he International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994 for the first time introduced the concept of Reproductive Health (RH) through a life cycle approach. Reproductive health was explained as a state of complete mental, physical and social well being in all matters of reproductive systems, its functions and processes. It means being able to have a satisfying and safe...

Synopsis – The prospect of midwifery legislation in the Canadian Province, Ontario, is investigated in light of other reproductive legislation, especially that concerning new reproductive technologies. The idea that midwifery symbolizes a woman-centered approach to birth is criticized and related to a number of reproductive issues in the hope that the lack of concern for and control by women ca...

Editorials 311 The World Health Organization defines health emergencies as sudden-onset events from naturally occurring or man-made hazards, or gradually deteriorating situations through which the risk to public health steadily increases over time. 1 In recent years, conflict, violence and disasters have brought a dramatic rise in the number of displaced people, both within and across national ...

This article discusses sexual and reproductive rights in the sense of a stance that assumes a perspective of transformations in social relations, the struggle against prejudices, the guarantee of well-being, and finally the relationship between sexuality, reproduction, and citizenship. The article then proceeds to reflect on health policy challenges in these fields, emphasizing such issues as: ...

On the wall of Mabel Bianco’s offi ce in the centre of Buenos Aires hangs a US propaganda poster from World War II, with a woman in overalls and a headscarf fl exing her muscles and proclaiming “We can do it.” It could be the motto for Bianco herself: the tenacious 64-year-old doctor is the founder and director of Argentina’s Foundation for Studies and Research on Women (La Fundación para Estud...

States have a duty under international human rights law to protect people's health. Nonetheless, while some health-related policies and laws protect basic human rights, others violate fundamental rights when they criminalize, prohibit, and restrict access to necessary health services. For example, laws and regulations related to protection of life from conception, contraception, actions of preg...

Sterilization is one of the most frequently chosen forms of contraception in the world;1 many persons who do not want to have children select this simple, safe, and effective means of avoiding unwanted pregnancy. For individuals who are mentally disabled, however, sterilization has more ominous associations. Until recently, involuntary sterilization was used as a weapon of the state in the war ...