Hammell, Hilary. “Is the Right to Health a Necessary Precondition for Gender Equality?” N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change 35 (2011): 131–93.
Annotation
This article explores several legal theories in support of mandating government funding for abortion including the right of health, right to privacy, and sex equality arguments. It proposes analyzing abortion funding cases under a legal theory that requires the government to provide access to healthcare (often referred to as “the right to health framework”). The author suggests that the right to health would promote gender equality and would demand that all pregnant individuals be able to exercise their right to an abortion, including guaranteed government funding for abortion. The author also offers a critique of using the right to privacy as a framework in guaranteeing abortion funding. She argues that the right to privacy is limited because it merely protects individuals against governmental interference, but does not oblige the government to implement abortion rights through funding and access.