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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]

The victory of Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election was a victory for a new form of US political conservatism that emphasized both social and economic issues. Abortion was paramount among these new social issues, and opponents of abortion supported Reagan with the belief that he would work vigorously to overturn Roe v. Wade. Less than six months after Reagan’s inauguration, the national anti-abortion movement was vociferously condemning the President over the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to the Supreme Court. This article explores the nature of the passionate reaction to O’Connor and the fragility of the coalition that opposed her. Anti-abortionists were deeply troubled by the realization that their access and symbolic capital did not translate into influence, and were shocked that abortion was not a litmus test for their ‘pro-life President.' The article argues that the relationship between the right-to-life movement, the Reagan administration, and the Republican Party was often fraught, contested, and precarious. In Reagan’s first year in office, the place of the right-to-life movement in the new conservatism of the 1980s was remarkably uncertain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women negotiate gendered discourses of reproductive agency in resolving unplanned pregnancies. Invoking an intersectional lens, this paper examines how these discursive dynamics differentiate across social class in the Global South context of the Philippines. Utilizing a novel mixed methods strategy, we triangulate quantitative findings from a Q sort task and qualitative accounts of pregnancy resolution to identify classed discourses of reproductive agency as (a) reclaiming maternal virtue and (b) asserting autonomous choice. Statistical analysis reveals significant discursive divergence across class, wherein working-class women primarily adopt maternal virtue discourses while middle-class women disproportionately subscribe to autonomous choice. Interpretative analysis of women's accounts complicates this bifurcated characterization by surfacing the diverse ways by which women negotiate both discourses in narratives of abortion and carrying to term. We discuss our contributions to the literature in terms of multilevel theoretical engagement with classed complexity in gendered issues like reproductive agency as well as innovating mixed methods in intersectional research. We conclude with reflections on advancing reproductive justice, especially in Global South societies like the Philippines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between February 2012 and March 2015, the claim that sex selection abortion was taking place in Britain and that action needed to be taken to stop it dominated debate in Britain about abortion. Situating an analysis in sociological and social psychological approaches to the construction of social problems, particularly those considering “feminised” re-framings of anti-abortion arguments, this paper presents an account of this debate. Based on analysis of media coverage, Parliamentary debate and official documents, we focus on claims about grounds (evidence) made to sustain the case that sex selection abortion is a British social problem and highlight how abortion was problematised in new ways. Perhaps most notable, we argue, was the level of largely unchallenged vilification of abortion doctors and providers, on the grounds that they are both law violators and participants in acts of discrimination and violence against women, especially those of Asian heritage. We draw attention to the role of claims made by feminists in the media and in Parliament about “gendercide” as part of this process and argue that those supportive of access to abortion need to critically assess both this aspect of the events and also consider arguments about the problems of “medical power” in the light of what took place. [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]

The issue of sexuality and human rights has generated increasing international attention in recent years. This is particularly the case in societies emerging from chronic ethnonationalist conflict, where scholarly debates on the impact of ethnonationalism on sexual rights, such as abortion and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people (LGBT), generate much controversy and division. It is with this disagreement in mind that this paper focuses on the influence of ethnonationalism on attitudes towards the legalisation of same-sex marriage and abortion. Using nationally representative data from Northern Ireland, the results suggest that while ethnonational identity is a significant positive determinant of attitudes towards same-sex marriage within both the Catholic population and among supporters of their main political party (Sinn Féin), it is also a key negative predictor of attitudes to abortion, albeit solely among Sinn Féin supporters. [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]

Through an analysis of archival documents and the published writings of experts, this paper explores the relationships between the emerging field of sexology, the state, and the Catholic Church in post-1956 Poland, as these relationships play an important role in the history of sexuality under state socialism. In the period in question, experts in sexuality, mainly medical doctors, focused on how to improve sexual relations within marriage. They developed a notion known as the 'culture of sexuality' based on progressive values such as equality, rationality, and psychological health. Experts drew a connection between an improvement in people's marital sex lives and the health and welfare of both society and the nation. The Party-State supported these developments and also used them to their advantage in their political struggle with the Catholic Church. However, the experts' proposal to restrict access to abortion (in 1961) was met with decisive resistance on the part of the Party-State. [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]

