Reproductive rights 706186 226104095 2008-07-16T21:01:09Z 161.45.249.58 /* See also */ the article needs a bit about how coercive eugenic policies sharpened the debate on reproductive rights {{Rights}} '''Reproductive rights''' are [[right]]s relating to [[human reproduction|reproduction]] and [[reproductive health]].<ref name="COOK">{{cite journal |last=Cook |first=Rebecca J. |coauthors=Mahmoud F. Fathalla |year=1996 |month=September |title=Advancing Reproductive Rights Beyond Cairo and Beijing |journal=''International Family Planning Perspectives'' |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=115–121 |url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0190-3187%28199609%2922%3A3%3C115%3AARRBCA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E |accessdate= 2007-12-08 |doi=10.2307/2950752 |unused_data=|quote }}</ref> Various reproductive rights have been claimed as [[human rights]] in international human rights documents<ref name="AMNESTY">{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/Stop_Violence_Against_Women_SVAW/Reproductive_Rights/page.do?id=1108242&n1=3&n2=39&n3=1101 |title=Stop Violence Against Women: Reproductive rights |accessdate=2007-12-08 |author=Amnesty International USA |year=2007 |format=HTML |work=SVAW |publisher=Amnesty International USA |language= English |quote=Reproductive rights - access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and autonomy in sexual and reproductive decision-making - are human rights; they are universal, indivisible, and undeniable. These rights are founded upon principles of human dignity and equality, and have been enshrined in international human rights documents. Reproductive rights embrace core human rights, including the right to health, the right to be free from discrimination, the right to privacy, the right not to be subjected to torture or ill-treatment, the right to determine the number and spacing of one's children, and the right to be free from sexual violence. <br> "Reproductive rights include the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children, and the right to have the information and means to implement those decisions free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Reproductive rights also include the right to the highest standards of sexual and reproductive healthcare.<br>[...]<br>In some areas where termination of pregnancy is illegal, marginalized women are sometimes charged with abortion-related offenses. [...] Amnesty International condemned these violations of civil rights and noted that international human rights documents which[sic] state that women should not be imprisoned for seeking to terminate their pregnancy.}}</ref>, particularly with the ratification of the Convention to End Discrimination Against Women ([[CEDAW]]), and the adoption of the the Cairo Programme and the [[Beijing Platform]].<ref name="COOK"/> Reproductive rights are often held to include the right to legal [[abortion]], the right to [[birth control| control one's reproductive functions]], the right to access quality [[reproductive health| reproductive healthcare]], and the right to [[family planning| education and access]] in order to make reproductive choices free from [[coercion]], [[discrimination]], and [[violence]].<ref name="AMNESTY"/> While the term is often associated with the [[pro-choice]] position,{{Fact|date=December 2007}} which states that abortion should be a legal option for any pregnant woman, reproductive rights encompass more than the abortion issue. Reproductive rights were first discussed as a subset of human rights at the United Nation's 1968 International Conference on Human Rights. The sixteenth article of the Proclamation of Teheran states, "Parents have a basic human right to determine [[freedom|freely]] and [[responsibility|responsibly]] the number and the spacing of their children."<ref name="FREEDMAN">{{cite journal |last=Freedman |first=Lynn P. |coauthors=Stephen L. Isaacs |year=1993 |month=Jan. - Feb. |title=Human Rights and Reproductive Choice" |journal=''Studies in Family Planning'' |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=18–30 |id= |url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0039-3665%28199301%2F02%2924%3A1%3C18%3AHRARC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A |accessdate= 2007-12-08 |quote=The first comprehensive statement of human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, failed to mention reproductive rights at all. It was not until 20 years later, at the international human rights conference held in Teheran in 1968, that human reproduction became a subject of international legal concern. The Final Act of the Teheran conference included a provision stating "Parents have a basic human right to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and a right to adequate education and information in this respect (United Nations, 1968) |doi=10.2307/2939211}}</ref> Reproductive rights advocates work to secure affordable access to abortion, contraception, as well as [[sex education|education]] about [[contraception]] and [[Sexually transmitted disease|sexually transmitted infections]], and freedom from [[compulsory sterilization|coerced sterilization]] and contraception, for both men and women. {{Fact|date=December 2007}} In addition, reproductive rights advocates endeavor to protect all women from harmful gender-based practices.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Examples include cultural practices such as [[female genital cutting]], or FGC, as well as state, customary and religious laws that contribute to women's political and economic disenfranchisment.