The protection of sexual and reproductive health in European human rights law: perspectives from the Council of Europe

The recent recognition of a ‘right to sexual and reproductive health’ in human rights law and the volatility of national legal safeguards on such issues (as highlighted by recent events in Europe), call for a discussion on how sexual and reproductive health is currently protected in European human rights law. This article will thus, explore whether and how human rights bodies of the Council of Europe protect individuals’ sexual and reproductive health through their monitoring procedures. It will analyse the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and that of the European Committee of Social Rights since 2000, to finally conclude whether or not these indirectly enable the recognition of a right to sexual and reproductive health in the future of the Council of Europe