Losing Ground

It seems as though we are losing ground in the fight for women’s reproductive autonomy. As Human Rights Watch reports, the World Bank is currently reviewing its draft Health, Nutrition and Population strategy – a document that “misses the opportunity to support access to family planning and contraception as keys to combating global poverty.” The document represents a departure from the Bank’s previous commitments to ensure access to sex education, contraception and safe abortion as articulated in the World Development Report of 2007. This regression in the Bank’s international family planning policy could result in increased poverty and deteriorating health for millions around the world. Lest we think the battle for reproductive autonomy will be waged on foreign soil…. The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a serious blow to domestic reproductive rights advocates in its Gonzales v. Carhart decision last Wednesday, April 18th. Nancy Northup, President of the Center for Reproductive rights observed, “It took just a year for this new Court to overturn three decades of established law. Today’s ruling is a stunning assault on women’s health and the expertise of doctors who care for them.” Although activists, both domestic and international, have made some progress in securing reproductive rights, we seem to be taking two steps forward and one step back. Despite recent setbacks, regional human rights fora may hold some promise for securing reproductive rights - for at least some women around the world. The Center for Reproductive Rights, for example, has presented several successful repro rights cases to the Inter-American Commission. Likewise, the African Protocol on the Rights of Women and the European Convention may offer the most effective remedy for violations of women’s reproductive rights (See also Amelia Earhart's March 20, 2007 post). Activists must now work to protect hard-fought victories and resist losing any more ground - in both domestic and international courts.