Defending reproductive rights: women's rights activists in Latin America should take to the courts.In May, a federal judge in Argentina turned the bench into a conservative bully pulpit bully pulpit n. An advantageous position, as for making one's views known or rallying support: "The presidency had been transformed from a bully pulpit on Pennsylvania Avenue to a stage the size of the world" when she called modern methods of contraception violations of women's health Women's Health Definition Women's health is the effect of gender on disease and health that encompasses a broad range of biological and psychosocial issues. and then banned the sale and production of oral contraceptives Oral Contraceptives Definition Oral contraceptives are medicines taken by mouth to help prevent pregnancy. They are also known as the Pill, OCs, or birth control pills. and intrauterine devices. The decision came when right-wing activists challenged a new law ensuring access to contraception and other reproductive health Within the framework of WHO's definition of health[1] as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene services by using a peticion de amparo--a legal mechanism that allows individuals or their representatives to bring suit when they believe their constitutional rights have been violated. Conservatives claimed that contraceptives were abortifacients that violated the constitutional protection of the right to life. The judge--a woman who has a history of ruling against reproductive rights--agreed. Unfortunately, this manipulation of the judiciary by ultra-conservative forces is not an aberration for the region. Rightwing activists in Latin America have long recognized that the courts--especially conservative judges--can be used to roll back legislation protecting women's reproductive health. For example, in Colombia and Chile conservative groups have challenged the legality of emergency contraception Emergency Contraception Definition Emergency contraception or emergency birth control uses either emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) or a Copper-T intrauterine device (IUD) to help prevent pregnancy following unprotected vaginal intercourse. , and in Mexico right-wing activists have attacked laws which permit abortion in certain circumstances. But the legal tools used by right-wing activists are also fair play for women's rights The effort to secure equal rights for women and to remove gender discrimination from laws, institutions, and behavioral patterns. The women's rights movement began in the nineteenth century with the demand by some women reformers for the right to vote, known as suffrage, and supporters, and supporters of women's rights should make use of them. Cuerpo y Derecho De`re´cho n. 1. A straight wind without apparent cyclonic tendency, usually accompanied with rain and often destructive, common in the prairie regions of the United States. : legislacion y jurisprudencia en America Latina (Body and Law: Legislation and Jurisprudence in Latin America), a report published by the Center for Reproductive Rights in Spanish and English, offers detailed insights into the-mostly conservative-interpretation of reproductive and sexual rights by courts in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. The book also includes an analysis of constitutional mechanisms that ordinary citizens can use to push the judiciary to uphold women's rights. For example, women in Colombia successfully used a mechanism of legal protection of human rights known as tutela--which can be used by anyone, including minors, to dispute a ruling before the courts--to require an employer to provide paid maternity leave and to prohibit schools from expelling pregnant students. When litigating in the national courts, women's rights supporters can draw from the extensive comments and recommendations issued by United Nations committees charged with monitoring governmental compliance with international treaties and also from regional bodies such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages – Spanish, French, and Portuguese – CIDH) is an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS). . The Center's report, Bringing Rights to Bear: An Analysis of the Work of the UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies on Reproductive and Sexual Rights, provides an invaluable tool for those working to bring their countries in line with international norms concerning sexual and reproductive rights. Argentina's Supreme Court of Justice has ruled that Argentine courts are bound by the human rights decisions issued by the Inter-American System of Human Rights, which includes both a commission and a court. Mexico recognizes international treaties it has ratified to be superior to national laws. Other countries have similar provisions incorporating international human rights law within their systems, and these can be used to advance reproductive rights at the national level. Women's rights activists This article is a list of notable women's rights activists. List
The author is the legal adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Center for Reproductive Rights. For more information, contact Luisa Cabal Cabal (kəbăl`), inner group of advisers to Charles II of England. Their initials form the word (which is, however, of older origin)—Clifford of Chudleigh, Ashley (Lord Shaftesbury), Buckingham (George Villiers), Arlington (Henry Bennet), Legal Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean Center for Reproductive Rights 120 Wall Street, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , NY 10005, USA Tel.: (1-917) 637-3603 Fax.: (1-917) 937-3666 Website: http://www.reproductiverights.org |
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