Reproductive Rights and Torture or Ill-Treatment: A briefing by the Center for Reproductive Rights
For over a decade, the UN Committee against Torture (CAT Committee) has recognized some reproductive rights violations as forms of torture or ill-treatment and called on states to change laws, policies, and practices that restrict access to these reproductive health services. This fact sheet provides background on what the CAT Committee has said to date about reproductive rights violations – including denial of access to abortion, post-abortion care, and emergency contraception, as well as mistreatment of women seeking reproductive health care – as forms of torture or ill-treatment. It also provides recommendations about how the CAT Committee can develop its work on this topic to recognize the gender discrimination inherent in many reproductive rights violations as well the pain and suffering women face when denied access to modern contraception.