R.R. v. Poland
Country: PolandYear: 2011
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 27617/04
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right of access to information, Right to privacy
This case concerned access to timely prenatal examinations in order to make an informed decision whether or not to continue with a pregnancy. During her eighteenth week of pregnancy, RR’s doctor told her that her fetus might be affected by a malformation. RR informed her doctor that if further tests confirmed the malformation, she would …Read more
In the Matter of an Application by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children for Judicial Review
Country: United KingdomYear: 2009
Court: High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland, Queen's Bench Division
Citation: [2009] NIQB 92
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Health information, Informed consent, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Right to life
The law applicable to abortion and medically induced miscarriages in Northern Ireland was a 19th century law (the Offences against the Person Act 1861), which made it a crime to procure a miscarriage. Courts had interpreted this principle to decide that if a person who procured the abortion acted in good faith for the purpose …Read more
Gonzales v. Carhart
Country: United StatesYear: 2007
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: 550 U.S. 124 (2007)
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to privacy
The Respondents, doctors who performed second-trimester abortions, brought suit challenging the constitutionality of the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 (the Act). The Act banned second trimester abortions using the “intact Dilation & Extraction” (intact D&E) method in which the doctor removed the fetus intact, or largely intact, rather than breaking the fetus …Read more
James Demers v. Canada
Country: CanadaYear: 2006
Court: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Report No. 85/06, Petition P-225-04, October 21, 2006; OEA/Ser.L/V/II.127, Doc. 4 rev. 1, 3 March 2007
Health Topics: Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Freedom of association, Freedom of expression, Right to life
This report addresses the admissibility of a petition that alleged Canada failed to fulfill its obligations under the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man (the Declaration), including protection of the right to life, the right of special protection of women during pregnancy and the freedom of expression and dissemination of ideas. Anti-abortion …Read more
Northwestern v. Ashcroft
Country: United StatesYear: 2004
Court: 7th Circuit Court of Appeal
Citation: 362 F.3d 923 (2004)
Health Topics: Health information, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Right to privacy
The Respondent, the Attorney General of the United States, appealed a district court order quashing a subpoena that commanded Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) to produce the medical records of certain patients. The records were to be used in an upcoming suit challenging the constitutionality of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. The records contained …Read more
Stenberg v. Carhart
Country: United StatesYear: 2000
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: 530 U.S. 924 (2000)
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Medical malpractice, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to privacy
Carhart, a physician who performed abortions, brought suit challenging the constitutional validity of a Nebraska statute which prohibited non-lifesaving “partial birth abortions.” The statute defined this procedure as “deliberately and intentionally delivering into the vagina a living unborn child, or a substantial portion thereof, for the purpose of performing a procedure that the person performing …Read more
Colautti v. Franklin
Country: United StatesYear: 1979
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: 439 U.S. 379 (1979)
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Informed consent, Medical malpractice, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to privacy
The Respondents, a licensed obstetrician and several non-profit organizations, brought suit claiming that § 5(a) of the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act of 1974 (the Act) was unconstitutionally vague. Section 5(a) of the Act required every person who performed or induced an abortion to have made a determination, based on “experience, judgment or professional competence,” that …Read more