Legal Definitions - forced pregnancy

Forced pregnancy describes a severe violation of human rights where an individual is made pregnant against their will and is then deliberately prevented from accessing safe and legal abortion services. This situation compels them to carry the pregnancy to term.

When this act occurs during an armed conflict and is carried out with the intent to alter the ethnic makeup of a population or commit other serious international crimes, it is recognized as a war crime by international law. Such crimes are punishable by bodies like the International Criminal Court (ICC). The United Nations (U.N.) has also highlighted that denying abortion in certain cases, such as those resulting from rape, can inflict such severe physical and psychological harm that it amounts to torture.

Key elements that define forced pregnancy as an international crime include:

• The individual is made pregnant against their will.
• They are deliberately denied access to abortion care, forcing them to continue the pregnancy.
• These actions take place in the context of an armed conflict.
• There is an intent to affect the ethnic composition of a population or commit other violations of international criminal law.

Here are some examples illustrating forced pregnancy:

• Example 1: Ethnic Cleansing During Civil War

  In the midst of a civil war, a militia group targeting a specific ethnic minority systematically abducts women from that group. These women are then subjected to sexual violence, resulting in pregnancies. The militia subsequently enforces strict control over the region, shutting down all clinics that could provide abortion services and punishing anyone attempting to seek or provide such care. Their stated objective is to "purify" the region by increasing the birth rate of their own group and diluting the targeted ethnic population.

  This scenario illustrates forced pregnancy because the women are made pregnant against their will through sexual violence, and they are then deliberately denied access to abortion care, forcing them to carry the pregnancies to term. This occurs within an armed conflict and is driven by the specific intent to affect the ethnic composition of the population, fulfilling the criteria for a war crime.

• Example 2: Ideological Control by an Insurgent Group

  During an ongoing armed insurgency, a rebel faction seizes control of several rural towns. As part of their new governance, they impose extreme social policies, including the systematic sexual assault of women and girls from the local population. They simultaneously declare all forms of abortion illegal and punishable by severe penalties, effectively trapping pregnant individuals in a situation where they have no choice but to carry the pregnancies to term. This is done to expand their group's numbers and solidify their control over the territory.

  Here, women are impregnated against their will through sexual violence by an armed group during a conflict. The group then actively prevents access to abortion, compelling them to continue the pregnancies. The intent to expand their population and control, coupled with the context of armed conflict, aligns this act with the definition of forced pregnancy as an international crime.

• Example 3: Terror and Demographic Impact in Cross-Border Conflict

  In a protracted cross-border conflict, soldiers from one nation invade and occupy villages in a neighboring country. During the occupation, they engage in widespread sexual violence against local women. Following these acts, the occupying forces establish checkpoints and patrols that specifically prevent pregnant women from leaving the occupied zone to seek medical care, including abortion services, in areas controlled by their own government. This is part of a broader strategy to demoralize the enemy population and create a lasting demographic impact.

  This example demonstrates forced pregnancy as women are impregnated through sexual violence during an armed conflict. The occupying forces then actively restrict their movement and access to healthcare, specifically preventing them from obtaining abortions. This forces them to continue unwanted pregnancies, serving as a form of terror and a demographic weapon against the enemy population, thus meeting the criteria for this international crime.