Reproductive rights refer to rights in the areas of abortion, birth control, and family planning. It is a controversial term, typically used in a context supportive of the choices of pregnant women.

In relation to abortion, supporters of reproductive rights consider it misleading to say that a political leader "supports abortion", when he or she simply supports a woman's right to choose without governmental interference. The term "reproductive rights" is used to describe this position; it is thus synonymous with Pro-Choice when used in this context.

Some of those who oppose the use of the term with regards to abortion claim that such legal protection is an abuse of the term "right" and amounts to a "right to kill the innocent". They also argue that such rights are not guaranteed by a convention such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and have little or no precedent in human history. As such, the term can be considered an example of political framing, as can the more specific terms "Pro-Life" and "Pro-Choice".

It is also argued that Reproductive rights is not something that society can actually achieve, because of biological limitations of the human body. It is merely stated that the physical impossibility of a woman to self-restrict her own reproductive system, or fertility, gives an argument against an inherent rights for people to argue the case of Reproductive rights.

A further extrapolation of this argument is Reproductive responsibility which argues that women and men should take full responsibility of their actions in regards to the potential fertility of a female. An abstract argument can be derived that states:

If a female has Reproductive rights after conception, without any natural born rights of her own control, then does the male have the same choice?

The grounding is, if a female’s only ability to freely control her reproductive cycle, without responsibility, can be grounded in legal precedence alone, then surely a male can opt for the same legal representation for his own fertility, despite not having a physical ability to control it. Various 'feminist' groups have not given comment on this issue, and no legal precedent exists.

Reproductive rights also encompass opposition to compulsory sterilization