What Are the 12 Reproductive Rights?

The U.S. Constitution and federal law guarantee many reproductive freedoms. But you might be surprised to learn that international law also provides reproductive rights. 

This article will discuss the 12 reproductive rights recognized by international law and how they might help U.S. citizens. However, domestic and international laws regarding reproductive rights are constantly changing. Discuss your concerns with a family law attorney who knows reproductive rights. 

What Are the 12 Reproductive Rights Recognized by International Law?

Most international human rights organizations recognize 12 reproductive rights. Though they focus primarily on women’s rights, they apply to all genders:

1. The right to life: Mothers and babies should be kept healthy and safe during pregnancy and delivery. Maternal health, maternal mortality, and infant mortality fall within this right. 
2. The right to liberty and security of the person: People must be able to make their own sexual and reproductive choices. This includes freedom from sexual assault, sexual harassment, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, and forced sterilization. 
3. The right to health, including sexual and reproductive health: This right requires confidential and accessible health care services for family planning, infertility, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV/AIDS. 
4. The right to decide the number and spacing of any children: This tenet protects the right to access contraception and other family planning services. 
5. The right to consent to marriage and equity in marriage: Forced marriages and child marriages violate this right. 
6. The right to privacy: Privacy disfavors laws that require women and young people to get spousal or parental consent before receiving reproductive health services. 
7. The right to equality and non-discrimination: This right protects against discrimination based on pregnancy or motherhood. It also requires countries to work towards eliminating reproductive health discrimination experienced by racial, religious, or ethnic minority groups. 
8. The right to be free from practices that harm women and girls: This right forbids practices that affect women’s reproductive rights, such as female genital mutilation. 
9. The right to not be subjected to torture or cruel or degrading punishment: This right condemns sexual violence, domestic violence, sexual harassment, nonconsensual reproductive experimentation, and sex trafficking. 
10. The right to be free from sexual and gender-based violence: Focusing on the social and cultural aspects of abusive conduct, this right works to eliminate preconceived notions of inferiority or superiority amongst genders that have historically led to violence.
11. The right to access sexual, reproductive health, and family planning information:This right encourages access to accurate, non-stereotypical sex education and reproductive health information. 
12. The right to enjoy scientific progress: Reproductive technology should be available to all. People should be informed about the dangers of new technologies. They also need access to beneficial technologies that can assist in times of need. 

What Are the Sources of the 12 Reproductive Rights?

The founding of the United Nations (UN) in 1945 fostered a new spirit of international cooperation. Today, the UN and other international bodies encourage countries to sign treaties on various topics. These treaties are often called covenants, conventions, or declarations. By ratifying these covenants, the signing countries agree to change their laws to conform to the standards in the treaty. 

The 12 reproductive rights above are drawn from multiple international agreements, including: 

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
• The International Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) 
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
• The American Convention on Human Rights
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
• The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• The Convention on the Rights of the Child
• The Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women
• The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 

Are the 12 Reproductive Rights Legally Binding in the United States?

The short answer is “no.” No standardized legal framework in the United States explicitly codifies these 12 rights into law. However, that does not mean that these rights haven’t helped influence public policy and perception over the years.

Generally, applying international law in the U.S. is a tricky proposition. First, of the ten agreements on reproductive rights listed above, the U.S. has only signed four. Also, the U.S. often adopts treaties with reservations. Reservations allow countries to opt out of certain treaty provisions. The U.S.’s failure to join vital international agreements and the limits it places on the ones it does join makes it difficult to argue that all 12 international reproductive rights should apply here. 

Even if the U.S. had signed every agreement, enforcement would be a significant issue. The UN can’t force a country to comply. In addition, the U.S. uses reservations to declare that it cannot be held accountable for violations of these agreements without its consent. 

In light of the issues above, here are some ways that the 12 rights are influencing law and policy in the U.S.: 

1. International Law Can Be Used To Push for Domestic Changes

For years, American anti-abortion activists argued that abortion violated international law. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and abortion laws changed, women’s health activists in the U.S. began arguing that denying abortion care, even in cases of rape and incest, violates international norms. Here, these 12 rights have been useful in citing the ways in which domestic policy is not synching with the rest of the world-at-large.

2. International Law Can Be Used To Push for Domestic Changes

The United States leads all economically advanced nations in maternal mortality. The death rate is exceptionally high in the African American (Black) community. Following international guidance about providing non-discriminatory medical care and other public health interventions could improve the well-being of all Americans who give birth. 

3. International Law as a Guiding Point

Even when they aren’t bound by it, the Supreme Court and other American courts often look to international law for guidance. So, international law could be persuasive in a civil rights lawsuit alleging that the U.S. has not done enough to protect certain legal rights. 

Learn More About Reproductive Rights and International Law

Reproductive care is an essential part of every person’s life. If you’ve been denied birth control, prenatal care, or other reproductive health care services, international law may support your case. Find a family law attorney near you who understands reproductive rights and international law.