KEY HUMAN RIGHTS CONSIDERATIONS RELEVANT TO GESTATIONAL AGE LIMITS

• Availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality must be central to the regulation of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.
• States may not regulate abortion in a manner that forces women to resort to unsafe abortion.
• States must take steps, including revising laws, to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, and to effectively protect women and girls from the physical and mental risks associated with resorting to unsafe abortion.
• Everyone has a right to non-discrimination and equality in accessing SRH services. For further information and sources, please refer to Box 1.2 and Web annex A: Key international human rights standards on abortion.