Reproductive rights are the legal rights and freedoms related to reproduction and reproductive health that differ in countries across the world. The World Health Organization has defined women's reproductive rights as follows:[1]
Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.
Women's reproductive rights may include some or every of these: rights to receive education on sexually transmitted disease,[2] freedoms from forced sterilizations or contraceptions, rights to menstrual health and abortion-rights movements.[3][4]
Some people that are against legalized abortion view the term "reproductive rights" as a euphemism to sway emotions in favor of abortion.[5]