Center for Reproductive Rights

Mission Statement

The Center for Reproductive Rights (formerly the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy) is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to promoting and defending women's reproductive rights worldwide.

Reproductive freedom lies at the heart of the promise of human dignity, self-determination and equality embodied in both the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The power of law, in turn, ensures that this promise will not ring hollow. Laws and legal norms will, in the end, determine whether women will be free to decide whether and when to have children; whether they will have access to contraception, abortion, healthcare information, and safe pregnancy care; and whether they will make reproductive healthcare choices without coercion. Changing laws and legal norms does not immediately change the reality of women's lives, of course. But, when integrated with other strategies, the law is a catalyst for fundamental social change.