<ref name="COOK"/><ref name="FREEDMAN"/><ref name="AMNESTY"/> ==History of reproductive rights== {{POV-check-section|date=January 2008}} In 1945, the [[UN Charter]] included the obligation "to promote... universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without discrimination as to race, sex, language, or religion". However, the Charter did not define these rights. Three years later, the [[United Nations|UN]] adopted the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]], the first international legal document to delineate human rights. It did not mention reproductive rights. The first international document to mention reproductive rights as a subset of human rights was the Teheran Declaration, the Final Act of the UN's international rights conference. The Proclamation states: "Parents have a basic right to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and a right to adequate education and information in this respect". This right was adopted by the UN General Assembly in the Declaration on Social Progress and Development, by the [[World Food Conference]] in Rome (1974), as well as parlimentarian conferences internationally. <ref name="FREEDMAN"/> The 1975 UN International Women's Year Conference echoed the Proclamation Teheran Declaration. ===Cairo Programme=== Women's reproductive health is often compromised by infringements on women's human rights. In 1994 the [[International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics]]' World Report on Women's Health concluded that state action was required to address injustices relating to [[women's health]]. That same year, the UN held the [[International Conference on Population and Development]] (ICPD) in [[Cairo]]. The Programme of Action (Cairo Programme) emphasized the importance of protecting women's human rights, particularly those relating to reproductive health. Expanding on the World Health Organization's definition of health, the Programme defined reproductive health as: <blockquote>a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and...not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and its functions and processes. Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. Implicit in this last condition are the right of men and women to be informed [about] and to have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice, as well as other methods for regulation of fertility which are not against the law, and the right of access to appropriate health-care services that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant [para. 72].<ref name="COOK"/></blockquote> The Cairo Programme of Action was adopted by 184 UN member states. The late American ecologist [[Garrett Hardin]] questioned the validity of a right to breed excessively, pointing to limited resources. He wrote, "The only way we can preserve and nurture other and more precious freedoms is by relinquishing the freedom to breed, and that very soon."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hardin |first=Garrett |year=1968 |month=December |day=13 |title=The Tragedy of the Commons |journal=Science |url=http://www.garretthardinsociety.org/articles/art_tragedy_of_the_commons.html |accessdate= 2008-01-25}}</ref> ===Beijing Platform=== The 1995 [[Fourth World Conference on Women]] in Beijing and its Declaration and Platform for Action supported the Cairo Programme's definition of reproductive health, but established a broader context of reproductive rights: <blockquote>The human rights of women include their right to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. Equal relationships between women and men in matters of sexual relations and reproduction, including full respect for the integrity of the person, require mutual respect for the integrity of the person, require mutual respect, consent and shared responsibility for sexual behavior and its consequences [para. 96]. <ref name="COOK"/></blockquote> The Beijing Platform demarcated twelve interrelated critical areas of the human rights of women that require advocacy. The Platform framed women's reproductive rights as "indivisible, universal and inalienable human rights."<ref name="BUNCH">{{cite journal |last=Bunch |first=Charlotte |coauthors=Susana Fried |year=1996 |month=Autumn |title=Beijing '95: Moving Women's Human Rights from Margin to Center |journal=''Signs'' |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=200–204 |url= http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0097-9740%28199623%2922%3A1%3C200%3AB%27MWHR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-M |accessdate= 2007-12-11 |doi=10.1086/495143}}</ref> ==Reproductive rights as a women's issue== {{Abortion debate (sidebar)}} Organizations such as the [[Center for Reproductive Rights]], the [[United Nations Population Fund]], the [[World Health Organization]] and the [[National Organization for Women]] pursue reproductive rights with a primary emphasis on women's rights. While much attention has been paid to abortion rights as one aspect of reproductive rights, groups focus on a range of issues from access to [[family planning]] services, sex education, [[menopause]], and the reduction of [[obstetric fistula]], to the relationship between reproductive health and economic status. The group Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) spoke for a variety of women when it stated: <blockquote>Control over reproduction is a basic need and a basic right for all women. Linked as it is to women's health and social status, as well as the powerful social structures of religion, state control and administrative inertia, and private profit, it is from the perspective of poor women that this right can best be understood and affirmed. Women know that childbearing is a social, not a purely personal, phenomenon; nor do we deny that world population trends are likely to exert considerable pressure on resources and institutions by the end of this century. But our bodies have become a pawn in the struggles among states, religions, male heads of households, and private corporations. Programs that do not take the interests of women into account are unlikely to succeed...