right to choose

American  

noun

1. the right of a woman to have a legal abortion if she chooses to do so.

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Other Word Forms

• right-to-choose adjective

Etymology

Origin of right to choose

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

“Advertisers and their agents have a free-speech right to choose where they want to place their advertisements.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

"What I want is for the international community to clearly support the fundamental rights of Iranians: the right to choose their leaders, to express themselves freely, to live in dignity and prosperity," she said.

From Barron's • Mar. 3, 2026

“Iranians deserve, just like we do, the right to choose their own leaders.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2026

As women increasingly assert their right to choose their partners, Srivastava adds, they often encounter resistance from what she describes as "a deeply regressive social system".

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026

It was her right to be upset, her right to choose not to brush her humiliation aside in the name of an overexalted intellectualism, and she would claim that right.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie