Women's Reproductive Freedom Research Articles

Legal Protection of Women’s Reproductive Freedom: Starting From the Overthrow of Roe v. Wade

Represented by the overthrow of the Roe v. Wade case, the freedom of female reproduction worldwide is currently threatened. Female reproductive freedom is a fundamental right of women, and ensuring it is crucial. Therefore, this article selects the legal protection of female reproductive freedom as the theme to study how to build an effective mechanism to ensure women's reproductive freedom. Firstly, this article provides an overview of the protection of reproductive freedom in the common law and written law systems, as well as the characteristics of reproductive freedom in China. It also reviews the connotation and research progress of women's reproductive freedom rights. On this basis, this article proposes specific legislative, judicial, and law enforcement recommendations for China's legal system to ensure women's reproductive freedom based on its specific characteristics.

Women's Reproductive Rights: a Way to Gender Justice

For generations, women have been battling for reproductive rights. Because of moral, ethical, and religious reasons, these rights have always been a contentious issue. Do reproductive rights simply imply the ability to reproduce? Is the issue, on the other hand, intrinsically tied to the myriad questions surrounding women's reproductive freedom? The ability to reproduce appears to be what distinguishes women from men. Do women, however, have control over their own reproduction? Do women have the right to decide whether, when, and how many children they want? Do women have access to safe methods of birth control? Do women have the right to an abortion that is safe? Is it possible to separate sexuality from reproduction? A resounding 'NO' in response to many similar inquiries sparked the birth of the women's health movement in several regions of the world in the early 1970s. It began with modest 'consciousness raising' groups that disseminated knowledge among women about the functioning of their bodies and gradually expanded into multi-faceted campaigns that have profoundly influenced health policies in many nations. Human Rights are those rights that should be available to every individual without any form of discrimination. The foundation of freedom is recognition of the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. The most essential human right is the right to life. It is the highest human right, from which no exceptions are authorised. It cannot be taken away. The arbitrary deprivation of life is prohibited by Article 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, there are several contentious concerns surrounding this greatest privilege. One such issue is the matter of abortion rights. Among other women's rights, it is thought that every mother has a universal right to abortion. But the rights of the mother are to be balanced with the rights of the unborn. Previously, abortion was not permitted and was vehemently opposed by society. Terminating a pregnancy was considered a murder of the foetus. However, because to changes in time and technology, most governments now recognise this right, following the historic Roe v. Wade decision by the US Supreme Court. However, opponents remain, and many individuals believe that it should be made illegal.

The Legal Theory and Social Problems Behind "Women's Reproductive Freedom Right": From the Perspective of Comparative Law

With the aging of population and the continuous decline of fertility rate, social problems are becoming more and more serious. In order to stop the continuous decline of the fertility rate, many countries have implemented the policy of increasing the fertility rate. Based on the method of comparative research, this study has studied the partial birth policies of many countries, and the research theme is divided into two parts. The legal theory behind "Women's reproductive freedom". On the one hand, in order to promote women's human rights, some fertility decisions violate women's human rights. On the other hand, unwanted births affect children's human rights. And the social issues behind "women's right to reproductive freedom". Studies have shown that despite the increasing number of decisions made to increase fertility rates, fertility rates are still falling, and the negative impact of some related decisions on society cannot be ignored. The decision of some countries to increase birth rates is a serious violation of human rights. At the same time, this study found that such a decision goes against the original intention of the state, not only damages the protection of human rights, but also causes jurisprudence problems and social problems.

Conscientious objection to abortion: how to strike a legal and ethical balance between conflicting rights?

The Italian Supreme Court ruling no. 18901 of May 13, 2021 has determined that doctors who are opposed to abortion can refuse to perform it on grounds of conscience, but such a refusal does not exempt them from providing assistance to the woman before and after the procedure itself. The legalization of abortion should be considered within a broader strategy to put an end to underground and unsafe abortions, to raise awareness and enhance reproductive education and accessibility to contraceptive methods. The authors have set out to briefly analyze the legal and ethical complexities inherent in the effort to reconcile women’s reproductive autonomy and freedom of choice with conscience-based refusal on the part of numerous healthcare professionals. Such an apparent conflict highlights the need for an ethically tenable solution that takes into account the dignity of unborn children, based on the conviction of many healthcare professionals primarily based on moral and religious tenets, that life begins at conception as well as the reproductive freedom and autonomy of women. (www.actabiomedica.it)

What Should Physicians Consider About American Indian/Alaska Native Women's Reproductive Freedom?

Historically, American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) have been subjected to a lack of control over various aspects of their lives, including their reproductive health. In discussions of family planning with AI/AN patients, clinicians must consider past violations of reproductive rights and the need for transparent consent. This article explores the following questions: What were historical violations of AI/AN women's reproductive rights? How should physicians express respect for this history and for the autonomy of AI/AN female patients regarding surgical sterilization procedures today?

