Fact Sheets

To sort or browse all of these publications by issue, region or date please see our archive.

Reproductive Rights in Indian Courts

04.06.17 - Over the last decade, Indian courts have issued several notable decisions recognizing women’s reproductive rights as part of the “inalienable survival rights” implicitly protected under the fundamental right to life…

Criminalization of Abortion in the Philippines Fact Sheet

03.21.17 - The Philippines criminalizes abortion without any clear exception. Despite the criminal abortion ban, women and girls continue to undergo abortions which are often performed under unsafe conditions and result in complications that require immediate medical treatment…

Centering Human Rights in the Response to Zika

09.08.16 - Available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, this statement calls for a human rights-based approach to the Zika epidemic…

Mellet v. Ireland: Ireland must legalize abortion to end violations of women's human rights

09.07.16 - In June 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Committee issued a groundbreaking decision in the case of Mellet v. Ireland. The Committee held that by prohibiting and criminalizing abortion, and thereby preventing Ms…

Mandatory Waiting Periods and Biased Counseling Requirements in Central and Eastern Europe: Restricting Access to Abortion, Undermining Human Rights and Reinforcing Harmful Gender Stereotypes

11.23.15 - Across Central and Eastern European countries, women’s access to abortion services is increasingly threatened by the introduction of regressive legal and policy measures that impose mandatory waiting periods and biased counseling and information requirements prior to abortion…

Accountability for Discrimination Against Women in the Philippines: Key Findings and Recommendations from the CEDAW Committee's Special Inquiry on Reproductive Rights

08.05.15 - A 2007 report by the Center documenting human rights violations associated with Executive Order 003 became the basis for a special inquiry convened by the United Nations…