Human Rights, Feminism, and Abortion Law Reform

Human Rights, Feminism, and Abortion Law Reform

In the seminal international human rights treaties there is no express legal guarantee for abortion rights. Nevertheless, since the 1990s, women’s rights activists have used international human rights forums and mechanisms to advance abortion rights. Cumulatively, human rights law can now be said to call for the decriminalization of abortion and the legalization of abortion in cases where the pregnancy threatens the life or health of the woman, is the result of rape or incest, or there is severe fetal impairment. Despite this promising trajectory, international human rights law does not recognize a woman’s right to decide whether to carry a pregnancy to term as a matter of her autonomy, equality or self-determination. One reason for this is advocates have attempted to follow the path of least resistance for abortion rights and focused instead on the right to health, the right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and the right to privacy. Recognizing unsafe abortion as a major public...
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