Woman Forced to Carry Fatally Impaired Fetus to Term Wins Case New York, NY-Today, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) decided its first abortion case, KL v. Peru. The decision establishes that denying access to legal abortion violates women’s most basic human rights. This is the first time an international human rights body has […]
New Report Documents the Gag Rule’s Devastating Effects on Unsafe Abortion in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Peru At a breakfast briefing on October 22, women’s health experts from Kenya and Peru will discuss the devastating effects of the Bush Administration’s gag rule on women and reproductive health advocates in their countries. At the event, the […]
Policy Changes Come After Coerced Sterilization Case that Ended in Death Yesterday, the government of Peru signed an agreement before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that should bring about sweeping changes in Peru’s reproductive health policies, and improve women’s access to family planning and reproductive healthcare. In a landmark settlement involving the case […]
Executive Summary Every year, twenty million—mostly poor—women around the world are driven to unsafe abortion. More than 95% of these abortions occur in low-income countries. And every year, complications from these procedures claim the lives of some 70,000 women. Untold millions more suffer serious injuries and permanent disabilities. Set against this international health crisis is […]
Statement of Nancy Northup, President, Center for Reproductive Rights “Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $15 billion HIV/AIDS plan aimed at combating the AIDS pandemic internationally over the next five years. We applaud the House’s decision because U.S. financial commitment to providing access to effective prevention, treatment, and care for people living with […]
UN Human Rights Committee Establishes Right to Abortion as a Human Right (Updated 3.18.21) The Center for Reproductive Rights persuaded the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) to recognize that women have a human right to access safe and legal abortion. In a ruling that has been cited extensively as precedent in other national-level court decisions on abortion access, the UNHRC established that denying access to legal abortion violates the International Covenant on […]
Peru Admits Responsibility for its Forced Sterilization Policies (Updated 3.18.21) In the first case on reproductive rights admitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Peru admitted responsibility for the forced sterilization of María Mamérita Mestanza, and her death following inadequate care. It agreed to implement recommendations made by Peru’s Human Rights Ombudsman concerning forced sterilization of women, particularly in marginalized and Indigenous communities. Peru […]
https://reproductiverights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/scbook.gif 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. This investigative book reveals sexual and psychological violence against women who use public reproductive health and family planning services. The book was researched and written […]
Peru Admits Responsibility for Violating Abuse Victim’s Human Rights (Updated 03.18.21) Before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Peru admitted its international responsibility for violating the human rights of a woman who was drugged and raped by a public health service doctor when she was seeking medical services. The Peruvian government compensated the victim, admitted responsibility for violating her rights under international law, and took steps to improve its legal and administrative policies on sexual violence M.M., a […]
https://reproductiverights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/WOWLAeng.gif Reproductive rights are internationally recognized as critical both to advancing women’s human rights and to promoting development. Governments from all over the world have, in recent years, both acknowledged and pledged to advance reproductive rights to an unprecedented degree. But for governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and concerned advocates to work towards reforming laws and […]