Emergency contraception: unresolved clinical, ethical and legal quandaries still linger.

Emergency contraception (EC) has been prescribed for decades, in order to lessen the risk of unplanned and unwanted pregnancy following unprotected intercourse, ordinary contraceptive failure, or rape. EC and the linked aspect of unintended pregnancy undoubtedly constitute highly relevant public health issues, in that they involve women's self-determination, reproductive freedom and family planning. Most European countries regulate EC access quite effectively, with solid information campaigns and supply mechanisms, based on various recommendations from international institutions herein examined. However, there is still disagreement on whether EC drugs should be available without a physician's prescription and on the reimbursement policies that should be implemented. In addition, the rights of health care professionals who object to EC on conscience grounds have been subject to considerable legal and ethical scrutiny, in light of their potential to damage patients who need EC drugs in a timely fashion. Ultimately, reproductive health, freedom and conscience-based refusal on the part of operators are elements that have proven extremely hard to reconcile; hence, it is essential to strike a reasonable balance for the sake of everyone's rights and well-being.

Intimate partner violence and constraints to reproductive autonomy and reproductive health among women seeking abortion services in Bangladesh.

ObjectiveTo understand intersections between intimate partner violence (IPV) and other constraints to women's reproductive autonomy, and the influence of IPV on reproductive health.MethodsA secondary analysis examined cross‐sectional data from a facility‐based sample of women seeking abortion care (for spontaneous or induced abortion) between March 1 and October 31, 2013. Women aged 18–49 years, who received abortion services and selected a short‐acting contraceptive method or no contraception completed an interviewer‐administered survey after treatment. Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) were calculated for associations between IPV experience and potential constraints to reproductive autonomy and health outcomes.ResultsThere were 457 participants included in the present analysis and 118 (25.8%) had experienced IPV in the preceding year. IPV was associated with discordance in fertility intentions with husbands/partners and in‐laws, with in‐law opposition to contraception, with perceived religious prohibition of contraception, and with presenting unaccompanied (all P<0.05). IPV was also associated with receiving post‐abortion care after an induced abortion compared with accessing legal menstrual regulation, and with the use of medication abortion compared with manual vacuum aspiration (both P<0.05).ConclusionIntimate partner violence was associated with additional constraints on reproductive autonomy from husbands/partners, in‐laws, and religious communities. Seeking induced abortion unaccompanied and using medication abortion could be strategies to access abortion covertly among women experiencing IPV. Ensuring women's reproductive freedom requires addressing IPV and related constraints.

Ultrasound's 'window on the womb' brings ethical challenges for balancing maternal and fetal health interests: obstetricians' experiences in Australia.

BackgroundObstetric ultrasound has become a significant tool in obstetric practice, however, it has been argued that its increasing use may have adverse implications for women’s reproductive freedom. This study aimed to explore Australian obstetricians’ experiences and views of the use of obstetric ultrasound both in relation to clinical management of complicated pregnancy, and in situations where maternal and fetal health interests conflict.MethodsA qualitative study was undertaken as part of the CROss-Country Ultrasound Study (CROCUS). Interviews were held in November 2012 with 14 obstetricians working in obstetric care in Victoria, Australia. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.ResultsOne overall theme emerged from the analyses: The ethical challenge of balancing maternal and fetal health interests, built on four categories: First, Encountering maternal altruism’ described how pregnant women’s often ‘altruistic’ position in relation to the health and wellbeing of the fetus could create ethical challenges in obstetric management, particularly with an increasing imbalance between fetal benefits and maternal harms. Second, ‘Facing shifting attitudes due to visualisation and medico-technical advances’ illuminated views that ultrasound and other advances in care have contributed to a shift in what weight to give maternal versus fetal welfare, with increasing attention directed to the fetus. Third, ‘Guiding expectant parents in decision-making’ described the difficult task of facilitating informed decision-making in situations where maternal and fetal health interests were not aligned, or in situations characterised by uncertainty. Fourth, ‘Separating private from professional views’ illuminated divergent views on when the fetus can be regarded as a person. The narratives indicated that the fetus acquired more consideration in decision-making the further the gestation progressed. However, there was universal agreement that obstetricians could never act on fetal grounds without the pregnant woman’s consent.ConclusionsThis study suggests that medico-technical advances such as ultrasound have set the scene for increasing ethical dilemmas in obstetric practice. The obstetricians interviewed had experienced a shift in previously accepted views about what weight to give maternal versus fetal welfare. As fetal diagnostics and treatment continue to advance, how best to protect pregnant women’s right to autonomy requires careful consideration and further investigation.

