Reproductive Rights Are Human Rights Act of 2025
Reproductive Rights Are Human Rights Act of 2025 would add a formal requirement to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for the U.S. State Department to include a dedicated section on reproductive rights in the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The findings and sense of Congress emphasize that reproductive rights are human rights under international law and call for U.S. reporting to reflect this in each country’s practices and outcomes. The bill lays out specific content that must be described in each country report—ranging from access to contraception and abortion to maternal health and disparities among marginalized groups—and directs that the reporting be prepared in consultation with civil society organizations, local NGOs, and relevant U.S. government agencies. In short, the bill seeks to codify reproductive rights more explicitly in U.S. human rights reporting and, by doing so, influence policy and accountability abroad.
Key Points
- 1The bill requires a new section in the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices detailing the status of reproductive rights in each country, including access to contraception, family planning information, maternal health care, STI services, and abortion policies and post-abortion care.
- 2It mandates reporting on health outcomes related to reproduction, specifically including rates and causes of pregnancy-related injuries and deaths (including deaths from unsafe abortions).
- 3It requires reporting on discrimination, coercion, and violence related to reproductive health (including obstetric violence, coerced abortion or pregnancy, coercive sterilization, and related government responses), as well as barriers and denials of information or services.
- 4It calls for descriptions of access to modern family planning methods, barriers to such services, denials of information or services, and government actions to address these denials, with attention to marginalized groups.
- 5It requires preparation of the reports in consultation with U.S. civil society, international organizations, local NGOs, and other relevant U.S. government offices, ensuring input from those with expertise in sexual and reproductive health and rights.