The Morning After: How Far Can States go to Restrict Access to Emergency Contraception

This article discusses the treatment of abortion by the European Court of Human Rights, with a focus on A,B,C v Ireland. The article argues that the Court's treatment of abortion has been inconsistent, in that it has refused to address the issue self- determination while only upholding claims that deal with procedural aspects of the right to abortion. In particular, the paper discusses Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to respect for private life, which requires that the state not interfere unjustifiably with a woman's right to make her own choices and provide an effective and realistic procedure to allow a woman to exercise all lawfully available options.

Samantha Harper, The Morning After: How Far Can States go to Restrict Access to Emergency Contraception (2006) 38:1 Colum HRL Rev 221.