REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH DR DIGANTA BISWAS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR SCHOOL

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH DR. DIGANTA BISWAS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF LAW, CHRIST UNIVERSITY, BANGALORE.

DEFINITION OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH Reproductive health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and its functions and processes. Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. Implicit in this last condition are the right of men and women to be informed about and to have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice, as well as other methods for regulation of fertility which are not against the law, and the right of access to appropriate health-care services that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant. [Para. 72], Cairo Programme of Action, 1994. Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 2

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHT Reproductive rights began to develop as a subset of human rights at the United Nation's 1968 international conference on human rights. PROCLAMATION OF TEHERAN was the first international document to recognize one of these rights when it stated that: "parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and the spacing of their children. ” This right was affirmed by the UN General Assembly in the DECLARATION ON SOCIAL PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT, 1969 which states "the family as a basic unit of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members, particularly children and youth, should be assisted and protected so that it may fully assume its responsibilities within the community. Parents have the exclusive right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children. " The INTERNATIONAL WOMEN YEAR CONFERENCE, 1975 also echoed the proclamation of Teheran. Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 3

Access to affordable and relevant health services and to accurate, comprehensive health information are fundamental human rights. Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health. The World Health Organisation defines reproductive rights as follows: Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence. Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 4

Amnesty International has argued that the realisation of reproductive rights is linked with the realisation of a series of recognised human rights, including- § the right to health, § the right to freedom from discrimination, § the right to privacy, and § the right not to be subjected to torture or ill-treatment. Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 5

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHT OF WOMEN: A CONCEPT The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World health Organisation (WHO) advocate for reproductive rights with a primary emphasis on women’s rights. In this respect, the UN and WHO focus on a range of issues from access to family planning services, sex education, menopause, and the reduction of obstetric fistula, to the relationship between reproductive health and economic status. Unfortunately, gender-based discrimination, lack of access to education, poverty, and violence against women and girls prevent these rights from being realized for women and girls when it comes to sexual and reproductive health rights and safe motherhood. Today, the reproductive rights of women are advanced in the context of the right to freedom from discrimination and the social and economic status of women. Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 6

WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS include the followings: § the right to legal and safe abortion; § the right to birth control; § freedom from coerced sterilization and contraception; § the right to access good-quality reproductive healthcare; and § the right to education and access in order to make free and informed reproductive choices. § the right to receive education about sexually transmitted infection and other aspects of sexuality, and § protection from practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM). Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 7

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHT OF MEN Men's reproductive rights have been claimed by various organizations, both for issues of reproductive health, and other rights related to sexual reproduction. Three international issues in men's reproductive health are sexually transmitted diseases, cancer and exposure to toxins. In Dubay v. Wells, ( 506 F. 3 D 422 (6 TH CIR. , 2007) US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Case No. 06 - 11016, it was argued that in the event of an unplanned pregnancy, when an unmarried woman informs a man that she is pregnant by him, he should have an opportunity to give up all paternity rights and responsibilities. Supporters argue that this would allow the woman time to make an informed decision and give men the same reproductive rights as women. Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 8

In its dismissal of the case, the U. S. Court of appeals (sixth circuit) stated that- "Dubay’s claim that a man’s right to disclaim fatherhood would be analogous to a woman’s right to abortion rests upon a false analogy. In the case of a father seeking to opt out of fatherhood and thereby avoid child support obligations, the child is already in existence and the state therefore has an important interest in providing for his or her support. “ The U. S. Court of appeals stated that "the fourteenth amendment does not deny to the state the power to treat different classes of persons in different ways. ” Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 9

MAJOR ISSUES INVOLVING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH STERILISATION & CONTRACEPTION: Sterilization has long been a controversial topic. Although there are numerous operations which may render one sterile, vasectomy in the male and salpingectomy in the female are considered not dangerous. Regarding sterilisation, Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U. S. 438 (1972) set the precedent: “the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwarranted government intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision to bear or beget a child”. During the 20 th century, forced sterilization of Roma women in European countries, especially in former communist countries, was practiced, and there allegations that these practices continue unofficially in some countries, such as Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 10

In V. C. v. Slovakia, APPLICATION NO. 18968/07 the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of a Roma woman who was the victim of forced sterilization in a state hospital in Slovakia in 2000 and The Slovak government was ordered to pay V. C. Compensation of 31, 000 EUR and reimbursement of her legal costs. ABORTION: WHO’s global strategy on reproductive health, adopted by the world health assembly in may 2004, noted: “as a preventable cause of maternal mortality and morbidity, unsafe abortion must be dealt with as part of the MDG on improving maternal health and other international development goals and targets. " the who's development and research training in human reproduction whose research concerns people's sexual and reproductive health and lives, has an overall strategy to combat unsafe abortion that comprises four inter-related activities: Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 11

• To collate, synthesize and generate scientifically sound evidence on unsafe abortion prevalence and practices; • To develop improved technologies and implement interventions to make abortion safer; • To translate evidence into norms, tools and guidelines; and • To assist in the development of programmes and policies that reduce unsafe abortion and improve access to safe abortion and high quality post- abortion care SPERM DONATION: Laws in many countries and states require sperm donor to be either anonymous or known to the recipient, or the laws restrict the number of children each donor may father. Although many donors choose to remain anonymous, new technologies such as the internet and DNA technology have opened up new avenues for those wishing to know more about the biological father, siblings and half-siblings. Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 12

• GENDER-BASED DISCRIMINATION: The principles of equality and non-discrimination are fundamental principles on which rests the legal framework for national and international public order. The right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so and the right to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination. • VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS: Sexual violence consists of- actions with a sexual nature committed with a person without their consent, which besides including the physical invasion of the human body, may include acts that do not imply penetration or even any physical contact whatsoever. Hence, it is required to modify social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, including the development of formal and informal educational programs appropriate to every level of the educational process, to counteract prejudices, customs, and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority of women, which legitimize or exacerbate violence against women. Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 13

Dr. Diganta Biswas, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. 2/15/2022 14