State of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes.
Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capacity to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. Implicit in this last condition are the following: the rights of women and men to be informed; to have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning, including methods for regulation of fertility, which are not against the law; and the right of access to appropriate healthcare services to enable women to have a safe pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant. Reproductive health is a component of reproductive rights.
International Conference on Population and Development – ICPD (1994). Program of Action. UN Doc. A/CONF.171/13 1994, Chap. 7. A.
The concepts and definitions found in this glossary were published in 2016, and some may be out-of-date. EIGE is currently looking into which terms may need to be updated in the future.