ABSTRACT
Women’s ability to control whether, when, with whom, and under what conditions they will have children—in short, women’s power to control their fertility—is essential if women are to participate fully and equally in society. Women who choose to carry a pregnancy to term must have access to quality prenatal care, genetic screening and counseling, childbirth and postpartum care, and pediatric care for their children. Women must be as free to say no to sexuality, childbearing, and parenting as they are to choose these options. Women must be as free to say no to sexuality, childbearing, and parenting as they are to choose these options. All persons must be free from reproductive hazards within the environment, in their homes, and at their workplaces. Rather than attempting to repair the effects of reproductive hazards by treating infertility or disease or by banning fertile women from hazardous worksites, we must eliminate the hazards.