Fertility Preservation for Non-Medical Reasons

Fertility-preserving measures for women are increasingly being performed for non-medical reasons in Germany. This is now a controversial matter. The authors searched the PubMed database for pertinent publications on the basis of their clinical and scientific experience and evaluated relevant data from the registry of the German FertiPROTEKT network (www.fertiprotekt. com). The various fertility-preserving measures that are available are described and critically discussed. In most cases, the creation of a fertility reserve currently involves the cryopreservation of unfertilized oocytes, rather than of ovarian tissue. Most of the women who decide to undergo this procedure are over 35 years old. According to data from the FertiPROTEKT registry, most such procedures carried out in the years 2012 and 2013 involved a single stimulation cycle. The theoretical probability of childbirth per stimulation is 40% in women under age 35 and 30% in women aged 35 to 39. If the oocytes are kept for use at a later date, rather than at once, the maternal risk is higher, because the mother is older during pregnancy. The risk to the child may be higher as well because of the need for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Pregnancy over age 40 often leads to complications such as gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia. IVF may be associated with a higher risk of epigenetic abnormalities. Ethicists have upheld women's reproductive freedom while pointing out that so-called social freezing merely postpones social problems, rather than solving them. Fertility preservation for non-medical reasons should be critically discussed, and decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis.

Choosing the Right to Choose: &lt;em&gt;Roe v. Wade&lt;/em&gt; and the Feminist Movement to Legalize Abortion in Martial-Law Taiwan

Choosing the Right to Choose: &lt;em&gt;Roe v. Wade&lt;/em&gt; and the Feminist Movement to Legalize Abortion in Martial-Law Taiwan

“Looking Both Ways”: Metaphor and the Rhetorical Alignment of Intersectional Climate Justice and Reproductive Justice Concerns

While rhetorical approaches are common in communication inquiry, metaphor's role in shaping our understanding of the intersection of environmental and social justice issues has not fully been explored. This essay seeks to address this deficit by examining “Looking Both Ways: Women's Lives at the Crossroads of Reproductive Justice and Climate Justice,” a publication of Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice. The text employs the metaphor of “looking both ways” to argue that climate and reproductive justice agenda setting should be aligned to simultaneously mitigate climate change and advance women's reproductive freedom. I contend “looking both ways” offers an innovative epistemological framework for articulating the intersections of climate and reproductive justice, as well as a convincing rationale for cultivating cross-movement coalitions. However, my analysis suggests that the organization's call to align climate and reproductive justice should be embraced with the acknowledgment that “looking both ways” limits a comprehensive coalitional perspective. This essay enhances current understandings of climate and reproductive justice concerns and demonstrates why diverse stakeholders committed to environmental causes must also support reproductive freedom.

Feminist Perspectives on Motherhood and Reproduction

Feministische Perspektiven zu Mutterschaft und Reproduktion«. Motherhood and reproduction have been at the core of the feminist discourse about women's rights ever since its onset. For the first and second feminist movements, the right to abortion and the public recognition of motherhood have been main issues in the discourse on reproduction. Since the last two dec- ades of the 20th century, the potentials of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have opened up new venues of feminist discourse. In this paper we sketch the main feminist lines of argumentation regarding motherhood and reproduction since the 1970s, and we identify specific shifts in their recurrent issues. We argue that an essential contribution of feminism to the understanding of motherhood as a structuring category has been its insis- tence on the distinction between biological and social motherhood. Feminist discourse shows how ART has further decomposed biological motherhood and has altered the meaning of motherhood and reproduction. Feminist analysis maintains that despite the rhetoric of choice surrounding ART, these technolo- gies have not increased women's reproductive freedom. The decomposition of biological motherhood, the medical, legal, and commercial development of re- production, and the change in the social perception of motherhood have rather established new forms of control over female reproduction.

Re-Negotiating Reproductive Technologies: The ‘Public Foetus’ Revisited

In debates over abortion, the foetus and the woman have been continually positioned as antagonists. Given the stakes involved in such debates about personal integrity, individual responsibility, life and death, it is no wonder that many radical feminist authors have concentrated on refocusing the attention on women and away from the disembodied foetus. Such writers have worked hard to decode and deconstruct the public foetus in our midst and have mobilized interpretative tools such as cultural criticism to contextualize the production and consumption of foetal images. Barbara Duden's book, The Public Foetus, is an important and interesting contribution to this effort, which is still taken up by authors writing in this field. Duden's strategy is to seek to remind us (and in particular those who are involved in reproductive medicine) that pregnancy is concentrated in the embedded pregnant woman rather than the disembodied ‘public foetus’ and she attempts to retrieve the embodied woman as the site of pregnancy through what Michaels has termed a ‘fetal disappearing act’. While this may create as many problems for women as it resolves, I would argue that, while the ‘public foetus’ continues to loom large in the politics of abortion and women's positions in relation to the new reproductive technologies remain contested, Duden's work remains important in the continuing debate about how women's reproductive freedom can be continually re-negotiated and re-established.

