Human Rights Dynamics of Abortion Law Reform

This article proposed that the legal approach to abortion is evolving from criminal prohibition towards accommodation as a life-preserving and health-perserving option, particularly in light of data on maternal mortality and morbidity. The authors assert that the modern momentum for liberalization comes from international adoption of the concept of reproductive health, and wider recognition that the resort to safe and dignified healthcare is a major human right. They outline how respect for women's reproductive self-determination legitimates abortion as a choice when family planning services have failed, been inaccessible or been denied by rape. The authors conclude that recognition of women's rights of equal citizenship with men requires that their choices for self-determination be legally respected, not criminalized. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - Abortion, International]