Reproductive Rights of Women: A Way to Gender Justice

Abstract

Women have been fighting the struggle for reproductive rights for centuries. Historically, these rights are an especially controversial subject due to the moral, ethical, and religious considerations.

Do reproductive rights merely mean the right to reproduce? Or is the issue inextricably linked to the numerous questions that surround women’s reproductive freedom?

The ability to reproduce seems to be what sets women apart from men. But do women have control over their own reproduction? Do women have the freedom to choose whether, when, and how many children to have? Do women have access to safe birth control methods? Do women have the right to safe abortion? Can sexuality be separated from reproduction? A big ‘NO’ in answer to many such questions led to the emergence of the women’s health movement in different parts of the world in the early 1970’s. It started as small ‘consciousness raising’ groups, which began by spreading awareness among women about the functioning of their bodies and gradually evolved into multi-faceted campaigns that have significantly influenced health policies in many countries.

Human Rights are those rights, which should be available to every individual without any discrimination of any kind. Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom. The most important right of a Human is the Right to Life. It is the supreme human right from which no derogation is permitted. It is inalienable. The Article 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibit the arbitrary deprivation of life. But there are some controversial issues related to this supreme right. One such issue is the question of Right to abortion. Among other rights of women, it is believed that every mother has a right to abortion, it is a universal right. But the rights of the mother are to be balanced with the rights of the unborn.

Earlier the right to abortion was not permitted and it was strongly opposed the society. The termination of pregnancy was termed to be a murder of the foetus. But due to the change in time and technology, nowadays this right has been legally sanctioned by most of the nations after the famous decision of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court. But the oppositions are still present and people do believe that it should be legally prohibited.

The question which is the reason for this discussion is -- whether a mother has a right to abortion vis-à-vis the right to life of the unborn. What are the International Instruments which sanction the right to abortion. What is the stand of India on this.

Keywords: reproduction, women, freedom, control, body, abortion