Reproductive rights before the European Court of Human Rights: States' discretion or European supervision?

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1.2. Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights 
 
Article 8 of the ECHR reads as follows: 
1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his 
correspondence. 
2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right 
except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in 
the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the 
country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, 
or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. 
Art. 8 § 1 mainly concerns the protection of "private life" and "family life". The 
protection of "home" and "correspondence" is tied to the concept of private life, hence 
instrumental to that purpose. Also in this case, in order to identify the beneficiaries of this 
right, the question that arises is what can be classified as private or family life. The 
jurisprudence of the Court has not given a precise definition, but instead it has adopted a case- 
by-case approach, in the light of the transformations that the society has undergone
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. 
Therefore the ECtHR has chosen an "evolutive" approach and this is confirmed by its 
wording:  
"the Convention is a living instrument which, as the Commission rightly stressed, must 
be interpreted in the light of present-day conditions"
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.  
The Court has interpreted  the concept of "private life" in a wide way, not being able to 
give a definitive and precise definition. It has classified as private life concepts such as 
collection of personal data or regulation of names by the state, issues regarding sexual life, 
situations concerning physical and moral integrity, etc
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. Indeed, it is clear from its 
jurisprudence that the Court interprets the concept of private life, not only as a matter of self-
realisation, but it equally recognises its interpersonal dimension, that implies the creation of 
                                                           
12
 See supra N. 7, p. 307. 
13
 Tyrer v. United Kingdom, Application no. 5856/72, 25 April 1978, § 31. 
14
 For an exhaustive list see: Kilkelly Ursula, Human Rights Handbooks n°1. A guide to the implementation of 
Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, 2003. Available at:    
http://www.echr.coe.int/LibraryDocs/DG2/HRHAND/DG2-EN-HRHAND-01(2003).pdf.