International human rights conventions currently fail to protect against the inhumane separation of mothers and children. Rather than recognising the importance of the crucial mother-child dyad, international human rights law states only that “the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State”. In this context, the word “family” operates as a thinly veiled euphemism for father’s rights. Because their provisions were drafted largely by men, human rights treaties do not contain a specific prohibition on the cruel removal of children and babies from their mothers. Church and state have historically colluded to maintain patriarchal control over women’s reproduction. Although freedom to determine the number and spacing of children is now recognised as a human right, in practice women’s access to contraception and abortion services remains subject to religious, legislative and economic constraints. Less often discussed, but at least equally important, is a mother’s right to retain care of her own children once born and to have access to adequate means of support while raising them. The need for financial support leaves mothers and children susceptible to exploitation, abuse and violence. Aside from the misapplication of family laws to forcibly separate children from their mothers, women and children are increasingly commodified through pornography, prostitution and surrogacy. Increasingly, wealth is accepted as a measure of parental suitability, and contractual provisions are allowed to trump the human rights of mothers and children. A false narrative of “choice” and “consent” is relied upon to rationalise extraordinary cruelty. Greater recognition of maternal rights is required to defeat these current threats to the sex-based rights of women and girls.