The most basic right we have is the right to live in our bodies. Our bodies are the most fundamental instruments we have to interact with the world. Governments can legislate or take away our homes, our food, our weapons, our books--but when governments begin to legislate or take away our bodies themselves, or to allow them to be taken away by others, they arrogate the power to control our very identities.
The Right to a Full Reproductive System
The most basic reproductive right is the right to keep our reproductive systems intact.Forced Sterilization in the United States: The United States has a troubling history of forcibly sterilizing those who are deemed unfit to reproduce.
Female Genital Mutilation: Approximately 130 million women and girls worldwide, primarily in Africa and the Middle East, have been deprived of part or all of their external reproductive system through a practice known as female genital mutilation (FGM) or female genital cutting (FGC).
Male Circumcision: Although male circumcision bears little practical resemblance to FGM, some have suggested that the procedure, absent clinical evidence supporting it as a medical practice, is a violation of reproductive rights.
The Right to Live Without Fear of Sexual Violence
The most fundamental obligation of government is to protect citizens from the violence and coercion of other citizens. In the case of sexual violence, governments invariably fail to fulfill their obligation--and some governments do so more cruelly than others.Rape, Healing, and Survival: There are coping strategies that many rape survivors, and allies, have found helpful in dealing with the aftermath of sexual violence.
Rape as Terrorism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: In addition to failing to prosecute sexual violence adequately, some governments and paramilitary groups actively use it as a terrorism strategy.
The Right to Know
When a government intentionally spreads false or misleading information in a manner that negatively impacts public health, this constitutes a human rights violation.Abstinence-Only Sex Education: Most sex ed funding in the United States goes to abstinence-only programs, the majority of which discourage condom use and other means of contraception.
Top 10 Reasons to Support Comprehensive Sex Education in Schools: Comprehensive sex education, on the other hand, includes discussion of abstinence as well as condoms, birth control, and other means of preventing unintended pregnancies.
The Right to Prevent Unwanted Pregnancies
Governments have also sometimes directly blocked access to medication, birth control devices, and other means of preventing unplanned pregnancies.How the Religious Right Undermines Birth Control: The right-wing anti-birth control agenda is fairly comprehensive, and very multifaceted.
Plan B, aka Emergency Contraception: One of the central elements of this agenda has been restricting access to emergency contraception, which can prevent fertilization of the egg after sexual intercourse has taken place.
The Right to Terminate a Not-Yet-Viable Pregnancy
Because it involves the termination of a human embryo or fetus, abortion is arguably the most controversial part of the reproductive rights agenda.Why Abortion is Legal: The Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v. Wade (1973) is often reviled, but seldom understood.
Rights of the Fetus: Although conventional wisdom suggests otherwise, fetuses do have some rights under existing U.S. policy. It's just that, until the point of viability, these rights do not override a woman's right to make decisions about her own reproductive system.
The Right to Carry a Pregnancy to Term
Women have the right to avoid, prevent, and terminate pregnancies, but they also have the right to carry a pregnancy to term.The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978: Under federal law, employers are prohibited from discriminating against women who are pregnant or who have recently given birth. Unfortunately, this law is not always followed--but there are means by which employers can often be held accountable.
Reproductive Rights and the Nadya Suleman Case: The case of Nadya Suleman, who intentionally had octuplets despite being financially unable to care for the six children she already had, challenges traditional concepts of reproductive rights.