Genetics holds the key to understanding normal human biology and possibly many of the major causes of human disease and impairment. Research into human developmental genetics seems, therefore, to be both necessary and justified. However, such research requires the use of embryonic and fetal tissue obtained from spontaneous abortions and elective termination of pregnancy. This paper examines the arguments in favour of using tissue from elective terminations and the evolution of regulatory frameworks for this research. The paper argues that the recent statutory and regulatory reforms in the UK have not properly addressed the issue of ethically obtaining postimplantation human embryos for research. It is argued that the recent reforms have left the Polkinghorne guidelines untouched but that these are now unequal to the task. A practical suggestion for reform of the approach to the informing and consent of potential donors is offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the ways in which young women articulated strategies of resistance to internalised abortion stigma. It does so through secondary analysis of young women’s narratives from two qualitative studies in England and Wales. Whilst participants felt stigmatised by their abortion[s] in different ways, many also resisted stigmatisation. They did this through different stigma resistance strategies that were shaped by a number of different interactions: their socio-economic situations, family and relationships contexts, the circumstances in which they became pregnant, and their beliefs and values with respect to abortion and motherhood. Being able to construct their abortion decision as morally sound was an important element of stigma resistance. Although socio-cultural norms and values on abortion, reproduction, and motherhood were shown to constrain women’s reproductive choices, these norms were all open to challenge. The women were more likely to struggle with their abortion decision-making when they had internalised negativity around abortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I highlight key differences between a discourse analytic approach to women’s accounts of abortion and that taken by the growing body of research that seeks to explore and measure women’s experiences of abortion stigma. Drawing on critical analyses of the conceptualisation of stigma in other fields of healthcare, I suggest that research on abortion stigma often risks reifying it by failing to consider how identities are continually re-negotiated through language-use. In contrast, by attending to language as a form of social action, discursive psychology makes it possible to emphasise speakers’ capacity to construct “untroubled” (i.e. non-stigmatised) identities, while acknowledging that this process is constrained by the contexts in which talk takes place. My analysis applies these insights to interviews with women concerning their experiences of having an abortion in England. I highlight three forms of discursive work through which women navigate “trouble” in their accounts of abortion, and critically consider the resources available for meaning-making within this particular context of talk. In doing so, I aim to provoke reflection about the discursive frameworks through which women’s accounts of abortion are solicited and explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abortions in general, and second trimester abortions in particular, are experiences which in many contexts have limited sociocultural visibility. Research on second trimester abortion worldwide has focused on a range of associated factors including risks and acceptability of abortion methods, and characteristics and decision-making of women seeking the procedure. Scholarship to date has not adequately addressed the embodied physicality of second trimester abortion, from the perspective of women’s lived experiences, nor how these experiences might inform future framings of abortion. To progress understandings of women’s embodied experiences of second trimester abortion, we draw on the accounts of 18 women who had recently sought second trimester abortion in Scotland. We address four aspects of their experiences: later recognition of pregnancy; experiences of a second trimester pregnancy which ended in abortion; the “labour” of second trimester abortion; and the subsequent bodily transition. The paper has two key aims: Firstly, to make visible these experiences, and to consider how they relate to dominant sociocultural narratives of pregnancy; and secondly, to explore the concept of “liminality” as one means for interpreting them. Our findings contribute to informing future research, policy and practice around second trimester abortion. They highlight the need to maintain efforts to reduce silences around abortion and improve equity of access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, abortion rates have been falling for several decades while attitudes have remained relatively stable. Given this background, this paper examines the current status of the fluid and contentious US abortion debate. Five relevant questions