvención BUILD de la Ford Foundation parainvertir más en la gente, las finanzas, los sistemas y las estrategias que se necesitanpara prosperar en el futuro.

WEI terminó el 2022 muy bien posicionada para su elaborar siguiente plan estratégicode 5 años. La organización sentó cimientos sólidos sobre los que continuar su labor, ydefinió los valores fundamentales que guiarán su trabajo de ahora en adelante, entreellos feminismo interseccional, justicia para la discapacidad, comunidad, rendición decuentas, respeto, y dignidad.

Nos sentimos honradas y revitalizadas por el privilegio que significa la oportunidad deconstruir el futuro de esta organización única y vital, y comprendemos la granresponsabilidad que tenemos en la búsqueda de la equidad y la justicia para lasmujeres, las niñas y las personas de género diverso con discapacidad alrededor delmundo.

En gratitud y solidaridad,

Maryangel García-Ramos Directora Ejecutiva

Catherine Townsend Presidenta de la Junta Directiva

Lea acerca de nuestro extenso impacto programático en nuestro Informe Anual 2022.

Transforming Feminist Spaces for Accessibility: From Commitment to Reality

Join us on September 19th, 2 pm ET, for an exciting event that bridges the gap between commitment and practice in creating accessible feminist spaces. The event is co-hosted by the Inclusive Generation Equality Collective and Women Enabled International, and brings on board actors from across the disability rights and feminist movements. We’ll explore the Feminist Accessibility Protocol and how Women Deliver turned their commitments to disability inclusion into reality, offering lessons for other feminists. The event will feature diverse voices from the feminist and disability rights sectors. 💜🌟

Registration: bit.ly/GEFMidpointEvent

Transformando Espacios Feministas para la Accesibilidad y la Inclusión: del Compromiso a la Realidad.

Únete a nosotras el 19 de septiembre a las 2pm ET, a un evento emocionante que cierra la brecha entre el compromiso y la práctica en la creación de espacios feministas accesibles. El evento está organizado conjuntamente por el Colectivo Inclusivo Generación Igualdad Inclusiva y Women Enabled International, y reúne a actores de todos los movimientos feministas y por los derechos de las personas con discapacidad. Exploraremos el Protocolo de Accesibilidad Feminista Women Deliver convirtió en realidad sus compromisos con la inclusión de la discapacidad, ofreciendo lecciones para otras feministas. El evento contará con diversas voces de los sectores feminista y de derechos de las personas con discapacidad. 💜🌟

Registro en: bit.ly/GEFMidpointEvent

Dear community,

I reach out because, after seven months leading Women Enabled International, I want to share with you my deep concerns about the challenges women, girls and gender-diverse people with disabilities experience in the world we live in now.

Humanitarian crises—conflict, climate change, rising authoritarianism, and public health emergencies—are proliferating around the globe. These crises disproportionately threaten the human rights of women, girls, and gender-diverse people with disabilities.

Women Enabled International (WEI) is accelerating our advocacy to address these threats and ensure the safety, security, and dignity of people living at the intersection of gender and disability.

You can play a vital role in addressing these challenges with us.

Please donate today to safeguard the human rights of all people in crisis situations.

Click Here to Donate

Together with our partners, WEI documents the dire consequences of conflict and humanitarian emergencies for our community worldwide, for example:

Climate Change: Many indigenous women and girls with disabilities in Nepal cannot access fresh food and are compelled to walk for hours to fetch water, negatively impacting their health and menstrual hygiene.

Violent Conflict: In Ukraine, people with disabilities are being abandoned instead of evacuated from war zones because aid groups lack the capacity to facilitate accessible transport and services.

Natural Disasters: In Puerto Rico, where 22% of women are women with disabilities, the U.S. government’s delayed response to Hurricane Maria left thousands without power, which had devastating consequences for people who rely on electricity for breathing or mobility.

COVID-19: Women, girls and gender-diverse people with disabilities worldwide experienced increased sexual and gender-based violence and barriers to accessing related support services, police, and justice mechanisms during pandemic lockdowns. Even now with those orders lifted, the coronavirus still threatens those at greater risk for serious illness and complications.
In crisis situations, governments have an obligation to take action to protect the rights of women, girls, and gender-diverse people with disabilities, particularly those who experience discrimination and marginalization on the basis of multiple and intersecting identities (race, ethnicity, caste, etc.)

WEI plays a critical role by amplifying the voices of the most impacted, partnering to connect local advocates and global decision-makers, and holding international agencies and states accountable for implementing inclusive and appropriate policies and protections.

