Books & Reports

To sort or browse all of these publications by issue, region or date please see our archive.

In Harm’s Way: The Impact of Kenya’s Restrictive Abortion Law

In Harm’s Way: Conclusions in Brief

03.01.10 - As this report demonstrates, when access to safe and legal abortion is limited, women resort to unsafe abortion, with devastating consequences for their health, lives, and families…

In Harm's Way: Recommendations

In Harm's Way: Recommendations

02.24.10 - In Harm's Way: The Impact of Kenya's Restrictive Abortion Law

Recommendations

TO THE GOVERNMENT OF KENYA


To the Executive Branch…

In Harm's Way: Grace's Story

02.24.10 - In Harm's Way: The Impact of Kenya's Restrictive Abortion Law…

In Harm's Way: Rosemary's Story

02.24.10 - In Harm’s Way: The Impact of Kenya’s Restrictive Abortion Law

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In Harm’s Way: The Impact of Kenya’s Restrictive Abortion Law

In Harm’s Way: Executive Summary

02.23.10 - "I have seen so much misery at the Kenyatta National Hospital . . . where women with abortion-related problems have died and others lost uteruses.…

Legal Grounds II: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in African Commonwealth Courts

Legal Grounds II: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in African Commonwealth Courts

02.08.10 - As part of the Fourth Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Center will launch Legal Grounds: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in African Commonwealth Courts: Volume II. …

CRR Annual Report 2008

Annual Report 2008

08.25.09 - In 2008, the Center for Reproductive Rights deployed its unique legal and human rights expertise to secure access to reproductive healthcare, block assaults on abortion and birth control, and hold governments accountable for maternal deaths…

Defending Human Rights: Executive Summary

DHR: Executive Summary

07.14.09 - For more than 60 years, the United States has joined most countries of the world in formally recognizing and committing to protect the fundamental human rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights…

Maternal Mortality in India: Using International and Constitutional Law to Promote Accountability and Change

02.12.09 - Maternal Mortality in India: Using International and Constitutional Law to Promote Accountability and Change
2009…

Unequal Health Outcomes in the United States

01.28.09 -  

A Report to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

January 2008

Submitted by the CERD Working Group on Health and Environmental Health…

Federal Policy Agenda

01.13.09 - Advancing What's Right for Women and the Nation…

Emergency Contraception Legislative Advocacy Packet

01.11.09 - Emergency Contraception Legislative Advocacy Packet…

Making Abortion Safe, Legal and Accessible: A Toolkit for Action

12.11.08 - Despite wide international legal support for a woman's right to access safe and legal abortion, the procedure still remains unsafe and out of reach for many women around the globe…

Annual Report 2006

12.01.08 - For 15 years, our attorneys have strategically and boldly used human rights tools, from the U.S. Constitution to the rulings of human rights bodies worldwide, to advance and protect every woman and girl's right to freely make and act on her own reproductive choices…

Annual Report 2007

12.01.08 - In 2007, the Center continued to work worldwide to secure recognition of reproductive rights as human rights. We won cases that affirmed the right to safe abortion. We challenged laws and policies that blocked women's access to contraception and life-saving emergency obstetric care…

Abortion in Nepal: Women Imprisoned

11.12.08 - This report, produced by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Forum for Women, Law and Development, documents human rights abuses arising from Nepal's abortion law…

At Risk: Rights Violations of HIV-Positive Women in Kenyan Health Facilities

07.31.08 - Women living with HIV in Kenya who seek medical care suffer multiple human rights violations and encounter daunting barriers to quality healthcare…

Broken Promises: Human Rights, Accountability and Maternal Death in Nigeria

Broken Promises: Human Rights, Accountability, and Maternal Death in Nigeria

06.27.08 - Broken Promises: Human Rights, Accountability, and Maternal Death in Nigeria, a new report by the Center for Reproductive Rights and Women Advocates Resource and Documentation Centre, illustrates the systematic failure of the Nigerian government to live up to its human rights…

Gender-Based Violence Laws in Sub-Saharan Africa

02.22.08 - I. Introduction

"Gender-based violence includes acts of violence in the form of physical,

psychological, or sexual violence against a person specifically because of his or her gender."1,2 It…

