The Human Rights Aspects of Abortion

Although often overlooked as a human rights issue, abortion affects the reproductive, liberty and privacy rights of pregnant women. This article posits that recognition of a “right to abortion” for the international community and individual countries is the best approach to protect reproductive and liberty rights of women. It discusses different approaches to recognize abortion as a human right – through a right to privacy, a right to freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, through substantive equality, and a right to life and right to health. The author argues that, currently, the argument for abortion as a human right is argued by virtue of the importance of other rights, instead of explicit recognition. Therefore, the author concludes that to ensure full protection of reproductive rights, it should be recognized everywhere as its own right.