WoS 110 Reproductive Rights

1. Reproductive Rights Dr. Haghighatjoo 2010

3. Reducing child mortality

4. Improving maternal health

5. Combating HIV/AIDS

7. Can she have sexual relations without fearing infection or unwanted pregnancy?

8. Can she choose whether or not to have children?

9. Can she go through pregnancy & childbirth safely?

10. Can she obtain safe contraceptives?

11. Can she access information on reproductive health?

13. State of “complete physical, mental & social well-being”; not just the “absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health Organization)

14. Reproduction:

15. process of generating offspring

16. Family planning:

19. Reproductive health problems remain the leading cause of ill health & death for women of child-bearing age (ages 15-49) (UNFPA)

21. Maternal death & disabilities

22. (see example of fistulas in West Africa, H&J)

23. Sexually transmitted infections (HIV & more)

24. Gender-based violence

26. It was acknowledged that family planning is a human right

27. Couples should be able to freely decide how many children they want and the spacing of those children

30. Not be discriminated against in the field of health care

32. Because of the intimate relationship between women’s reproductive choice and their status, power, and health

34. To make informed decisions regarding their reproductive health

37. Sepsis (systemic infection)

38. Unsafe abortion

39. Obstructed labor

40. Toxemia (hypertensive disease brought on by pregnancy)

41. Diseases

43. Deaths & disabilities due to pregnancy are preventable with greater access to contraceptives, prenatal care, & birth assisted by medical personnel.

44. The more pregnancies a woman has, the more frequently she is subjected to risks associated with pregnancy; risk are increased by having children in close succession and by having children when one is under 16 or over 35

47. Husbands, government and the global economy and international politics are players in women’s reproductive choice in term of women’s access to contraceptives

49. Some contraceptives have potentially serious side effects and without medical monitoring can endanger women’s health.

50. Norplant- a hormonal contraceptive

51. IUD

52. Media Files http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ0l9yDgN-8 http://www.pamf.org/teen/sex/birthcontrol/ring.html

54. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/

55. http://www.fgmnetwork.org/index.php

56. http://members.tripod.com/~Wolvesdreams/FGM.html

58. Refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-medical reasons

59. The most typical age is between 7 and 10 years

60. 130 million girls & women have undergone FGM

62. Prolonged labor

63. Inadequate drainage is responsible for tears (fistulae) in the tissue separating the vagina from the urinary tract and the bowel

66. Female external genitalia are dirty or ugly and that the practice is hygienic and beautifies a woman

67. An important rite of passage and initiation into womanhood

70. Incompatible with numerous international covenant such as CEDAW

71. 20 countries have passed laws against FGM and a few people have been prosecuted

72. Educational programs

74. Government: population control

75. Corporations: profit

76. Religious organizations: women socialized through religion, cultural taboos and other mechanisms to accept sexual subordination even sexual oppression.

79. Women’s enjoying sexual relations & prevention pregnancy= against sexual morality

80. Having many children is a sign of male virility

81. Manliness: Demonstrate sexual prowess by having multiple sexual partners

83. Women are often unable to negotiate the use of a condom or discuss fidelity with their partner without threat of violence

85. A woman's premarital virginity is associated with the assumption that knowledge of sex indicates that she is a bad woman; so, women often lack knowledge about their bodies and how HIV is transmitted or prevented.

87. Government family planning services that provide limited birth control options

91. 2001: G.W. Bush reinstated the Mexico City Policy also known as the “Global Gag Rule”

92. Bars U.S. family planning assistance to foreign NGOs, who w/ own funds support abortion-related activities in own country

93. USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) largest donor for all contraceptive supplies

94. Impacts?

96. Governments often control women’s reproduction in the name of social needs or national interests

97. Governments & population control? Pronatalist & antinatalist / birth rate

99. They are motivated primarily by profit, not by concerns about women’s reproductive choice or health

100. Research & development costs down

101. Emphasize benefits and downplay side effects and risks

102. ex. Depo-Provera – presented incomplete information

103. Aggressively market contraceptives to government-run population control programs with the goal of monetary profit

105. Favor traditional roles for women

109. Half of unintended pregnancies end in abortion (52 million annually)

110. Restricting legal abortion does not reduce the incidence of abortion

111. Legality does influence the safety of abortion and reduce mortality rates

115. The laws threaten women’s rights to autonomy in reproductive decision making since women are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies

116. Threaten women’s right to physical and mental health

117. Constitute a form of discrimination against women since they criminalize a procedure only women need

119. They would prefer a dramatic reduction in the number of unwanted pregnancies

120. They favor of increasing the availability of contraceptives and reproductive health education

121. Higher abortion rates are most strongly tied to lack of contraceptive information and availability