Your contribution will support WEI’s development and dissemination of tools, trainings, and resources to equip those in humanitarian emergencies to assert their rights. You can support WEI and our partners’ powerful advocacy targeting laws, systems, and services towards more inclusive, accessible, and just responses.

Please join us by making a personal financial contribution – of any amount – to keep the focus on rights at risk in humanitarian crises.

Your support holds power accountable to ensure crisis preparedness, response, and recovery efforts are gender and disability inclusive.

Donate Today

I am incredibly proud of the work WEI is doing – which has never felt more urgent. I hope we can count on your support.

Gracias,

Maryangel

Maryangel GRG Headshot

Women Enabled International (WEI) is heading to New York for the 16th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CoSP 16)! We’d love for you to join us, whether in person or in spirit, as we bring critical perspectives, experience, and expertise on the intersection of gender and disability to ensure that the discussions, decisions, and outcomes at CoSP are not just inclusive but also empowering and effective in their impact on individuals and communities worldwide.

CoSP is a significant global event that shines a light on the rights of all persons with disabilities, making it an essential platform to highlight and address the unique challenges faced by women and gender-diverse persons with disabilities. Our presence and participation at CoSP not only advances this critical dialogue but ensures the experiences and leadership of women and gender-diverse people with disabilities are essential to decision-making processes and our solutions are incorporated into global policy-making and advocacy.

We’re thrilled to host and participate in three dynamic events:

Equal Rights and Choices for Women and Young Persons with Disabilities: Innovative Interventions to Ensure Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

When: 13th June, 3:45 pm – 5:00 pm
Where: UNFPA Headquarters, Orange Café or via Zoom
What: We’ll delve into the multifaceted issues around ensuring the realization of sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) for persons with disabilities, with a particular focus on women and youth.

Registration is required for this event: bit.ly/CoSP16SideEvent

Strengthening Gender Inclusion in Disability Rights Spaces

When: 14th June, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Where: United Nations Church Center, Second Floor Conference Room
What: Join our dynamic panel discussion on how to promote gender inclusion in mainstream disability rights spaces, complete with a launch of our resource guide. Remember to bring your face mask, as they will be required for this event!

No registration is required for attendees.

Stronger Together: Gender and Disability Intersectional Movements at the Forefront of Human Rights Advocacy

When: 14th June, 4:45 pm
Where: The United Nations, Conference Room C
What: Explore the growing movement championing the rights of women, girls, and gender-diverse persons with disabilities and discover new tools and tactics to amplify our impact.

Cohost: CRPD Committee

Co-sponsors: Canada, UN Permanent Mission of Panama, OHCHR, UN Women, Generation Equality Action Coalition on Feminist Movements and Leadership, Sightsavers, International Disability Alliance, United Cities and Local Governments, and Women Gaining Ground.

This event is intended for registered CoSP attendees only.

WEI Co-Sponsored Events:

Ending forced sterilisation of persons with disabilities and promoting sexual and reproductive rights
- When: Tuesday, 13th June, 9:45 to 11:00am EST
- Where: Conference Room C, United Nations Headquarters in New York
- Sponsors: UN ESCWA, Malta and European Disability Forum
- Description: Forced and coerced sterilisation of people with disabilities is a human rights violation that has been and continues to be protected as a matter of law, policy and custom throughout the world. This side-event will provide a state of play on the issue and discuss commitment and future actions to make the end of forced sterilisation of persons with disabilities a reality. Alarming instances drawn from current policy and practice will also be tackled.
From Beijing to the CRPD and Beyond: How women with disabilities are shining a light on intersectional gender rights
- When: Thursday, 15th June, 1:15 to 2:30pm EST
- Where: Conference Room 11, United Nations Headquarters in New York
- Hosted by: Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations together with the International Disability Alliance
- Co-sponsored by: UN Women, Women Enabled International
- Description: The session will draw from the experiences of women with disabilities from Beijing till today; on the successes and gaps in ensuring participation and leadership of women with disabilities in the human rights, development and humanitarian space. It will look at good practices and outline what more needs to be done to ensure an intersectional approach particularly as the world discusses acceleration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the SDGs Summit and prepares for ‘A Pact for the Future’. The session will aim to contribute to the ongoing work of the disability movement’s advocacy to ensure that interventions towards accelerating the SDGs and preparation to implement ‘Our Common Agenda’ does not leave women with disabilities behind.

