 ‘Abortion is healthcare’: the promise and pitfalls of framing abortion under the right to healthZoe L. Tongue Chapter 7 in Research Handbook on Human Rights Law and Health, 2025, pp 159-180 from Edward Elgar Publishing Abstract: This chapter explores the framing of abortion as a public health issue within the international human rights framework. While this framing has enabled evolving human rights standards on abortion and has propelled the legalisation of abortion in some jurisdictions, it also limits state obligations to legalise and provide access to abortion services. In this chapter, I explore and challenge the assumptions underpinning the public health approach – namely, abortion is best placed within medical institutions. Self-managed abortion using abortion pills is safe and effective and does not only occur where abortion is legally prohibited; for many people, self-management is a preferable alternative to facility-based abortion. I therefore conclude by advocating for a ‘de-medicalised’ approach to abortion under the right to health, aimed at supporting access to abortion outside of legal and medical regulation and requiring states to make available accessible, affordable, and quality abortion services. Keywords: Abortion; Reproductive rights; Public health; The right to health; Self-managed abortion; De-medicalisation (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:21796_8 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.