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In this article, I will present a personal journey of making sense of the experience of sibling abortion under China's Once-child Policy and transgenerational trauma related to China's Cultural Revolution in a group analysis training group. The first part of this paper will reflect on and analyse how groups helped me to claim the identity as a mourner, allowed both the presence and absence of my unborn brother to become real, and offered me reparative family relationships when I dealt with my grief. Drawing on the concept of large-group identity and transgenerational transmission, the second part of this paper will explore how experiences in groups enabled me to discover and understand the transgenerational transmission of trauma related to the Cultural Revolution in my family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a 'micro' and 'macro' level analysis, this study focuses on elements of questioning and question design in the Senate Judiciary hearing conducted for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Specifically, two lines of questioning are analyzed: that of Kamala Harris, D. California, and that of Ted Cruz, R. Texas. Through an analysis that builds heavily on prior research that uses Conversation Analysis (CA) to understand the news interview, this study attempts to expand such research to institutional talk done by politicians in Congress. The analysis portion of the paper investigates, on a 'micro' level, the linguistic elements at play in each line of questioning. In the discussion section, a 'macro' level analysis situates the findings of this paper within the broader US political climate among the public and in terms of the growing conservatism of the Supreme Court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 was commenced on 01/01/2019 in Ireland. The Act provides for legal termination of pregnancy under defined circumstances including for any reason at < 12 weeks gestation; and where two doctors agree there is 'a condition affecting the foetus that is likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before, or within 28 days of, birth'. As such, abortion for congenital anomaly (CA) can occur at a number of time points, depending on the adjudged severity. Infants born with CAs frequently require significant medical intervention and account for a high proportion of admissions to paediatric intensive care units (PICUs). The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the number of infants with CAs admitted to an Irish PICU in the period before and after the implementation of the Act. All PICU admissions < 1 month of age to a single Irish paediatric hospital between 2012 and 2021 were analysed. CAs were recorded, and the periods before and after the commencement of the Act compared. We found a difference in admissions involving CAs, particularly those related to congenital heart disease involving single ventricle anatomy. It is plausible that this difference was as a result of improved access to abortion services following the implementation of the Act. This article explores the legal conditions related to the abortion of a foetus with a CA in Ireland, and the possible impact of the Independent Review of the Operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a gap in the clinical bioethics literature concerning the approach to assessment of medical decision-making capacity of adolescents or young adults who demonstrate diminished maturity due to longstanding reliance on caregiver support, despite having reached the age of majority. This paper attempts to address this question via the examination of a particular case involving assessment of the decision-making capacity of a young adult pregnant patient who also had a physically disabling neurological condition. Drawing on concepts from adolescent bioethics and feminist critiques of bioethical theory, we argue that limited life experience, secondary to a disabling neurological condition, can result in a lack of adult-like capacity even in a patient who is legally an adult. In such cases, it may be that autonomy, to the extent that it is to be relevant and meaningful, must be viewed through a relational lens. Furthermore, clinicians may avoid unjustifiably paternalistic practices by working with the patient help her gain a better appreciation of the consequences of her decision, thereby calling forward her capacity rather than resorting to being directive in counseling. We conclude that lessons from this case can be used to approach ethically complex instances of medical decision-making in adult patients with normal cognition but diminished experiential maturity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 30 June 2021, Ohio state Governor, Mike DeWine, signed a Bill which would enact the state's budget for the next two years. In addition to its core funding imperatives, the Bill also contained an amendment significantly expanding entitlements of health care providers to conscientiously object to professional duties to provide controversial health care services. This amendment has been heavily criticised as providing the means to allow health care providers to discriminate against a wide range of persons by denying them access to often contested services such as abortion and contraception. In this paper, we examine the implications of this amendment and situate it in relation to other legislative actions intended to guarantee absolute rights to conscientious objection. In doing so, we argue that the entitlements extended to health care providers by these Bills are overly broad and ignore their potential to allow significant harm to be caused to clients. We then argue that if health care providers should have rights to conscientiously object (a question we do not try an answer here), then any legislation intended to protect such rights should be limited, specific, and parsimonious. Where it is not, the ideological liberty of HCPs treads dangerously on the physical freedom of their clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article engages with a case study situated in a public social service system in Uganda, Africa. Through case analysis, I highlight the complexities related to professional ethics in social work practice in Africa and argue that efforts to promote ethics, human rights and social justice in this context require creativity, innovation and activism to confront structural conditions that trap people in unjust circumstances. While building ethical capabilities demands grounding practice in the global social work principles, additional infusion of ubuntu ethics and African social work platforms for sharing experiences and actions are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of iconic popular culture symbols is an increasingly common strategy applied by social protest organizers. The Guy Fawkes mask from the 'V for Vendetta' comic book became a symbol of the Anonymous group, and later of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The Salvador Dalí mask, popularized