are examined: (1) What is responsible for the new wave of restrictive laws and what are their effects? (2) What is most likely responsible for changes in abortion rates? (3) What are the effects of the addition of medication abortion into the mix of abortion services? (4) What forces continue to fuel economic, geographic and racial/ethnic disparities in access to abortion services? (5) Why have gay rights been embraced by a majority of the US public and supported in legislation and judicial decisions, while during this same time period abortion rights have stagnated or declined? It is crucial for feminists to continue to promote the cause of abortion and other reproductive rights. Most important, however, is a focus on broader social issues for women (e.g., adequate education, affordable day care) and the underlying causes of unequal power in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obstetric ultrasound is key to opposing ways of valuing foetuses, that is, both to the ascription of foetal personhood and to foetal selection and termination of pregnancy. Whilst ultrasound images are increasingly common within the public sphere there has been relatively little public discussion of its role in identifying actual or potential foetal anomaly and the consequences of this. This paper examines how professionals working with obstetric ultrasound encounter, navigate and make sense of the different uses of this technology. Professionals commonly delineate their work (as providing information) from women’s autonomous choices. Emphasising “women’s choice” can obscure consideration of different collective ways of valuing foetuses with anomalies. It can also deflect consideration of the fundamentally ambiguous information that ultrasound can produce. Distinguishing information from choice is underpinned by a questionable fact–value distinction. We describe alternate professional practices which involve questioning these binaries and foregrounding clinicians’ responsibilities for women’s current and future experience. Public discussion of ultrasound’s different roles in valuing foetuses would be enriched if the discourses and practices shaping professionals’ attempts to facilitate ethical decision-making were included for collective consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an introduction to the articles published in the April 01, 1976 issue of the periodical "International Social Work." One article deals with some general or even universal issues of welfare analysis and welfare practice. Another article addresses generic social work practice, emanating from the Australian experience but potentially useful in all parts of the world where the movement toward generic social work is increasing. One article deals with the world wide problem of the under-use of women in social development. An article reports on social welfare problems, practices and issues in several parts of Asia, India and Hong Kong. Finally, one article describes and compares abortion policies and practices in China and the Soviet Union. But there is still to discover about existing and emerging welfare policies, programs and practices in countries of Africa and Asia.

Until recently, Northern Ireland was infamous for having one of the most restrictive legal frameworks for abortion in Europe. This meant that few were performed in the country, and those who wished to terminate a pregnancy were forced to travel to other parts of the UK or further afield. In 2019 a continuing political stalemate in Northern Ireland has indirectly resulted in the relevant legislation recently being repealed by the UK government. For a short time, this meant that the legal position in Northern Ireland regarding abortion became one of the most permissive in Europe. This short paper sets out the current position and, in the light of the political and legislative roadmap set out by the Northern Ireland Office, identifies and briefly discusses some potential problems that might arise. Most notable are the points raised with regard to conscientious objection. Specifically, the potential for developments in Northern Ireland to further calls for healthcare professional's ability to rely upon conscientious objection to be removed. [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]

This article argues that the concept of personhood is intrinsically relational and that a relational understanding of created personhood can be derived from divine personhood and understood systematically in relation to itself, the pre-personal world and to other persons. Insofar as this set of three relationships is understood to be dislocated by sinful self-enclosedness in the penultimate reality and standing in contradiction to the ultimate reality retrospectively constituting it, the article suggests that all created personhood at present could be called ‘potential’ personhood. The article then examines the concept of personhood maintained by Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva in their recent paper on ‘after-birth abortion’ in comparison to Johannes Fischer’s discussion of embryonic stem cell research and personhood. In response to both, the article concludes that it is not possible at present for humans to make a concrete external identification of the divine relation that internally constitutes created personhood. As a result, the article proposes adopting a veil of ignorance with reference to the status of embryonic personhood, as it would be worse to deny the status of personhood to an actual person than to attribute personhood to a non-person. