Editing Women's rights (section)

=== Reproductive rights ===
{{Main|Reproductive rights}}
[[File:Victorian Postcard - woman hitting stork with parasol.jpg|right|thumb|upright=0.7|"And the villain still pursues her." Satirical Victorian era postcard.]]
[[File:MargaretSanger-Underwood.LOC.jpg|left|upright=0.7|thumb|[[Margaret Sanger]]]]
[[File:Marie Stopes in her laboratory, 1904 - Restoration.jpg|left|upright=0.7|thumb|[[Marie Stopes]]]]
[[File:Fgm map.svg|thumb|upright=0.7|Map showing the prevalence of [[FGM]] in Africa]]

==== Legal rights ====

Reproductive rights are [[legal right]]s and freedoms relating to [[Human reproduction|reproduction]] and [[reproductive health]]. Reproductive rights were endorsed by the twenty-year Cairo Programme of Action which was adopted in 1994 at the [[International Conference on Population and Development]] (ICPD) in [[Cairo]], and by the [[Beijing Declaration]] and [[Beijing Platform for Action]] in 1995.

In the 1870s feminists advanced the concept of ''voluntary motherhood'' as a political critique of ''involuntary motherhood''<ref>{{Cite book| last = Gordon| first = Linda| title = The moral property of women: a history of birth control politics in America| publisher = University of Illinois Press| year = 2002| page = 55 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Hwh2wGplDc4C&q=voluntary+motherhood | isbn = 978-0-252-02764-2 }}</ref> and expressing a desire for women's emancipation.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Gordon| title = The moral property of women: a history of birth control politics in America| publisher = University of Illinois Press| year = 2002| page = 56 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Hwh2wGplDc4C&q=voluntary+motherhood | isbn =  978-0-252-02764-2}}</ref> Advocates for voluntary motherhood disapproved of [[contraception]], arguing that women should only engage in sex for the purpose of [[procreation]]<ref>{{Cite book| last = Gordon| title = The moral property of women: a history of birth control politics in America| publisher = University of Illinois Press| year = 2002| page = 57 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Hwh2wGplDc4C&q=voluntary+motherhood | isbn = 978-0-252-02764-2}}</ref> and advocated for periodic or permanent [[abstinence]].<ref name="Gordon 2002 59">{{Cite book| last = Gordon| title = The moral property of women: a history of birth control politics in America| publisher = University of Illinois Press| year = 2002| page = 59 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Hwh2wGplDc4C&q=voluntary+motherhood | isbn =  978-0-252-02764-2}}</ref>

Reproductive rights represent a broad concept, that may include some or all of the following rights: the right to legal or safe abortion, the right to control one's reproductive functions, the right to access quality reproductive healthcare, and the right to [[family planning|education and access]] in order to make reproductive choices free from [[coercion]], discrimination, and violence.<ref name="AMNESTY">{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/Stop_Violence_Against_Women_SVAW/Reproductive_Rights/page.do?id=1108242&n1=3&n2=39&n3=1101 |title=Stop Violence Against Women: Reproductive rights |access-date=8 December 2007 |author=Amnesty International USA |year=2007 |work=SVAW |publisher=Amnesty International USA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120140923/http://www.amnestyusa.org/Stop_Violence_Against_Women_SVAW/Reproductive_Rights/page.do?id=1108242&n1=3&n2=39&n3=1101 |archive-date=20 January 2008}}</ref> Reproductive rights may also be understood to include [[sex education|education]] about contraception and [[Sexually transmitted disease|sexually transmitted infections]].<ref name="COOK" /><ref name="FREEDMAN" /><ref name="AMNESTY" /><ref name="Template">{{cite web|url=http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/fourth/zavales4.html |title=Template |publisher=Nocirc.org |date=10 December 1993 |access-date=30 August 2011}}</ref> Reproductive rights are often defined to include freedom from [[female genital mutilation]] (FGM), and [[forced abortion]] and [[forced sterilization]].<ref name="COOK" /><ref name="FREEDMAN" /><ref name="AMNESTY" /><ref name="Template"/> The Istanbul Convention recognizes these two rights at Article 38 – Female genital mutilation and Article 39 – Forced abortion and forced sterilisation.<ref name="Istanbul">{{cite web|url=http://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/210.htm|title=Council of Europe – Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CETS No. 210)|work=coe.int|access-date=8 October 2015}}</ref>

Reproductive rights are understood as rights of both men and women, but are most frequently advanced as women's rights.<ref name="FREEDMAN"/>

In the 1960s, reproductive rights activists promoted women's right to bodily autonomy, with these social movements leading to the gain of legal access to contraception and abortion during the next decades in many countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/MFWL.html|title=The March for Women's Lives, April 2004|website=jofreeman.com|access-date=2017-11-21}}</ref>

