Human Rights in Childbirth (HRIC) convened its first conference in The Hague, Netherlands in 2012. The conference was in part an answer to the December 2010 decision by the European Court of Human Rights case Ternovszky v. Hungary where the court held that women have the right to choose whether or not they want to have a baby, but also how they give birth to that baby.
The conference brought together over 300 stakeholders from all over the world – including legal experts, healthcare providers, ethicists, academics, advocates and healthcare users. This was one of the first major events on this topic, and the first to convene such a diverse group of people in one space.
The conference was organised by an international team of passionate volunteers led by attorney Hermine Hayes-Klein, HRIC’s founder and first president.
Since the Hague Conference, HRIC and its network of volunteers have organised similar events in the following countries and regions:
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- The United States (2013, 2016)
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- South Africa (2015),
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- Eastern Europe (2015)
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- Western Europe (2012, 2013, 2016)
- India (2017)
More information on each conference event can be found on this website in the Events section.
In addition to its own events, Human Rights in Childbirth board members and advocates also speak regularly at conferences organised by professional organisations, international bodies and others.