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Active ending of the life of a newborn baby is a crime. Yet its clandestine practise is a reality in several European countries. In this paper, we defend the necessity to institute a proper legal frame for what we define as active neonatal euthanasia. The only legal attempt so far, the Dutch Groningen protocol, is not satisfactory. We critically analyse this protocol, as well as several other clinical practises and philosophical stances. Furthermore, we have tried to integrate our opinions as clinicians into a law project, with the purpose of pinpointing several issues, specific of perinatality that should be addressed by such a law. In conclusion, we argue that the legalisation of neonatal euthanasia under exceptional circumstances is the only way to avoid all the “well-intentioned” malpractices associated with ending life at the very dawn of it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper offers an analysis of the book reviews published about the 1973 book Experience with Abortion: A case study of North-East Scotland , a volume edited by Gordon Horobin. The paper sets the scene at the time of publication of Experience with Abortion , and includes abortion as a societal issue, the 1967 Abortion Act and the role of the MRC Medical Sociology Unit in Aberdeen. The reviews were analysed using content analysis. Considering the controversy of abortion in the early 1970s, it is interesting that the book reviews were overwhelmingly positive towards both Experience with Abortion and the need for high quality social science research in this field. Several reviews highlighted the importance of having someone like Sir Dugald Baird in Aberdeen and of the Aberdeen-based Medical Research Council's (MRC) Medical Sociology Unit. Nearly 40 years later, abortion has disappeared off the sociology and social policy agenda, at least in the United Kingdom (UK) and Horobin's legacy in medical sociology appears to be in areas other than abortion or reproductive health more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feminist STS analyses of contemporary reproductive medicine have illustrated the proliferation of practices that position fetuses as individual subjects, and have highlighted the major implications of such practices for pregnant women. In an attempt to challenge medicine’s claims to ‘know’ the fetus, this body of literature has also demonstrated the renegotiable basis of pregnant/fetal subjectivity, using detailed empirical analyses of the practices through which particular pregnant and fetal subjects emerge in particular contexts. In this paper I contribute to this endeavour utilizing an empirical case study of an important, but neglected aspect of reproductive healthcare: the demarcation of temporal thresholds on abortion provision in the absence of diagnosed fetal abnormality. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with Scottish health professionals, I explore the discursive practices through which they demarcate ‘later’ abortion as a problematic decision. I argue that such practices are intimately dependent on particular co-constructions of temporality and pregnant/fetal subjectivity, and support this argument with reference to the counter-representations of the gestational timing of abortion that emerge from a minority of health professionals’ accounts. I suggest that, collectively, this body of data illustrates the opportunities that (re)presenting temporality would afford those engaged in attempts to foster the construction of less oppressive pregnant/fetal subjectivities. My broader aim is to illustrate the insights that feminist theorizations of pregnant/fetal subjectivity gain from explicit engagement with another important theme of contemporary STS scholarship, namely, the constitutive role played by representations of temporality in technoscientific innovation and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper aims to explicate those factors accountable for the continuing imbalance in the sex ratio and its further masculinization over the whole of the 20th century. Here it is contended that the traditional practice of female infanticide and the current practice of female foeticide in the contemporary period, especially in the north-west and Hindi-speaking states, have significantly contributed to the high masculinity ratio in India. In addition, increasingly higher survival ratios of male children, particularly from the 1951 census onward, have been the prime reason for a declining proportion of females in the Indian population. As the Indian value system has been imbued with a relatively higher preference for sons, improvements in health facilities have benefited males more than females, giving rise to a highly imbalanced sex ratio in the country. This scenario, however, has steadily tended to alter in favour of greater balance in sex ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Analysis of US hate crime legislation reveals a significant overall trend involving: (1) the inclusion of a notion of hate motivation on the part of the offender; (2) the provision for enhanced penalties; and (3) the identification of particular victimized groups who are listed in state and federal hate crime statutes. Whether or not a person is recognized as a hate crime victim in US statutes has been shown to be heavily influenced by the strength of social movements based on politicized identities. It is argued that this alignment problematizes the position of victims who are the targets of hate crimes yet who fail to organize on the basis of identity politics, lack political clout, have insufficient moral status, or who see hate crime legislation