Reproductive health rights refer to those rights specific to personal decision making and behaviour, including access to reproductive health information and services with guidance provided by trained health professionals.
The Ethiopian Government has endorsed all major international conventions concerning reproductive health rights, including those that are specific to adolescents and young people. For example, the Revised Family Law prohibits marriage of both boys and girls before the age of 18 years. Box 1.4 details all the rights for adolescents and young people which are applicable in Ethiopia.
Box 1.4 Reproductive health rights of adolescents and young people
- The right to information and education about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.
- The right to decide freely and responsibly on all aspects of one's sexual behaviour.
- The right to own, control, and protect one's own body.
- The right to be free of discrimination, coercion and violence in one's sexual decisions and sexual life.
- The right to expect and demand equality, full consent and mutual respect in sexual relationships.
- The right to the full range of accessible and affordable SRH services regardless of sex, creed, belief, marital status or location.
These services include:
- Contraception information, counselling and services (you will study the contraceptive options for young people in Study Session 8)
- Prenatal, postnatal and delivery care
- Healthcare for infants
- Prevention and treatment of reproductive tract infections (RTIs)
- Safe abortion services as permitted by law, and management of abortion-related complications
- Prevention and treatment of infertility
- Emergency services.