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10 B.U. Int'l L. J. 351 (1992)
Involuntary Contraceptive Measures: Controlling Women at the Expense of Human Rights

handle is hein.journals/builj10 and id is 357 raw text is: INVOLUNTARY CONTRACEPTIVE MEASURES: CONTROLLING WOMEN AT THE EXPENSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS INTRODUCTION As the country considers the Supreme Court's reluctance to overturn Roe v. Wade,' politicians are trying to find ways other than restricting abortion rights to regulate the reproductive freedom of women. In addition to restric- tions on abortion availability, coercive methods of securing consent for the female contraceptive implant Norplant are cropping up in state legislatures and in courtrooms. Numerous bills introduced by senators and representa- tives from several states would force the contraceptive Norplant on female child abusers, drug abusers or welfare recipients. If successful, these attempts to control the use of contraceptives by women would violate United States constitutional standards and international human rights standards. Part I of this Note will discuss the history of procreation, contraception, and abortion rights in the United States, focusing on the mid-1960s to the 1990s. The development of these reproductive rights culminated in 1973 with Roe v. Wade. Beginning with the abortion funding cases of the 1980s, abortion rights have slipped in a slow erosion process, but this slippage has not extended to the contraceptive and procreative rights enjoyed by women. In Part II, an introduction to Norplant's use, history, and dangers will explain the new contraceptive. This section will reveal the questionable and as yet incomplete testing of Norplant. Part II will also discuss the contro- versial uses to which some lawmakers and judges hope to put Norplant. Part III will present the global issues of reproductive rights, including the international agreements aimed at protecting the safety and rights of women. The current state of reproductive rights and restrictions will be evidenced through customary international law. Part IV will discuss the reasons why forcing women to use Norplant against their will is a breach of international and United States constitutional standards. Women who are involuntary users of Norplant implants through offers of money or court-mandated probation conditions are denied their right to autonomy, to non-discriminatory practices, and to freedom to make their own decisions regarding reproductive capabilities. At the outset, it is important to define which groups of women are invol- untary users of Norplant and how the terms coerced and forced tend to 1 410 U.S. 113 (1973). The Supreme Court struck down a Texas statute that prohibited abortions by applying the Constitution's right of personal privacy, specifically using the Fourteenth Amendment's concept of personal liberty. Roe is generally understood as providing a constitutional right to choose abortion. 351

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