==== Birth control ====
{{Main|Birth control}}
[[File:Birth Control Review 1919.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Cover of the 1919 ''Birth Control Review'', published by [[Margaret Sanger]]. In relation to "How shall we change the law?" Sanger wrote "...women appeal in vain for instruction concerning contraceptives. Physicians are willing to perform abortions where they are pronounced necessary, but they refuse to direct the use of preventives which would make the abortions unnecessary... "I can't do it – the law does not permit it.""<ref>{{Cite journal| last = Sanger| first = Margaret| title = How Shall we Change the Law| journal = Birth Control Review| issue = 3| pages = 8–9| date = July 1919| url = http://jackiewhiting.net/Women/Mother/SangerBCreview.htm}}</ref>]]
In the early 20th century ''[[birth control]]'' was advanced as alternative to the then fashionable terms ''family limitation'' and ''voluntary motherhood''.<ref name="Wilkinson Meyer 2004 184"/><ref name="Galvin"/> The phrase "birth control" entered the English language in 1914 and was popularised by [[Margaret Sanger]],<ref name="Wilkinson Meyer 2004 184">{{Cite book| last = Wilkinson Meyer| first = Jimmy Elaine| title = Any friend of the movement: networking for birth control, 1920–1940| publisher = Ohio State University Press | year = 2004| page = 184| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bdl78Y2eRcEC&q=birth+control+history+margaret+sanger| isbn = 978-0-8142-0954-7 }}</ref><ref name="Galvin">{{Cite journal| last = Galvin| first = Rachel| title = Margaret Sanger's "Deeds of Terrible Virtue"| journal = National Endowment for the Humanities| url = http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/1998-09/sanger.html| access-date = 24 October 2010| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101229235642/http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/1998-09/sanger.html| archive-date = 29 December 2010| url-status = dead}}</ref> who was mainly active in the US but had gained an international reputation by the 1930s. The British birth control campaigner [[Marie Stopes]] made [[contraception]] acceptable in Britain during the 1920s by framing it in scientific terms. Stopes assisted emerging birth control movements in a number of [[British colonies]].<ref>{{Cite book| last = Blue| first = Gregory |author2=Bunton, Martin P. |author3=Croizier, Ralph C.| title = Colonialism and the modern world: selected studies| publisher = M.E. Sharpe| year = 2002| pages = 182–83| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rZWy0O_4pRIC&q=Marie+Stopes+birth+control+movement| isbn = 978-0-7656-0772-0}}</ref> The birth control movement advocated for contraception so as to permit sexual intercourse as desired without the risk of pregnancy.<ref name="Gordon 2002 59"/> By emphasizing ''control'', the birth control movement argued that women should have control over their reproduction, an idea that aligned closely to the theme of the feminist movement. Slogans such as "control over our own bodies" criticised male domination and demanded women's liberation, a connotation that is absent from the [[family planning]], [[population control]] and [[eugenics]] movements.<ref name="Gordon 2002 297">{{Cite book| last = Gordon| title = The moral property of women: a history of birth control politics in America| publisher = University of Illinois Press| year = 2002| page = 297 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Hwh2wGplDc4C&q=voluntary+motherhood | isbn =  978-0-252-02764-2}}</ref> In the 1960s and 1970s the birth control movement advocated for the legalisation of abortion and large-scale education campaigns about contraception by governments.<ref name="Gordon 2002 1–2"/> In the 1980s birth control and population control organisations co-operated in demanding rights to contraception and abortion, with an increasing emphasis on "choice".<ref name="Gordon 2002 297"/>

Birth control has become a major theme in United States politics. Reproductive issues are cited as examples of women's powerlessness to exercise their rights.<ref name="Gordon 2002 295–296">{{Cite book| last = Gordon| title = The moral property of women: a history of birth control politics in America| publisher = University of Illinois Press| year = 2002| pages = 295–96 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Hwh2wGplDc4C&q=voluntary+motherhood | isbn =  978-0-252-02764-2}}</ref> The societal acceptance of birth control required the separation of sex from procreation, making birth control a highly controversial subject in the 20th century.<ref name="Gordon 2002 1–2">{{Cite book| last = Gordon| title = The moral property of women: a history of birth control politics in America| publisher = University of Illinois Press| year = 2002| pages = 1–2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Hwh2wGplDc4C&q=voluntary+motherhood | isbn =  978-0-252-02764-2}}</ref> [[Birth control in the United States]] has become an arena for conflict between liberal and conservative values, raising questions about family, personal freedom, state intervention, religion in politics, sexual morality and social welfare.<ref name="Gordon 2002 295–296"/> ''[[Reproductive rights]]'', that is, rights relating to [[sexual reproduction]] and [[reproductive health]],<ref name="COOK">{{cite journal |last1=Cook |first1=Rebecca J. |last2=Fathalla |first2=Mahmoud F. |title=Advancing Reproductive Rights Beyond Cairo and Beijing |journal=International Family Planning Perspectives |date=1996 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=115–121 |doi=10.2307/2950752 |jstor=2950752 |s2cid=147688303 }}</ref> were first discussed as a subset of human rights at the United Nation's 1968 International Conference on Human Rights.<ref name="FREEDMAN">{{cite journal |last1=Freedman |first1=Lynn P. |last2=Isaacs |first2=Stephen L. |title=Human Rights and Reproductive Choice |journal=Studies in Family Planning |date=1993 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=18–30 |doi=10.2307/2939211 |jstor=2939211 |pmid=8475521 }}</ref>