as an ineffective way of dealing with their particular concerns. This paper examines the barriers to achieving hate crime victim status for persons who are targeted because of their occupations or sexual orientation. The specific examples I will use are doctors and other workers in abortion clinics, sex workers and paedophiles. These widely disparate groups have been selected as examples to highlight some of the moral status, politicized identity and social movement and lobbying strength issues that are currently involved in being recognized as a victim of hate in the US. It is argued that Australia should not proceed down the track of introducing hate crime legislation. Hate crime legislation is the source of serious social disquiet and acrimony in the US. There are inequities built into the alignment between proving hate intent and the enhanced penalty approach that involve giving higher symbolic status to some bodies and not others. As the experience in the US shows, this has a dangerous potential to undermine social cohesion and community faith in equality before the law as well as creating a breeding ground of resentment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I argue that the conscience clause around abortion provision in England, Scotland and Wales is inadequate for two reasons. First, the patient and doctor are differently situated with respect to social power. Doctors occupy a position of significant moral and epistemic authority with respect to their patients, who are vulnerable and relatively disempowered. Doctors are rightly required to disclose their conscientious objection, but given the positioning of the patient and doctor, the act of doing so exploits the authority of the medical establishment in asserting the legitimacy of a particular moral view. Second, the conscientious objector plays an unusual and self-defeating moral role. Since she must immediately refer the patient on to another doctor who does not hold a conscientious objection, she becomes complicit, via her necessary causal role, in the implementation of the procedure. This means that doctors are not able to prevent abortions, rather, they are required to ensure that they are carried out, albeit by others. Since removing the disclosure and referral requirements may prevent patients from accessing standard medical care, the conscience clause should instead be revoked, and those opposed to abortion should be encouraged to select other specialities or professions. This would protect patients from judgement, and doctors from complicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debate persists over the place of conscience in medicine. Some argue for the complete exclusion of conscientious objection, while others claim an absolute right of refusal. This paper proposes that claims of conscientious objection can and should be permitted if they concern kinds of actions which fall outside of the normative standard of medicine, which is the pursuit of health. Medical practice which meets this criterion we call medicine qua medicine. If conscientious refusal concerns something consonant with the health-restoring aims of medicine, it entails a desertion of professional duty. If, however, it relates to something other than medicine qua medicine, it can rightly be refused. It thus becomes possible to test instances of conscientious objection to determine their validity, and thereby conserve both the principle of conscientious objection and define its scope. This test of conscience prevents arbitrary discrimination, and preserves doctors’ agency. It is a theoretical razor rooted in the practical reasoning of medicine whose operation will prompt, if nothing else, reflection on the goals of medicine. [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]

This paper identifies the legal and policy framework relating to the use of aborted fetuses in stem cell research and therapies and contrasts this with the collection of embryos for research. It suggests that more attention should be given to questions about the kind of consent sought by researchers from women and that there should be more transparency about how aborted fetuses are used. It reports on variability in current practices of research ethics committees and researchers and uncertainty about the guidance available to them. It argues that there is a need for wide public discussion about the policy issues relating to fetal tissue use in stem cell research and the need for clarification of the law in this area. [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]

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors related to and the consequences of the termination of pregnancy (TOP) among women who underwent the termination of pregnancy procedure at Umtata General Hospital, using Miller's (1992) abortion decision model. A convenience sampling technique was used to select the participants. Only those women who had undergone TOP at the gynaecological clinic of the hospital during November and December 2000 and were willing to talk about their experience were included. Ninety-eight women expressed a willingness to participate. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Responses were recorded using a pen-and-paper method. Data were analysed using SPSS and thematic analysis. The findings were interpreted using Miller's (1992) abortion decision model. The women who participated came from different age groups, marital status, and educational levels. The findings revealed that the women's decision to go for TOP was related to a lack of preparedness for childbearing, age, marital status, relationship problems, and lack of financial resources and support. Anticipated parental support and perceived support from friends were associated with more favourable reactions to undertaking TOP. [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]

Induced abortion is a worldwide practice and its legalisation is a persistent demand of the women's movement. Although in the academic literature there are numerous studies that address the study of fertility, nowhere near as much attention has been given to the analysis of induced abortion and its determining factors, and even less to the consideration of gender equality as a variable through which to understand it. This article focuses on the influence of gender equality on the rate of induced abortion in different European countries. To that end the authors have constructed an econometric panel data model with information from 26 European countries for the period 2006–2011. They have analysed comparative indicators of the gender gap in terms of education, employment and wages. In addition, they have taken into account sociodemographic covariables such as the average age of motherhood, the migration rate and the percentage of births to unmarried mothers in each country. Also, as contextual factors the authors used the Human Development Index and an indicator of the legislation on abortion in the countries studied, as well as the percentage of the population who identify as having religious beliefs. The results show that the induced abortion rate is conditioned not only by national legislation on abortion, but also by gender (in)equalities, specifically that as gender inequality decreases, so too does the frequency of induced abortions. These findings have clear political implications, showing as they do how improvements in the status of women, particularly with respect to their social and economic rights, impact on women's reproductive decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerned with a falling birth rate in the early 1950s, the Hungarian communist regime banned abortion and encouraged motherhood. A closer inquiry into the 1953 abortion ban and the broader cultural context of crime and policing in early communist Hungary suggests that repression alone was inadequate, as an underground abortion network provided some respite for women seeking to control their reproduction. However, the regime's pronatalist policy aligned well with the interests and biases of skilled male workers: redirecting women's efforts from productive to reproductive labor both removed them as competitors at work and returned them to their "proper", subordinate place. Internal Party documents and interviews with refugees and émigrés conducted before and after 1956 reveal that although women exerted some control over their reproduction throughout the entire period, they were thwarted as much by men's resistance to working women as by the regime's intrusive pronatalist policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the discussion of abortion in a number of US presidential and vice-presidential debates, from a scaling perspective. The interest in scales, as (co)constructed and negotiated by participants in the course of interaction, is a component of occasioned semantics. I found that, in the political debates that I examined, there are a number of different scales anchored by the contrast between 'pro-life' and 'pro-choice' positions. These are as follows: (1) Stage of pregnancy, (2) Prescribed action, (3) Special circumstances, (4) Locus of enforcement and (5) Frequency. These scales are manipulated in various ways by the candidates to make their own stances seem reasonable and moral and their opponents' unreasonable and immoral. A position may be made to appear more moderate by adding a more extreme alternative to the scale, which is then rejected ('negative upgrading'). Also, common goals (in particular, reduction of abortion frequency) may be emphasized. The debaters also use 'negative downgrading' – rejection of a more moderate position – to suggest an opponent's unreasonableness. It is noted that the availability of several scales affords various ways of formulating the reasonableness or unreasonableness of a particular position. The article continues with a close examination of an extended debate sequence, illustrating the crucial role of implicature in the manipulation of scales, the attribution of attitude, and the practice of argumentation, and the possibility of dealing with implicature within a conversation analytic framework. The discussion is, at all points, grounded in and illustrated by the actual talk of the political candidates. It is suggested that viewing specific occasions of interaction in terms of the creation and negotiation of scales can yield a unique and revealing perspective on what is taking place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large body of feminist scholarship identifies and examines modes of representing abortion, focusing on themes such as stigma and the production of an autonomous foetal subject. