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On Nov. 14 the United Nations declared contraception a universal human right. A report from the United Nations Population Fund titled State of World Population 2012 declared that “governments, civil society, health providers and communities have the responsibility to protect the right to family planning for women across the spectrum, including those who are young or unmarried.”

But what does this really mean? The U.N.’s declaration has no legal ramifications, which raises the question, “So what?”

One result of the declaration is that impeding access to contraception is now a violation of international human rights.

As Canadians, we live in a country where access to family planning is more readily available than in many other places. It is possible for us to forget that there remain countries which lack or actively deny this infrastructure.

The UNFPA report summary states that “an estimated 222 million women lack access to reliable, high-quality family planning services, information and supplies.”

Lack of access doesn’t only affect developing countries, but is prevalent in more affluent ones as well. The UNFPA’s report brings attention to the work that must continue to be done to make family planning accessible to everyone.

The declaration also acknowledges the importance of family planning to communities. Access to family planning does not help only women; it aids the communities women live in.

As the report’s summary says, “Investing in family planning helps reduce poverty, improve health, promote gender equality, enable adolescents to finish their schooling and increase labour force participation.”

Family planning and contraception are terms that still scare or offend many people. But this is largely due to misunderstanding of the terms or the misguided belief that such things seek to destroy the “traditional family structure.”

Instead, what should be focused on is the empowerment that comes with choice. The UNFPA’s report is aptly titled “By Choice, Not by Chance,” and investing in family planning gives choice to both women and men. The benefits that come with reproduction controlled by choice and not by chance, both financial and personal, far outweigh any supposed negatives.

While some will understand the declaration as a welcome step in the right direction, others will see it as an infringement of other human rights, such as the right of freedom of conscience. One of the main objections to the UNFPA’s declaration is that someone has to pay for contraception, and those paying — be they employers or government — might be opposed to the use of contraception for moral reasons. However, religion shouldn’t be the issue here. What is in question is people’s access to tools that can improve both their well-being and the well-being of those surrounding them.

The UNFPA declaration is not gender- or age-divisive, but seeks to ensure access to family planning “for all women, men and young people,” which, it asserts, “requires a multi-pronged effort: simultaneously strengthening health systems, introducing or enforcing laws that protect individuals’ rights, reducing poverty, challenging harmful traditional practices, eliminating child marriage, ending discrimination, removing logistical impediments and ensuring a broad range of supplies.”

The UNFPA declaration may not have direct legal implications, but announcing support for contraception and family planning is a vital step.

Declaring global access to contraception and family planning a human right is a strong call for more attention to be brought to the issue.

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Photo: Robertelyov/Flickr