Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): Legal Prohibitions Worldwide
What is FGM? Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the collective name given to a number of cultural practices that involve the partial or total cutting of female genitals. FGM can be performed as early as [...]
In re Access to Emergency Contraception in Ecuador / Amici (Constitutional Tribunal of Ecuador)
In 2005, anti-choice organizations in Ecuador filed a suit to outlaw emergency contraception, alleging that EC violates the right to life as established in the Ecuadorian constitution. As a result of their lawsuit, a lower [...]
In re Access to Emergency Contraception in Colombia (amicus brief) (Colombian Council of State)
On June 5, 2008, in a landmark decision, the Colombian Council of State ruled against anti-choice groups' efforts to ban emergency contraception. The court found that emergency contraception, commonly known as the "morning-after pill," is [...]
In re Abortion Law Challenge in Colombia / Amici (Constitutional Court of Colombia)
In April 2005, Colombian citizen Monica Róa, a former Center fellow and current attorney at Women's Link Worldwide, filed a petition with the Colombian Constitutional Court challenging the constitutionality of Colombia’s abortion law, which categorically [...]
Challenge to Abortion Law in Nicaragua / Amici (Supreme Court of Nicaragua)
In May 2007, The Center for Reproductive Rights and Yale University's Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic submitted a joint friend-of-the-court brief to the Supreme Court of Nicaragua.Country/Region: , Nicaragua/LACCenter Attorney(s): , Lilian Sepúlveda [...]
World Abortion Laws 2008 Fact Sheet
Currently, over 60% of the world's people live in countries where induced abortion is permitted either for a wide range of reasons or without restriction as to reason. In contrast, about 26% of all people [...]
An International Human Right: Sexuality Education for Adolescents in Schools
An International Human Right: Sexuality Education for Adolescents in Schools
Alyne da Silva Pimentel v. Brazil (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women)
UN Committee Establishes States’ Obligation to Address Maternal Mortality (Updated 3.18.21) In the first-ever maternal mortality case decided by an international human rights body, the United Nations’ Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women [...]
Reproductive rights are human rights.
Help us ensure that every government around the world guarantees them.
Paola Guzmán Albarracín v. Ecuador (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights)
Landmark Ruling Will Help Protect Schoolgirls from Sexual Violence Throughout Latin America
Ana Victoria Sánchez Villalobos and others v. Costa Rica / Amici (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights/Costa Rica)
Filing date: Case admitted to IACHR in March 2004 Country/Region: , LAC Plaintiff(s): Patients of Dr. Gerardo Escalante López and Dr. Delia Ribas who were fertilized with in-vitro fertilization techniques Center Attorney(s): , Luisa Cabal [...]
Trends in Reproductive Rights Jurisprudence in Latin America
All Latin American countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women. Yet despite [...]
The Global Gag Rule’s Effects on NGOs in 56 Countries
The Global Gag Rule penalizes non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 561 countries that receive family planning assistance funds from the U.S. These NGOs are prohibited from providing abortion-related services, including counseling and referrals, and/or lobbying on [...]
Reproductive rights are human rights.
Help us ensure that every government around the world guarantees them.