<ref name="FREEDMAN"/></blockquote> There has also been an attempt to look at the socioeconomic conditions that affect a woman's access to reproductive health care. The term [[reproductive justice]] has been used to describe these broader social and economic issues. Proponents of reproductive justice argue that while the right to [[abortion law|legalized abortion]] and contraception applies to everyone, these choices are only meaningful to those with resources, and that there is a growing gap between access and affordability (Kirk, Okazawa-Rey 2004).{{Fact|date=January 2008}} ==Reproductive rights as a men's issue== Men's reproductive rights have been claimed by various organizations, both for issues of reproductive health, and other rights related to sexual reproduction. Three international issues in men's reproductive health are disease, cancer and exposure to toxins. One of the major issues concerning men's [[fertility]] is the transmission and effects of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). STDs can reduce men's fertility: infections can cause [[epididymitis]], the inflammation of the tubes from the [[testes]] to the [[vas deferens]]. Epididymitis in men under the age of 35 is most often caused by sexually transmitted organisms, ''[[Neisseria gonorrheae]]'' or ''[[Chlamydia trachomatis]]'', in particular. <ref name = "NETWORK">{{cite web |url=http://www.fhi.org/en/RH/Pubs/Network/v18_3/NW183ch2.htm |title=Men's Reproductive Health Risks: Threats to men's fertility and reproductive health include disease, cancer and exposure to toxins. |accessdate=2008-01-02 |author=Best, Kim |date=2006 |work= Network:Spring 1998, Vol. 18, No. 3 |publisher=Family Health International}}</ref> One group, The National Center for Men (NCM), has claimed certain reproductive [[men's rights|rights of men]] are not legally recognized.<ref>Traister, Rebecca. (March 13, 2006). "[http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/03/13/roe_for_men/ Roe for men?]." ''Salon.com.'' Retrieved December 17, 2007.</ref> On their website, the NCM claim to have brought a case to the United States sixth circuit Court of Appeals, which they label "Roe vs. Wade For Men."<ref>National Center for Men. (September 4, 2007). "[http://www.nationalcenterformen.org/page10.shtml Press Release: Roe vs. Wade For Men Appealed]." Retrieved December 17, 2007.</ref> ==Reproductive rights in the United States== In the United States, the public debate surrounding reproduction rights is often about [[abortion debate|abortion rights]]. Reproductive rights advocates support a woman's right to abortion and contraception from within the context of the [[right to privacy]], or freedom from governmental interference, supporting legalized contraception and abortion. In the [[United States Constitution]], the right to privacy has been interpreted to include reproductive rights, as seen in numerous [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] cases. Three important cases are ''[[Griswold v. Connecticut]]'' ([[1965]]), ''[[Eisenstadt v. Baird]]'' ([[1972]]), and ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' ([[1973]]). In ''Griswold v. Connecticut'', the Supreme court overturned a state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives, which established a constitutional right to privacy and legalized contraception for married people. ''Eisenstadt v. Baird'' extended the right to use contraceptives to unmarried people. ''Roe v. Wade'' legalized abortion on a federal level. The term ''procreative liberty'' was coined by [[John A. Robertson]], a professor of [[law]] and [[bioethics]] at the [[University of Texas School of Law]]. ==References== {{reflist|2}} * {{cite web |title=Proclamation of Tehran |publisher=International Conference on Human Rights |date= 1968 |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/b_tehern.htm |accessdate=2007-11-08 }} * Freedman, Lynn P. & Stephen L. Isaacs (Jan. - Feb., 1993). "Human Rights and Reproductive Choice". ''Studies in Family Planning'' '''24''' (1), 18&ndash;30. * {{cite web |title=About Us |publisher=Center for Reproductive Rights |url=http://www.reproductiverights.org/about.html#mission |accessdate=2007-11-08 }} ==See also== * [[Human sexuality]] * [[One-child policy]] * [[Parental leave]] * [[Pregnant patients' rights]] * [[Reproductive health]] * [[Timeline of reproductive rights legislation]] * [[Tragedy of the commons]] * [[Women's movement]] * [[World population]] * [[Genital integrity]] * [[Contraceptive security]] * [[Birth control sabotage]] * [[Sex and the law]] * [[Eugenics]] ==External links== * [http://www.reproductiverights.org Center for Reproductive Rights] * [http://www.now.org The National Organization for Women] * [http://www.ipas.org Ipas] * [http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Reproductive_Choice&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=23&ContentID=991 The League of Women Voters on Reproductive Choice] * [http://www.unfpa.org/rh/index.htm UNFPA Population Issues: Reproductive Rights] * [http://www.naral.org NARAL Pro-Choice America] * [http://www.plannedparenthood.org Planned Parenthood] * [http://www.aclu.org/reproductiverights American Civil Liberties Union] * [http://www.wgnrr.org/ Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights] Network that links grassroots organizations that are active within this topic {{Template group |list = {{Family rights}} {{Human rights}} }} [[Category:Human rights]] [[Category:Pro-choice movement]] [[Category:Reproductive rights| ]] [[Category:Sexual health]]