They are your rights, assert them

"To bring a new being into the world, a free decision"

Those of us who are going to vote wonder

¿What do POLITICAL CANDIDATES propose on this issue?

The concept of sexual and reproductive health is here to stay, as shown by the new paradigms agreed internationally by reference health organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and by the States which have introduced the recommendations derived from United Nations Conventions and Conferences, especially in the last decades of the XX century. Since the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo in 1994, the right of women to decide freely on the number and spacing of their children is acknowledged as it had never been before. This agreement undertaken by 179 countries was a marked shift in the connection between development and population, placing people at the heart of concern of development policies, questioning any demographic interest that puts human rights at risk.

In that sense, the historic maternal-child care model has been replaced by a more comprehensive conception of care focused on access to safe, affordable and effective sexual and reproductive health care services that guarantee women and men all the requirements necessary to exercise their sexuality and reproductive capacity, free from unnecessary problems. Bringing a new being into this world is, then, a free decision made by women, in agreement with their world, their life history, partners, convictions and needs, and is a right that must be acknowledged, guaranteed and respected by societies and States.

This includes having conditions that effectively enable women and their partners, when they decide to have children, to live this experience without fears, prejudices, complications and with the pleasures and responsibilities of being a parent.

Pregnancy, delivery and puerperium are stages of a process underwent by women who decide to have children during their reproductive life. It’s a process which, in most situations, shouldn’t be approached as a problem or disease, except when complications arise.

Access to information and counseling for exercising parenthood responsibly and quality care during pregnancy, delivery and puerperium, is a human right.