Center for Reproductive Rights

Laureate Profile

The Center for Reproductive Rights is committed to the right of all women to decide whether and when to have children, the freedom to exercise that right, and access to the best reproductive healthcare available. It seeks to eliminate national policies that either encourage or discourage childbearing, because either effectively turns women into instrumentalities of the state. Since its founding in 1992, the Center has brought important cases in this area before the courts, UN committees and regional human rights bodies. In one case, Nepal moved from viewing all abortions as illegal to viewing abortion as an affirmative right that should be available even to women lacking sufficient financial means. The Center has helped women in more than 50 countries gain greater access to birth control, safe abortion, prenatal and obstetric care and reliable information about reproductive health and human rights.