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of cultural representations of abortion that do not conform with, and even explicitly reference and rebuke, stigmatising and foetocentric depictions of abortion. Focusing on the Australian context and two sets of online sites—the websites of Australian abortion clinics and widely circulated pro-choice, feminist commentary on abortion—this article provides a critical reading of new, 'unapologetic' modes of representing abortion. We argue that they increase the cultural legitimacy of abortion and are therefore incredibly important, but have limitations because of their reification of the neoliberal autonomous subject. Nevertheless, we urge feminist scholars to pay more attention to discourses that presume abortion is unproblematic and beneficial to women. Scholarship on abortion has performative effects, and we hope that identifying and nurturing counter narratives of abortion is one means by which abortion can be normalised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the emerging context of hashtag feminism, this article explores the #SupportIslandWomen pro-choice initiative in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada. The movement gained visibility by using the altered image of Anne of Green Gables (rogue Anne) on posters and graffiti throughout PEI and on social media. Drawing from organizational discourse theory, we analyse how rogue Anne was invoked by activists who spoke in her name, thus enacting the polyphonic nature of discourse. Our case study was built by performing non-participant observation online and by conducting a search in Canadian blogs and newspapers. First, we detail the discursive practices developed within the #SupportIslandWomen movement and underline their constitutive effects, namely, by focusing on the organizing properties of the hashtag feature. Then, we investigate the benefits and limitations of using rogue Anne as a unifying symbol and reflect on the discursive struggles that led to and were generated by her usurpation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing body of research on the emotion of disgust – including its relationship to political ideology, moral judgment, matters of sex and sexuality, and death – the global reproductive rights movement has paid relatively little attention to the role disgust plays in the debate over abortion. By focusing on the right of a woman to make her own decision about an unwanted pregnancy, the pro-choice community has allowed anti-choice groups to define and frame the abortion procedure, abortion providers, and women who have abortions in terms associated with disgust. This commentary encourages further examination of what triggers disgust, its measurement, and ways of mitigating it, which could be useful for reducing abortion stigma, in future legal cases and in abortion research, advocacy, and communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abortion is an under-researched, sensitive and politicised topic, but in the New Zealand context, there is a conspicuous dearth of exploratory research on Indigenous (Māori) perspectives on abortion, despite some indication that Māori seek abortion services. International research that attends to the socio-cultural context of abortion evidences a fascinating variability of perspectives and attitudes about abortion, with some commonalities and patterns of resistance. Within accounts of Māori historical practice of abortion, there is some evidence of variability, and we sought to better understand the contemporary socio-cultural context surrounding Māori perspectives on abortion. As part of an Indigenous feminist (Mana Wāhine) interview study with 43 participants (26 women, 17 men), thematic analysis of participants’ talk about abortion identified notions regarding “protection of a new life”, “woman’s individual choice”, and “extended family investment and support” as foregrounded themes. We describe a rich and nuanced account of Māori perspectives on abortion, describing how these are structurally embedded within particular socio-historical and socio-cultural contexts, including Māori ideologies and theories, colonisation and Christianity, and women’s rights activism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abortion decision-making process is embedded within overlapping power relations. Using a post-colonial feminist framework, we analyse South African and Zimbabwean women’s narratives regarding their abortion decision. As neighbouring countries, South Africa and Zimbabwe provide a useful counterpoint as they have common and differing social histories and very different abortion legislation. In our analysis, we unpick transversal commonalities and divergences in the discursive resources deployed by the women in their narratives in the two sites. Commonalities included the women feeling compelled to justify their abortion decision in the interactive interview space, an absence of a reproductive rights discourse, and the deployment of relationship embedded discourses in the justificatory work performed by the women. The “conjugalisation of reproduction”, “imperative of good mothering”, and “unstable partner relationships” discourses featured across both sites but the manner in which these were deployed differed. These discursive resources allowed the women to position themselves as making responsible decisions. The Zimbabwean women spoke of shame and hiding, a discursive resource that was explicitly absent in the South African women’s accounts. We conclude by arguing that our post-colonial feminist approach allows for a contextualised reproductive justice stance to abortion decision-making that identifies both transnational and context-specific power relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the limitations of the pro-voice approach in supporting abortion patients as described by Aspen Baker's book "Pro Voice: How to Keep Listening When the World Wants a Fight." Topics discussed include abortion-related distress such as interpersonal conflict or disconnection, medical vulnerability, and structural disadvantage; implications of feminist advocacy; and analysis of empathic listening and conflict transformation in pro-voice practice.