==== Abortion ====

[[File:Black March in support of abortion rights, Łódź October 2nd 2016 33.jpg|thumb|right|Access to abortion services varies considerably throughout the world, with the status of related rights being an active and major political topic in many nations.]]

Women's reproductive rights may be understood as including the right to easy access to a safe and legal abortion. [[Abortion law]]s vary from a full prohibition (the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Malta, Nicaragua, the Vatican)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/aug/22/chile-abortion-bill-michelle-bachelet-a-triumph-of-reason-ease-abortion-ban|title='A triumph of reason': Chile approves landmark bill to ease abortion ban|last=Kozak|first=Piotr|date=2017-08-22|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-06-17|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> to countries [[Abortion in Canada|such as Canada]], where there are no legal restrictions. In many countries where abortion is permitted by law, women may only have limited access to safe abortion services. In some countries, abortion is permitted only to save the pregnant woman's life, or if the pregnancy resulted from rape or [[incest]].<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=2016-04-15|title=World Abortion Policies 2013|url=http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/policy/WorldAbortionPolicies2013/WorldAbortionPolicies2013_WallChart.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415084202/http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/policy/WorldAbortionPolicies2013/WorldAbortionPolicies2013_WallChart.pdf|archive-date=2016-04-15|access-date=2019-07-09|website=}}</ref>
There are also countries where the law is liberal, but in practice it is very difficult to have an abortion, due to most doctors being [[conscientious objectors]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/11/italian-gynaecologists-refuse-abortions-miscarriages|title=Seven in 10 Italian gynaecologists refuse to carry out abortions|last1=Duncan|first1=Stephanie Kirchgaessner Pamela|date=2016-03-11|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-06-17|last2=Nardelli|first2=Alberto|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|last3=Robineau|first3=Delphine}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2017/02/14/doctors-refusal-to-perform-abortions-divides-croatia-02-13-2017/|title=Doctors' Refusal to Perform Abortions Divides Croatia|date=2017-02-14|website=Balkan Insight|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-17}}</ref> The fact that in some countries where abortion is legal it is ''[[de facto]]'' very difficult to have access to one is controversial; the UN in its 2017 resolution on ''Intensification of efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls: domestic violence'' urged states to guarantee access to "safe abortion where such services are permitted by national law".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/71/170|title=United Nations Official Document|publisher=United Nations|access-date=2019-06-17}}</ref>

The [[Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women]] considers the criminalization of abortion a "violations of women's [[sexual and reproductive health and rights]]" and a form of "gender based violence"; paragraph 18 of its ''General recommendation No. 35 on gender based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19'' states that: "Violations of women's sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as forced sterilizations, forced abortion, forced pregnancy, criminalisation of abortion, denial or delay of safe abortion and post abortion care, forced continuation of pregnancy, abuse and mistreatment of women and girls seeking sexual and reproductive health information, goods and services, are forms of [[violence against women|gender based violence]] that, depending on the circumstances, may amount to torture or cruel, [[inhuman or degrading treatment]]."<ref name="tbinternet.ohchr.org"/> The same ''General Recommendation'' also urges countries at paragraph 31 to [...] In particular, repeal:
a) Provisions that allow, tolerate or condone forms of gender based violence against women, including [...] legislation that criminalises abortion".<ref name="tbinternet.ohchr.org"/>

According to [[Human Rights Watch]], "Abortion is a highly emotional subject and one that excites deeply held opinions. However, equitable access to safe abortion services is first and foremost a human right. Where abortion is safe and legal, no one is forced to have one. Where abortion is illegal and unsafe, women are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term or suffer serious health consequences and even death. Approximately 13% of maternal deaths worldwide are attributable to unsafe abortion—between 68,000 and 78,000 deaths annually."<ref name="hrw">{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/women/abortion.html |title=Human Rights Watch: Women's Human Rights: Abortion |date=12 November 2008 |access-date=9 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112153841/http://www.hrw.org/women/abortion.html |archive-date=12 November 2008 }}</ref> According to Human Rights Watch, "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."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/americas/argentina0605/ |title=Q&A: Human Rights Law and Access to Abortion |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=30 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081114110907/http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/americas/argentina0605/ |archive-date=14 November 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/americas/argentina0605/#issue |title=Q&A: Human Rights Law and Access to Abortion |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=30 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081114110907/http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/americas/argentina0605/#issue |archive-date=14 November 2008}}</ref> African American women are five times more likely to have an abortion than a white woman.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2008/08/abortion-and-women-color-bigger-picture|title=Abortion and Women of Color: The Bigger Picture|date=2008-08-13|publisher=Guttmacher Institute|access-date=2017-11-22|language=en}}</ref>

