THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STANDARD ON ABORTION: REFLECTIONS FROM A HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE

The unsuccessful reform of the abortion law in Spain seems a good moment to discuss what the standards are in this field from the perspective of the International Law of Human Rights. The article examines the content of international legal instruments relating to the protection of human rights, both universal and regional, regarding abortion. And it also delves into the interpretation of these legal texts made by their monitoring bodies, in particular the European Court of Human Rights. This case-law implies that women hold a series of reproductive rights, which are founded on civil rights and liberties (private life; individual freedom; information) and social rights (health; welfare). Under these rights, abortion is a procedure that, without being at all desirable, is part of the reproductive options available to pregnant women, albeit with some limits. Limits derived from the potential life of the embryo or fetus, but not from an alleged "right to life" that no international court has recognized to the nasciturus.