Human rights and abortion laws

Human rights protections have developed to resist governmental intrusion in private life and choices. Abortion laws have evolved in legal practice to protect not fetuses as such but state interests, particularly in prenatal l ife. National and international tribunals are increasingly called upon to r esolve conflicts between state enforcement of continuation of pregnancy aga inst women's wishes and women's reproductive choices. Legal recognition tha t human life begins at conception does not resolve conflicts between respec t due to women's reproductive self-determination and due to prenatal life. Human rights protect healthcare providers' claims to conscientious objectio n, but not at the cost of women's lives and enduring health. (C) 1999 Inter national Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.