Why is abortion a human rights issue?
The denial of a pregnant woman’s right to make an independent decision regarding abortion violates or poses a threat to a wide range of human rights. International human rights legal instruments and authoritative interpretations of those instruments by U.N. expert bodies (see box) compel the conclusion that women have a right to decide independently in all matters related to reproduction, including the issue of abortion. Where women’s access to safe and legal abortion services are restricted, a number of human rights may be at risk. Authoritative interpretations of international human rights law The implementation of the main human rights treaties under the United Nations system is supervised by committees-called treaty-monitoring bodies-made up of independent experts selected from countries that have ratified the respective treaties.
