The Democrats have introduced a bill in the US House demanding that abortion be recognised as a human right.

The bill would require the US State Department to include a subsection on reproductive rights in its annual human rights report, something it stopped doing in 2017 after Donald Trump became president.

One of the bill's sponsors, Congresswoman Katherine Clark, said: 'Documenting and reporting human rights violations is a major part of eradicating their existence.

'This bill would ensure that our State Department maintains its vital role as an international watchdog and protector of women's rights no matter the ideology of our White House.'

Congresswoman Nita Lowey, who also supports the bill, said that removing the subsection on abortion represented a 'dramatic and dangerous shift in US efforts to protect the international rights of women and sent a message to abusive governments that the US would no longer hold them account for violations'.

Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, claimed that without access to 'safe abortion', the ability of women to achieve economic, social, and political empowerment would be 'fundamentally hindered'.

Among the 45 organisations supporting the bill are Planned Parenthood, the National Institute for Reproductive Health, and Oxfam America.

Sections on access to abortion were first added to the US State Department report on human rights under the Obama administration back in 2012.

In October, 129 Democratic members of the House of Representatives wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanding that the subsection on abortion be reinstated in the next report.

The bill was introduced on the same day that the Supreme Court declined to hear two cases that would have supported states in defunding Planned Parenthood.

The decision was of some surprise to pro-lifers as recently confirmed Justice Brett Kavanaugh sided with the majority. 

Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court by Donald Trump, who has steered his administration in a pro-life direction since entering office.

Earlier this year, the administration proposed changes to Title X federal family planning funding that would block funds going to organisations that also provide abortions. It would also impose restrictions on abortion counselling and referrals.

Last month, the Department of Health said it would pursue alternatives to using aborted fetal tissue in medical research.

A Marist poll earlier this year found that more than three quarters of Americans would support limiting abortion to the first three months of pregnancy. This view had broad support across party lines and among those who described themselves as pro-choice.

The same poll also found that a majority of Americans disagree with taxpayer dollars being used to fund abortions.