The [[Catholic Church]] and many other [[Christianity|Christian faiths]], particularly those considered the [[Christian right]], and most [[Judaism and abortion|Orthodox Jews]] regard abortion not as a right, but as a [[moral evil]] and a [[mortal sin]].<ref>Catechism of the Catholic Church 2271.</ref>

Russia was the first country to legalise abortions and offer free medical care in state hospitals to do so. After the [[October Revolution]], the Women's wing of the [[Bolshevik]] Party (the Zhenotdel) persuaded the Bolsheviks to legalise abortion (as a 'temporary measure'). The Bolsheviks legalised abortion in November 1920. This was the first time in world history that women had won the right to free abortions in state hospitals.<ref name="Porter 1987 43"/>

==== Abuse during childbirth ====
{{Main|Abuse during childbirth}}
[[Abuse during childbirth|The abuse of women during childbirth]] is a recently identified global problem and a basic violation of a woman's rights.<ref name = who1>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/maternal_perinatal/statement-childbirth/en/|title=Prevention and elimination of disrespect and abuse during childbirth|publisher=World Health Organization|access-date=3 August 2017}}</ref><ref name = who2>{{cite web | url = http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/134588/1/WHO_RHR_14.23_eng.pdf?ua=1&ua=1 | title = The prevention and elimination of disrespect and abuse during facility-based childbirth | access-date = 3 August 2017 | publisher = World Health organization }}</ref> Abuse during childbirth is the [[neglect]], [[physical abuse]] and lack of respect during [[childbirth]]. This treatment is regarded as a violation of woman's rights. It also has the effect of preventing women from seeking [[pre-natal care]] and using other health care services.

==== Child marriage ====
{{Main|Child marriage}}
[[File:2007 - 2012, Adolescent birth rate per 1000 women world map.svg|thumb|250px|Birth rates per 1,000 women aged 15–19 years, worldwide]]
Child marriage is a practice which is widespread across the world, and is often connected to poverty and gender inequality. Child marriage endangers the [[reproductive health]] of young girls, leading to an increased risk of complications in pregnancy or childbirth. Such complications are a leading cause of death among girls in developing countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unfpa.org/child-marriage|title=Child marriage|website=unfpa.org|language=en|access-date=2019-06-17}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceD">{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/child_marriage_20130307/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314073138/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/child_marriage_20130307/en/|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 March 2013|title=WHO {{!}} Child marriages: 39 000 every day|website=WHO|access-date=2019-06-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/child-marriage/|title=Child marriage|website=UNICEF DATA|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-17}}</ref>

==== Forced pregnancy ====
{{Main|Forced pregnancy}}
Forced pregnancy is the practice of forcing a woman or girl to become [[pregnant]], often as part of a [[forced marriage]], including by means of [[bride kidnapping]], through rape (including [[marital rape]], [[war rape]] and [[genocidal rape]]) or as part of a program of breeding [[slave]]s (see [[Slave breeding in the United States]]). It is a form of [[reproductive coercion]], was common historically, and still occurs in parts of the world. In the 20th century, state-mandated forced marriage with the aim of increasing the population was practiced by some authoritarian governments, notably during the [[Khmer Rouge]] regime in [[Cambodia]], which systematically forced people into marriages ordering them to have children, in order to increase the population and continue the revolution.<ref>{{cite book | last = Anderson | first = Natalae | title = Memorandum: Charging forced marriage as a crime against humanity | url = http://www.d.dccam.org/Abouts/Intern/Natalae_Forced_marriage.pdf | publisher = Documentation Center of Cambodia | date = 22 September 2010 | access-date = 11 August 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171020153617/http://www.d.dccam.org/Abouts/Intern/Natalae_Forced_marriage.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> Forced pregnancy is strongly connected to the custom of [[bride price]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bawah |first1=Ayaga Agula |last2=Akweongo |first2=Patricia |last3=Simmons |first3=Ruth |last4=Phillips |first4=James F. |title=Women's Fears and Men's Anxieties: The Impact of Family Planning on Gender Relations in Northern Ghana |journal=Studies in Family Planning |date=March 1999 |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=54–66 |doi=10.1111/j.1728-4465.1999.00054.x |pmid=10216896 |hdl=2027.42/73927 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>