China and India, two countries with skewed sex ratios in favor of males, have introduced a wide range of policies over the past few decades to prevent couples from deselecting daughters, including criminalizing sex-selective abortion through legal jurisdiction. This article aims to analyze how such policies are situated within the bio-politics of population control and how some of the outcomes reflect each government’s inadequacy in addressing the social dynamics around abortion decision making and the social, physical, and psychological effects on women’s wellbeing in the face of criminalization of sex-selective abortion. The analysis finds that overall, the criminalization of sex selection has not been successful in these two countries. Further, the broader economic, social, and cultural dynamics which produce bias against females must be a part of the strategy to combat sex selection, rather than a narrow criminalization of abortion which endangers women’s access to safe reproductive health services and their social, physical, and psychological wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite an increasing number of restrictions on accessing abortion care in the United States, most Americans remain unaware of challenges to obtaining abortion. Theorists of abortion stigma have posited that entertainment media contribute to ongoing lack of knowledge about abortion care. Analyzing all plotlines that aired on American television between 2005 and 2015 in which abortion is considered (n = 89), we examine how access to abortion is portrayed, whether characters are able to surmount barriers, and what documented real-life challenges to access are missing from onscreen representations. We find that 42% show at least one barrier to accessing abortion care, most frequently illegality, cost of the procedure, and social stigma. Almost no barriers—including illegality—are insurmountable, and most are easily overcome for the characters seeking abortion. Some barriers, however, change how abortion is understood by a character such that she opts to continue the pregnancy. This underrepresentation of the difficulty of obtaining abortion care may contribute to public beliefs that abortion restrictions do not pose real challenges for women’s access to abortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the whole, women in New Zealand have good access to safe and affordable means to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Although seemingly ideal, the current situation is a fragile one. Under current legislation, abortion is criminalised and legal access to it relies on gaining the approval of two certifying consultant physicians. In this report, we provide an historical overview of the social and political influences shaping New Zealand’s current approach to abortion, considering the consequences of having abortion governed by criminal law. The situation in New Zealand is used to support a proposal that a pragmatic liberal feminist approach to abortion is best for women where it is a medical matter rather than a legal or moral one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay maps how human rights have helped advance abortion rights, and it explores the relationship between human rights discourses and abortion access in jurisdictions with under-resourced health systems. The first part describes the incorporation of abortion rights in international human rights documents and in the opinions and reports of human rights bodies. The second part discusses why courts increasingly cite human rights texts in national opinions, noting courts' invocation of universal values, consensus on limited abortion permission, and state duties to protect women's rights. The third part examines on-the-ground obstacles to implementing court judgments and national abortion laws. This essay argues that human rights reasoning, rooted in claims to universalism and modernity, may minimize the problems that follow legal change, particularly in places with weak health-care infrastructures. The conclusion considers public health law research that keeps in view the differences among countries' health-care systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abortion is an issue that exposes deep divisions in Irish society and this was apparent during the debates on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013. This introduced a framework regulating abortion into Irish law for the first time, but maintained the existing position where abortion is only available where the life of the woman is at risk. This article focuses on the centrality of suicide within the Irish discourse on abortion and the impact this had on the shape of the legislation ultimately introduced, in particular the inclusion of a more onerous process, which a woman must engage with before she can obtain an abortion where the risk to her life is from suicide. It highlights the practical consequences of this for the small number of very vulnerable women in Ireland who will be required to engage with the new statutory process which is deeply damaging. The 2013 Act reinforces the two-tier approach to healthcare that exists in Ireland in the specific context of reproductive healthcare as those with sufficient resources will be able to bypass the difficult and undignified statutory procedure and those who lack the socioeconomic capital will be compelled to remain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2009 a couple in Cairns were charged, and later found not guilty, of illegally obtaining a medical abortion through the use of medication imported from overseas. The court case reignited the discussions surrounding the illegality and social acceptance of abortion in Queensland, Australia. Based on a discourse analysis of 150 online news media articles covering the Cairns trial, this article critically examines the language and key words relied upon by media when covering the Cairns trial. It argues that, despite popular support for the decriminalisation of abortion, emotive language that aligns with a pro-life ideology is still being employed which has the power to shape perceptions of deviance and stigma surrounding abortion. This is useful to demonstrate how media discourse surrounding abortion needs to further align with a pro-choice ideology for women to be empowered for their choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an approach to studying processes of transnational exchange and reception between social movements. It does so by focusing on a locally situated case study: the movement for women's reproductive and sexual health and rights in 1970s Rome. A focal point in 'second-wave' Italian feminism, these groups were profoundly shaped by feminist debates and practices in, notably, the USA and France. The analysis highlights the centrality of local actors in translating, appropriating and re-(and de-)contextualizing transnational sources, thus transforming their meanings. Questioning the often automatic status ascribed to the nation-state as analytical framework, the article illustrates that re-contextualization equally takes place on the local (as distinct from national) level, and that these layered transfer processes are central to understanding the complexity and effectiveness of postwar social movements such as feminism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]