Failure to Deliver: Violations of Women's Human Rights in Kenyan Health Facilities

06.01.07 - Providing women with affordable, accessible, and safe health services is a key obligation of the government of Kenya…

Gaining Ground: A Tool for Advancing Reproductive Rights Law Reform

06.01.07 - Women's equality and status in society are directly linked to their enjoyment of reproductive rights. Around the world, human rights law and international commitments require governments to reform laws and policies that deny women these rights…

What If Roe Fell - 2007

06.01.07 - Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision recognizing a woman's right to abortion, remains under constant attack.…

Bibliography: Adolescent Sexual Health

07.01.06 - This bibliography is intended as a reference tool, for convenience only. It is not exhaustive, and is not updated on a regular basis.…

Female Genital Mutilation: A Matter of Human Rights An Advocate's Guide to Action

06.01.06 - 

"Our position is that FC/FGM must be acknowledged as a violation of the human rights of women and girls - it cannot be separated from deep-seated and pervasive discrimination against women."

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Litigating Reproductive Rights: Using Public Interest Litigation and International Law to Promote Gender Justice in India

06.01.06 - 

This report explores the use of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to promote gender justice and advance women’s reproductive rights in India. Women’s reproductive rights in India are severely undermined by gender-biased practices.

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Beyond the Law: Justice and Gender in Latin America

06.01.06 - What is the role of law in transforming women's lives in Latin America? Have recent legal reforms made a difference for women's equality and access to justice? Are there effective mechanisms for defending women's rights?…

Legal Grounds: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in African Commonwealth Courts

06.01.05 - Reproductive and sexual rights, which are guaranteed in international and regional human rights treaties, mean nothing if they are not recognized and enforced by national-level courts.…

Paulina: Five Years Later

06.01.05 - In 1999, 13-year-old Paulina Ramírez became pregnant after she was raped by an intruder in her home in Mexicali, Mexico. Soon after discovering that she was pregnant, Paulina sought an abortion…

Paulina: Five Years Later (Spanish)

06.01.05 - n 1999, 13-year-old Paulina Ramírez became pregnant after she was raped by an intruder in her home in Mexicali, Mexico. Soon after discovering that she was pregnant, Paulina sought an abortion…

Law 101: An Introduction to Domestic and International Legal Terms

09.25.04 - This glossary and reproductive rights backgrounder is the perfect resource guide for those interested in reproductive freedom but not familiar with complex legal terms. The U.S.…

Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting their Reproductive Lives South Asia

06.01.04 - The Center for Reproductive Rights’ report, Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting their Reproductive Lives - South Asia, is the first extensive examination of laws and policies that influence women’s reproductive health in five countries…

Breaking Through: A Guide to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

06.01.04 - The coming together of the international community in Cairo in 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) signalled a radical change in the approach to population issues…

Emergency Contraception (EC): An Affirmative Agenda to Improve Access, July 2003 (PDF)

07.01.03 - Legislative advocacy packet on EC topics containing background information, factsheets, talking points, model legislation, statutes and strategy guidelines. Click below for individual chapters. …

Bodies on Trial: Reproductive Rights in Latin American Courts

06.03.03 - The judicial branch of government is essential to the viability and sustainability of any democracy. Judges make decisions every day that directly affect people's lives, influencing public perceptions of whether and how justice is being carried out…

Reproductive Rights 2000 Moving Forward

06.01.03 - 

"With the new millennium upon us, we should take this opportunity to consider how recent positive developments can be replicated elsewhere to shape a future in which reproductive rights are recognized worldwide as basic human rights.

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Claiming Our Rights: Surviving Pregnancy and Childbirth in Mali

06.01.03 - 

The right to survive pregnancy and childbirth is grounded in women’s right to life, the most fundamental of human rights guarantees. This right remains unrealized in Mali, where pregnancy and childbirth take the lives of thousands of women every year.

