A woman's ability to plan her reproductive life and her right be free from interference in reproductive decision-making are two fundamental aspects of reproductive self-determination. International instruments have defined the right to plan one's family as the right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of one's children and to possess the information, education, and means necessary to do so. This right has been affirmed in international consensus documents adopted at UN conferences in recent decades, including the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing Conference). In addition, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women explicitly urges states to ensure the right to family planning, information, counseling, and services.

The right to plan one's family gives rise to a governmental duty to ensure that women and men have equal access to a full range of contraceptive choices and reproductive health services and that they have accurate information about sexual and reproductive health. Nearly 230 million women worldwide - 1 in 6 women of reproductive age - lack information on and access to a full range of contraceptive methods. More than one-third of all pregnancies - 80 million each year - are unwanted or mistimed.

A full range of contraceptive methods includes: male and female condoms, vaginal barrier methods, oral contraceptives, implants, injectables, intrauterine devices, male and female sterilization, and emergency contraception (EC). Governments that place obstacles in the way of women's access to contraceptive choices - by strictly regulating or prohibiting contraceptive methods and information, or by requiring a husband's consent for the use of contraception - violate the right to family planning. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) describes EC as a contraceptive method used by women in the first few days following unprotected intercourse to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Some conservative political and religious organizations seek to limit women's reproductive choices by inaccurately characterizing EC as abortion when, in fact, the WHO considers it a safe contraceptive.

Respect for women's right to reproductive self-determination also requires governments to ensure that women give their full, informed consent before receiving a contraceptive method. Government policies that disregard a woman's own wishes in order to meet demographic goals put women in danger of coercive and violent practices. Subjecting a woman to surgical sterilization or administering contraceptive injections or implants without her informed consent, for example, violates women's fundamental reproductive rights.

Consistent and correct use of modern methods of contraception can prevent many unwanted pregnancies. In order to meet their international commitments, governments must improve access for men, women, and adolescents to high quality family planning information and services that offer a range of freely chosen contraceptive methods.