Abortion and a Right to Health in International Law: L.C. v Peru
![handle is hein.journals/cajoincla2 and id is 665 raw text is: DOI: 10.7574/cjicl.02.03.118
Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law (2)3: 640-656 (2013)
Abortion and a Right to Health in
International Law: L.C. v Peru
Charlotte Bates'
Keywords
Abortion, international law, Latin America, reproductive rights, CEDAW, Peru
1 Introduction
In November 2011, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women decided a complaint originating from Peru. The complaint concerned a
young woman, L.C., who was denied access to a safe and legal abortion that she
required so that she could undergo urgent medical treatment. This article will
address the decision, its place in international human rights law, and its likely
impact, if any, on abortion legislation in Peru.
2 The facts
Between 2006 and 2007, when L.C. was 13-14 years old, she was repeatedly raped
by a 34-year-old man over period of several months.' She became pregnant, but
told no one. Desperate and depressed, she attempted suicide by throwing herself
off the roof of the building next to her home,2 fracturing several vertebrae and
leaving her quadriplegic. A senior surgeon concluded that her spine needed to be
realigned immediately3 to increase the chances of future mobility.4 The surgery
was scheduled for 12 April 2007.5
LLM, University of Birmingham. I would like to thank Professor Sonia Harris- Short for reading
parts of this article as part of my Masters thesis, and for encouraging me to pursue this research.
Center for Reproductive Rights, L.C. v. Peru (UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimina-
tion against Women)' <http://reproductiverights.org/en/case/lc-v-peru-un-committee-on-the-
elimination-of-discrimination-against-women> [accessed 25July 2013].
2 Ibid.
Ibid.
4 Human Rights Watch, My Rights, and My Right to Know: Lack of Access to Therapeutic Abortion in
Peru (2008), paras 15-16.
LC v Peru, C/50/D/22/2009 (4 November 2011) (CEDAW), para 2.1.
Copyright a the Author(s).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/cajoincla2&div=59&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Abortion and a Right to Health in International Law: L.C. v Peru
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most