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Roe v. Wade and the Right to Privacy

06.01.03 - Roe v. Wade remains a touchstone in the struggle for reproductive rights, yet many people know little about the decision aside from the fact that it "legalized abortion." For those who wish to understand the basis for the decision, the influence it has had on U.S.…

Body and Soul: Forced Sterilization and Other Assaults on Roma Reproductive Freedom

06.01.03 - Romani women in Slovakia continue to be subject to grave violations of their human rights, particularly their reproductive rights, even though a communist-era law offering monetary incentives for sterilization has been rescinded…

Reproductive Rights are Human Rights

06.01.03 - The legal foundations for women's reproductive rights are built upon a variety of human rights recognized under international law.…

From Rights to Reality: How to Advocate for Women's Reproductive Freedom Worldwide (PDF), 2003

02.01.03 - This handbook provides tools and strategies that anyone can use to advocate for the reproductive rights of women and girls everywhere.…

Abortion in Nepal: Women Imprisoned

06.01.02 - This report, produced by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Forum for Women, Law and Development, documents human rights abuses arising from Nepal's abortion law…

State of Denial: Adolescent Reproductive Rights in Zimbabwe

06.01.02 - State of Denial: Adolescent Reproductive Rights in Zimbabwe documents the human rights violations that occur in Zimbabwe when legal, policy and social barriers inhibit adolescents' ability to protect themselves against unwanted pregnancy and STIs, including HIV/AIDS…

Persecuted: Political Process and Abortion Legislation in El Salvador: A Human Rights Analysis

09.16.01 - A recent constitutional amendment protecting the right to life from conception provides the fuel for this investigative report, which examines how these draconian measures have impacted women's lives in El Salvador.…

Persecuted: Political Process and Abortion Legislation in El Salvador: A Human Rights Analysis (Spanish)

09.16.01 - A recent constitutional amendment protecting the right to life from conception provides the fuel for this investigative report, which examines how these draconian measures have impacted women's lives in El Salvador…

What if Roe Fell?

09.01.01 - Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision establishing a woman's right to choose, remains under constant attack.…

Women Behind Bars

06.01.01 - 

Excerpted from Women Behind Bars. From an interview on September 25, 1997 in the Chin Chin prison facility in Puerto Montt, Chile. On that date, there were 22 women in prison there for abortion-related offenses...

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Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives Francophone Africa

06.01.00 - 

Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives - Francophone Africa, is the result of an in-depth examination of the laws and policies affecting women's reproductive health and rights in seven countries of Francophone Africa:

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An Unfulfilled Human Right:Family Planning in Guatemala

06.01.00 - This report seeks to demonstrate that the Guatemalan government has fallen woefully short in meeting its international human rights obligations related to the provision of family planning services and information…

Female Genital Mutilation: A Guide to Laws and Policies Worldwide

06.01.00 - 

This is the most extensive report currently available on the use of law and policy to address the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).

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Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives East Central Europe

06.01.00 - This report sets forth national laws and policies in key areas of reproductive health and women's empowerment in seven East Central European countries: Albania, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Russia. …

Silence and Complicity: Violence Against Women in Peruvian Public Health Facilities (Book)

06.01.99 - 

Peruvian women are being subjected to violence in that nation's government-run health facilities, say women lawyers who have documented cases of abuse throughout several geographical regions of the country.

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Tipping the Scales

06.01.98 - 

"Well designed, clearly presented, and copiously documented, Tipping the Scales is an essential reference for attorneys, journalists, elected officials, activists and students interested in reproductive rights and the law.

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Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives Latin America and the Caribbean

06.01.97 - 

Reproductive rights are internationally recognized as critical both to advancing women's human rights and to promoting development.

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Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives Anglophone Africa

06.01.97 - 

Reproductive rights are internationally recognized as critical both to advancing women's human rights and to promoting development.

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Removing Barriers, Improving Choices

06.01.96 - The result of a year-long research project, this report identifies common problems that prevent low-income women from obtaining quality health services in managed care settings. The authors make recommendations for improvements in the system and future study of the issue.…

Women of the World: Formal Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives

06.01.95 - A comprehensive review of measures governing the lives of nearly half the world's women in six diverse nations: Brazil, China, Germany, India, Nigeria, and the United States.

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