Reproductive rights: the content of concept and genesis

Šiame dviejų dalių straipsnyje analizuojamas vis dažniau įvairiuose kontekstuose ir teisėje minimų reprodukcinių teisių fenomenas, pradedant pačiu šių teisių sąvokos turiniu, kuris aptariamas pirmoje straipsnio dalyje ir baigiant šios sąvokos genezės, kuri ypatingai svarbi įvertinant reprodukcinių teisių legitimumą, aptarimu antroje teksto pusėje. Šios mažai tyrinėtos, tačiau vis aktualesnės ir plačiai eskaluojamos temos apžvalga gali būti naudinga tiek akademinei, tiek plačiajai visuomenei, o labiausiai – įstatymų leidėjams.The aim of the article is to analyse the content of the concept of the so-called reproductive rights and to overview its genesis. Despite continuous intents to legitimize reproductive rights, the concept of these rights remains polemic and is often estimated as contradictory. In the first part, the authors discuss the very first contradiction that lies in the term of reproduction itself, because it reflects the views where a human being can be considered as a result of a technological process. Meanwhile, the term of procreation emphasizes the act of creation (versus production) of human being, thus, dignifying the attitude towards human person. However, due to widespread secularization tendencies the term of reproduction now seems to have been widely accepted and approved. In the second part, the authors present the overview of the genesis of the idea of reproductive rights. The apparition of the idea of reproductive rights is not only related with the progress of medicine and technology but also has its origins in the political goal to settle the right to family planning as one of the means to regulate the overpopulation of the world and to guarantee women rights to their body. Such legally non-binding documents as the report of the International Cairo Conference on Population and Development (1994) and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women (1995) still remain the most important sources of the concept of reproduction rights. However, the concept presented in these documents is considered too wide and easily politically influenced, which is confirmed by the cautious attitude of the international community towards the intent to include this concept into legally binding international treaties