Other Events Featuring the WEI Team:

Model Maternity Protocol for Women with Disabilities

When: Tuesday, 13th June, 4:45pm – 6:00pm EST
Where: Conference Room C, United Nations Headquarters in New York

Even if you’re not in New York, your support is still crucial. We’ll be sharing regular updates from these events through our social media, ensuring you stay connected to the latest dialogues and advances impacting the intersection of gender and disability rights.

New amicus curiae brief before the I/A Court H.R.

The Latin American Team of Justice and Gender (ELA) and Women Enabled International (WEI) submit an amicus curiae brief * on the case Beatriz vs. El Salvador before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.). The brief stresses that States have an obligation to ensure the right of women and other persons with and without disabilities to access legal, safe and quality abortion services, in particular when pregnancy poses a risk to their life and health, as was the case with Beatriz.

About the case

In 2013, Beatriz, a young woman from El Salvador, was diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy with fetal anencephaly, which implied the extrauterine unviability of the fetus. Beatriz lived in extreme poverty and, at age 20, she had been diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, lupus nephropathy, and rheumatoid arthritis. Despite the fact that Beatriz’s medical team requested the termination of the pregnancy to safeguard her life, the request was rejected by the authorities of the health center, which forced Beatriz to request the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice to order them to carry out the termination of the pregnancy. More than 40 days later, the Constitutional Chamber rejected her request on the grounds that in El Salvador there is an absolute impediment to the authorization of interruptions of pregnancies, since the Constitution protects human life from conception. In line with this rule, the Criminal Code of El Salvador establishes that the voluntary termination of pregnancy is a crime in all situations.

Given the delay of the Constitutional Chamber in resolving the petition and the negative impact that this situation had on her health, Beatriz appealed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the I/A Court H.R. It was finally this court that ordered the Salvadoran State to take the necessary measures to protect Beatriz’s life, health and integrity. Given the advanced state of Beatrice’s pregnancy, a caesarean section was performed. The new born died five hours later.

In this context, in November 2013, several human rights organizations filed a lawsuit before the IACHR against the State of El Salvador, alleging its international responsibility for the human rights violations of Beatriz and her family. Beatriz’s case finally reached the I/A Court in January 2022.

About the amicus curiae brief

*An amicus curiae (“friend of the court”, in Latin) is a person or organization that has a strong interest in the issues brought up in a case to which they are not a party. The amicus curiae may submit a written report setting forth its interpretation of the law or its arguments relating to the facts under consideration by the Court.

You can learn more about amicus curiae briefs and how interact with the Inter-American human rights system here.

In their amicus curiae brief, ELA and WEI highlight that:

● Women and other persons with and without disabilities have the right to access legal, safe and quality abortion services, particularly when pregnancy poses a risk to their life and health.

● Beatriz’s case shows that the Salvadoran State is failing in its obligation to take the appropriate measures to guarantee access to legal, safe and quality abortion services for women and other persons with and without disabilities in the light of the regulations of the inter-American human rights system and human rights treaties of the United Nations;

● The absolute criminalization of abortion – such as that existing in El Salvador – harms the right of women and other persons with the capacity to become pregnant with and without disabilities, and constitutes a form of gender-based violence. In some circumstances it may also constitute torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment;

● States, including El Salvador, should take effective measures to eliminate stigma and discrimination against persons with disabilities without affecting the fundamental human rights of women and other persons with the capacity to become pregnant and, in particular, without impeding their access to legal, safe and quality abortion services.

Click here to read the full report.

Women Enabled International is proud to be a leader of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Feminist Movements and Leadership, and in that role and beyond, to advocate for strong and sustainable feminist movements and participation and leadership at all levels worldwide. We celebrate the pivotal place that feminists with disabilities—who account for nearly 1 in 5 women globally—have held in shaping feminist movements and in creating a world where gender equality, disability justice, and human rights are fully realized.

We also recognize a critical gap in feminist movements and spaces: they are frequently inaccessible for people with disabilities. This gap is particularly apparent in the spaces where movements convene and where policymakers and others make decisions about how to advance gender equality and women’s rights.

“,,,without accessibility we cannot participate in private, social or political life. In events on gender equality, if there is no accessibility, we are left behind and discriminated against.” – Cristina Dueñas, a member of the Inclusive Generation Equality Collective from Spain

Today—on Global Accessibility Awareness Day—and moving forward, Women Enabled calls on all feminist actors to recognize that accessibility is a core feminist value and a prerequisite for inclusive, diverse feminist movements and leadership. Feminist actors can and should make accessibility a part of their routine, whether that means hosting events and meetings in physically accessible locations, providing sign language interpretation or closed captions, ensuring quiet spaces and breaks, or otherwise just asking what feminists with disabilities need to participate and be included.

