Women endangered, says World Population Report.

• Position: United Nations Population Fund report

Denial of reproductive rights, including free choice with regard to pregnancy and childbearing, causes millions of deaths every year and much more illness and disability. Most of those affected are women in developing countries.

Gaps in reproductive health care, along with widespread discrimination and violence against women, amount to a massive violation of internationally recognized human rights, according to The State of World Population 1997, issued by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The report, focusing on the theme "The Right to Choose: Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health", documents global progress and shortcomings in ensuring reproductive rights guaranteed by human rights agreements. It recommends increased funding for reproductive health care, including family planning, along with stepped-up efforts to promote gender equality and protect individual rights.

Human rights treaties and international conference agreements recognize: rights to reproductive and sexual health throughout the life cycle; voluntary choice in marriage and childbearing, including the right to have the information and means to determine when to have children; equality and equity for men and women in all spheres of life; and freedom from sexual violence and coercion.

The State of World Population 1997 documents the effects of denying these reproductive rights:

* 585,000 women (one every minute) die each year from pregnancy-related causes, nearly all in developing countries. Many times this number of women are disabled as the result of childbirth. About 200,000 maternal deaths result from the lack or failure of contraceptive services.

* 120-150 million women who want to limit or space their pregnancies are still without the means to do so effectively. Altogether, 350 million couples lack information about and access to a range of contraceptive services.

* At least 75 million pregnancies each year are unwanted; they result in 20 million unsafe abortions, leading to 70,000 women's deaths. Many unsafe abortions could be avoided if safe and effective contraception were freely available.

* 3.1 million people were infected last year by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and 1.5 million died from HIV/AIDS-related...