CESCR General Comment No. 22: Sexual and Reproductive Health 

This is the first ever General Comment to focus exclusively on sexual and reproductive health. In particular, the General Comment:

• Largely frames individual autonomy and decision-making as being central to sexual and reproductive health;
• Speaks broadly about the need for safe abortion care and the elimination of restrictive abortion laws, without narrowly limiting this to specific circumstances, such as where pregnancy poses a risk to the woman’s life or health or in cases of rape or incest. This follows the trend we have seen in the Committee on the Rights of the Child and, to a lesser extent, the CEDAW Committee;
• Includes strong standards on conscientious objection, calling for states permitting conscientious objection to require referral to a provider capable and willing to provide the services, in addition to excluding the invocation of conscientious objection in urgent or emergency situations;
  Condemns a broad range of procedural barriers, including mandatory waiting periods, biased counseling, and third-party authorization (parental, spousal and judicial), and;
• Reinforces/strengthens the obligations of donor states as well as non-state actors, such as provide health care providers and health insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

UN Document: E/C.12/GC/22