Freedom from discrimination in the enjoyment of protected human rights is ensured in every major human rights instrument. Denying women access to abortion is a form of gender discrimination. 1 Laws that ban abortion have just that effect and that purpose. Restricting abortion has the effect of denying women access to a procedure that may be necessary for their enjoyment of their right to health. Only women must live with the physical and emotional consequences of unwanted pregnancy.
Some women suffer maternity-related injuries, such as hemorrhage or obstructed labor.
Denying women access to medical services that enable them to regulate their fertility or terminate a dangerous pregnancy amounts to a refusal to provide health care that only women need. Women are consequently exposed to health risks not experienced by men. The discriminatory purpose of the restrictive abortion laws of a number of countries also bears examination. Laws that deny access to abortion, whatever their stated objectives, relegate women to their traditional roles as nurturers and mothers. The tendency to define women by their reproductive capacity remains highly prevalent throughout the world.