Accessibility is a Feminist Issue — A blue background, at the top a white line holds black text reading, “Global Accessibility Awareness Day.” Below, a white box with red accents holds text, “Accessibility is a feminist issue.” “Inclusive Generation Equality” appears below in white. Another white line with black text reads, “Feminist Accessibility Protocol – Sign on at bit.ly/AccessProtocol.”

“As local and regional governments, we remain committed to promoting inclusion, accessibility and universal design, and to ensuring the active participation of all women and gender-diverse groups; as a feminist municipal movement, we are committed to putting care at the center” – Carolina Cosse, President of United Cities and Local Governments, Mayor of Montevideo

We further call on all feminist actors to #CommitToAccess and sign on to the Feminist Accessibility Protocol. In December 2022, a group of feminists with disabilities and allies called the Inclusive Generation Equality Collective launched the Feminist Accessibility Protocol [LINK] in an effort to uplift accessibility as a feminist value and provide guidance on how to ensure accessibility in feminist spaces. The Protocol calls on States, United Nations agencies, feminist civil society, and other feminist actors to uphold intersectional feminist values and ensure that gender equality and women’s rights spaces are fully accessible to and inclusive of feminists with disabilities in all of their diversity.

When gender equality and women’s rights spaces are accessible and inclusive, it transforms the ways in which feminists with disabilities can participate and contribute.

Space with sign language interpretation, with three/four sign languages, different methods of access, changes the whole quality and feeling of a space.” – participant in CREA’s Disability, Sexuality and Rights Online Institute “It helped me feel very represented and helped me feel that my voices are being centered. And it was so easy to learn because there were accessibility aids that were given to us.” – participant in CREA’s Disability, Sexuality and Rights Online Institute, explaining the impact of an accessible and inclusive feminist space

Together, we can create a lasting impact by ensuring that accessibility remains at the core of our feminist values and underpins our work to build sustainable, diverse and inclusive feminist movements and leadership.

“The Feminist Accessibility Protocol is a tool for feminists with disabilities to achieve that effective inclusion in the feminist movement. Once and for all, with accessibility, gender equality can turn from a utopia into reality.” – – Cristina Dueñas, a member of the Inclusive Generation Equality Collective from Spain

Dear Community,

My first six months as Executive Director of Women Enabled International have been incredible. I am so grateful to our global community for warmly welcoming me and being so generous in sharing your time and expertise to help me acclimate to my new role.

One thing I was happy to learn, as I shifted from advocating for gender and disability rights on a national and regional level to the international level, is that this movement exists in our disabled voices and truly feels like a community. Our greatest challenge is to bridge connections across diverse genders, disabilities, cultures, and contexts to keep pushing for disabled leadership–but given the opportunity, we always show up for each other.

These last few months, we’ve been able to be together in person again–jointly advocating with our partners before UN human rights experts in Geneva, sponsoring and speaking at events as part of the annual Commission on the Status of Women conference in New York, and convening the WEI Board for its first-ever in-person retreat. While COVID taught us not only how to keep our work going through virtual-only meeting spaces–and in many ways improved accessibility for feminists with disabilities around the world–these recent meetings affirmed for me the distinct power of face-to-face connections.

It’s such an exciting time for WEI as we are in the middle of formulating a new 5-year strategic plan, and I am looking forward to all of the ways we will be working closely with our colleagues and allies to continue advancing rights at the intersection of gender and disability. Together we will build on our past progress and chart a path to a future marked by disabled feminist leadership, cross-movement solidarity, and organizational sustainability.

Maryangel GRG Headshot

Gracias,

Maryangel Garcia-Ramos Guadiana

Executive Director

About the case

About the amicus curiae brief

WEI, DREDF, and Allen & Overy’s amicus brief argues the following key points:

New amicus curiae brief before the United States Supreme Court

About the case

About the amicus curiae brief

WEI, DREDF, and Allen & Overy’s amicus brief argues the following key points:

Leadership Message

MENSAJE DE LA DIRECCIÓN EJECUTIVA Y LA JUNTA DIRECTIVA

Transforming Feminist Spaces for Accessibility: From Commitment to Reality

Transformando Espacios Feministas para la Accesibilidad y la Inclusión: del Compromiso a la Realidad.

Dear community,

We’re thrilled to host and participate in three dynamic events:

WEI Co-Sponsored Events:

Other Events Featuring the WEI Team:

New amicus curiae brief before the I/A Court H.R.

About the case

About the amicus curiae brief

In their amicus curiae brief, ELA and WEI highlight that:

Read some of the stories featured in our newsletter: