Traversing the Journey of Acknowledging the Reproductive Rights as Human Rights

Abstract

Every individual on this planet should have rights over their bodies, moreover, they should be made capable of exercising such rights. Women, who represent 49.58% of the world population have been deprived of this insignificant right, for centuries. Furthermore, they have the right to give or even withdraw consent to embrace motherhood. But this right i.e. her reproductive right did not get any acknowledgement and discounting her desire, she has been forced to be the child bearer. Notwithstanding the growing complications in the mother’s healthor the germinating foetus, she has been impelled to carry the child in her womb. There has been a lot of struggle by women activists abutting the legalisation of abortion. Despite abortion being illegal, many health professionals continued practicing abortion surreptitiously and they had to face the wrath of authorities, like undergo imprisonment, pay fines, etc. Illegal abortion, further, created problems for such women who conceived due to sexual assault or rapeand also, for women who are experiencing parlous pregnancy with inevitable consequences on their health. The concept of reproductive rights was rarely discussed openly or publicly, but in the second wave of feminism, women had successfully endeavored to bring the issue of reproductive rights to the limelight.And, finally, it was the celebrated judgment of, the Supreme Court in Roe v Wade, which legalized abortion in the US. But the journey neither ended in the US nor elsewhere, the struggle continued in other forms along with abortion rights too.Reproductive rights have now subsumed within it surrogacy rights, maternity benefits and legislations like the Medical Termination Act; and the Surrogacy Bill. This article will give a glimpse of the journey of acknowledging reproductive rights.