The Right to Freely Have Sex? Beyond Biology: Reproductive Rights and Sexual Self-Determination

Part I will briefly set out how sexual rights are approached in the national legal arena. The way the U.S. Supreme Court treats reproductive rights provides a good example as it has some analogies with the treatment of reproductive rights under international human rights law; the Court focuses primarily on the biological aspects of sexuality and has been reluctant to acknowledge rights that fall within the realm of sexual self-determination. This case study is followed in Part II by an analysis of to what extent the treaty bodies of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (“ICESCR”) and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW”) consider women’s sexuality in connection with the reproductive rights found in the respective treaties and to what degree these comments extend beyond the realm of reproductive health. I will then proceed with an evaluation of the need for a more extensive interpretation or an adjusted definition of reproductive rights in Part III.