in the 'La casa de papel' Netflix series, was used in street protests in Spain and Italy. Motifs taken from the HBO adaptation of 'The Handmaid's Tale' novel gained high visibility in thousands of women's protests against the introduction of the de facto abortion ban in Poland. Basing on images documenting the Polish protests published in social media, we demonstrate how popular culture symbols are transformed into cultural codes which bridge on-street and online protest actions. This connection has become crucial in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using qualitative visual content analysis, we prepared a classification of the symbols employed. Our contribution to the theory of performative protests is to reveal the importance of analogies with the political series that Polish protesters have used by means of the general connotation: Poland is Gilead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatal Fetal Anomaly (FFA) has generated international media attention as termination of pregnancy (TOP) for FFA was legislated for, for the first time in Ireland. Media offers an insight into what health-related information is available to the public and how it is presented to them. The aim of this study was to examine how information related to FFA, TOP for FFA and perinatal palliative care (PPC) were framed in Irish published media. A critical discourse analysis, which examines the relations between discourse and social and cultural phenomena was implemented. Habermasian's framework facilitated an objective analysis of the text, to facilitate interpretation and understanding of socially produced meanings. A broadsheet and journal were chosen. Dated from 2012 to 2017, 129 articles were identified. Themes of personification of the unborn, human rights and power and politics were embedded in the discourse, creating political influence to sway perceptions and views. Terminology were chosen by different ideological perspectives to create varying contexts and support arguments. PPC was suppressed within the published media. This study highlights misrepresentations in the information delivered to the public and suggests the need for healthcare professionals to expand their media literacy and develop these skills with their patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: An estimated 22,900–28,900 individuals live undocumented in Denmark, of whom many are women of reproductive age. Undocumented migrants in Denmark who are pregnant only have legal rights to health care in emergencies, which may lead to under-utilisation of antenatal care, despite the possibility of these women seeking antenatal care through informal networks. This study aimed to describe the demographics, general medical needs and prevalence of induced abortions among pregnant undocumented migrant women. Further, we aimed to investigate if the women received antenatal services as recommended, focusing on the timing of their first entry to antenatal care and the number of antenatal visits. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. We used data from medical records at a health clinic managed by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Denmark from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2017. Data regarding 679 pregnant women were included in descriptive and regression analyses. Results: The women had a mean age of 28.7 years, originated from 78 different countries and had diverse migration backgrounds. Among the 679 included women, there were 119 pregnancy-related complications. Regarding the utilisation of antenatal services, 52.6% had a late first attendance to antenatal care, and the likelihood of a late first attendance was highest among 35- to 44-year-olds. The majority (92.6%) of the women did not have the recommended number of antenatal care visits, and this was evident across all regions of origin. Logistic regression showed variation in utilisation of antenatal services according to age and region of origin. Conclusions: A quarter of the study population attended the health clinic requesting pregnancy termination. The pregnant undocumented migrants had few medical complications and predominantly attended the health clinic for antenatal care. However, some did attend the clinic with general or pregnancy-related medical conditions. Almost half of the study population had a late first attendance to antenatal care, and the vast majority did not have the recommended number of antenatal care visits. These results call for consideration as to whether health care for pregnant undocumented migrants should be formally available and free of charge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2018, the Irish government confirmed that a referendum would be held on 25 May, allowing for the Irish public to vote on the legalisation of abortion. The same month, Together for Yes – the national civil society campaign advocating for a 'Yes' vote in the referendum – was launched. This article draws upon findings from 27 in-depth interviews conducted in December 2019 and January 2020 with Irish abortion activists, to explore the moral and emotional construction of abortion within the 'Yes' campaign. This research suggests that the 'Yes' campaign, which secured 66% of the votes cast in the referendum, framed abortion as a negative affective object and constructed the moral permissibility of abortion along rather conservative lines. Data from the first year of abortion provision in the Republic of Ireland reveals that abortion seekers still face huge obstacles in accessing services in the State. The legislation introduced in January 2019 allows abortion on request only until 12 weeks, whilst issues remain in relation to the refusal of care. This article, therefore, concludes that by framing abortion in conservative terms, the pro-choice campaign has not yet succeeded in destigmatising abortion in Ireland – an issue now translated into limited legislation and inadequate provision of services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research tackles healthcare providers' experiences in conducting pre-abortion counselling sessions in circumstances where pregnant persons may request an abortion. We report on a study conducted in South Africa, in which two nurses and two counsellors were asked about how they conduct these counselling sessions. Using a synthetic narrative approach, we present these health workers' micro-narratives about their motivations for providing abortion services, the purpose of the counselling, their information-giving practices, and whether and how third parties are included in the counselling. We highlight how these micro-narratives are premised on discursive resources that problematise unintended pregnancy and abortion. These resources enable and justify directive counselling that undermines pregnant peoples' reproductive autonomy. We locate such directiveness within dominant anti-abortion discourse and call for training to reframe normative understandings of abortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]