The Injustice of Unsafe Motherhood

This article looks at the causes and potential solutions to the high incidence of unsafe motherhood in developing countries. Various causes include social conventions favoring early marriage or creating women's powerlessness to resist unprotected intercourse with HIV/AID infected men; inadequate access to health care and qualified health care providers; and religiously based laws. Part of the article focuses on abortion rights and their socio-economic dimensions. It is argued that beyond the bio-ethics of autonomy, the role of macro-ethics and community values in shaping laws affecting women's maternal health must be considered and a public health approach incorporation human rights values should be adopted. The authors note that provisions found in primary human rights instruments such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and Universal Declaration of Human Rights can serve to hinder the full recognition of women's rights and autonomy by linking the protection of women to their pregnant status or child-bearing role. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - Safe Motherhood, International]