Abortion and Contraception: Attitudes of South African University Students

Despite the availability of contraception, the rates of abortion among young women in South Africa continue to increase. We designed a study to examine young people's attitudes about abortion and contraception. One hundred and eighty-eight South African university students (97 females and 91 males) completed the survey. While we found moral objections to abortion for the sample as a whole, females showed stronger support for availability of abortion and women's autonomy compared with males. The respondents acknowledged the importance of contraception at a personal and general level, but more than 40% of them believed that women who use contraception are promiscuous. Females expressed difficulty with usage more frequently than males and indicated that they would not consider sexual intercourse if contraception were not available. For health care workers involved in counseling young people about their sexual and reproductive choices, the challenge lies in promoting a culture of equal rights and respect for women's reproductive freedom.

In vitro veritas: New reproductive and genetic technologies and women's rights in contemporary France

This study examines recent French bioethics laws governing the uses of new reproductive and genetic technologies (NRGTs)—including in-vitro fertilization, surrogate motherhood, prenatal diagnostics, sex selection, and cloning—in light of feminist claims to women's rights, especially a woman's right to reproductive freedom. To this end, the study explores two interrelated questions: First, to what extent have French feminists supported NRGT development and treatment? Second, to what extent do French national bioethics debates, laws, and policies reflect feminist reactions to NRGTs? The investigation of these questions is informed by recent theories of state feminism that show how national policy debates are gendered by particular sets of feminist ideas, and how policy choices resulting from these debates turn some of these ideas into law (McBride Stetson and Mazur 1995). Some of the most pressing feminist concerns in this area include women's loss of control over their bodies and fertility, women's exploitation and commercialization of their bodies, and women's health risks from NRGTs. The analysis of pronouncements by French feminist writers, researchers, and policy-makers reveals a multiplicity of feminist stances on NRGTs, showing keenly how feminists contest what constitutes effective feminist public policies to illuminate the fact that these policies are subject to shifting political contestations, rather than the reflection of a fixed set of feminist ideas. While contemporary French feminists grapple with the potential merits and dangers of NRGTS, the study shows that feminists generally seem to support NRGTs, as long as French law protects women's reproductive autonomy. Seen in this light, France's strong sense of the right to procreate through facilitation of access to NRGTs is not a contradiction of France's strong social and legal support for women's reproductive freedom, but rather enables French lawmakers to regulate NRGTs more effectively.

Preconception care in international settings.

Objectives: This literature review briefly describes international programs, policies, and activities related to preconception care and resulting pregnancy outcomes. Methods: Electronic databases were searched and findings supplemented with secondary references cited in the original articles as well as textbook chapters, declarations, reports, and recommendations. Results: Forty-two articles, book chapters, declarations, and other published materials were reviewed. Policies, programs, and recommendations related to preconceptional health promotion exist worldwide and comprise a readily identifiable component of historic and modern initiatives pertaining to women's health, reproductive freedom, and child survival. Conclusions: The integration of preconception care services within a larger maternal and child health continuum of care is well aligned with a prevention-based approach to enhancing global health.

Mere and Partial Means: The Full Range of the Objectification of Women

Kant discussed the moral wrong of treating people as mere means or as a means only. To treat people as means is to treat them as objects for our use. It is to objectify them. To treat people as a mere means is to treat them wholly as objects, rather than partially so. It is to have an objectifying manner that is absolute or unmitigated. Whether Kant meant to suggest that we commit a moral wrong only when we treat people as means absolutely, rather than partially, is debatable. My concern is with how feminist theorists writing on the objectification of women have followed Kant in emphasizing the extreme case of the mere means. These feminists have implied that the moral wrong of objectification occurs only with absolute objectification, as though between it and respecting someone's autonomy there were no degrees of objectification that are morally suspect.The relevant feminist work centres on such topics as women's reproductive freedom, their sexual freedom, and gender equity in employment.

Foetal images: the power of visual technology in antenatal care and the implications for women's reproductive freedom.

Continuing medico-technical progress has led to an increasing medicalisation of pregnancy and childbirth. One of the most common technologies in this context is ultrasound. Based on some identified 'pro-technology feminist theories', notably the postmodernist feminist discourse, the technology of ultrasound is analysed focusing mainly on social and political rather than clinical issues. As empirical research suggests, ultrasound is welcomed by the majority of women. The analysis, however, shows that attitudes and decisions of women are influenced by broader social aspects. Furthermore, it demonstrates how the visual technology of ultrasound, in addition to other reproductive technology in maternity care, is linked to the 'personification' of the foetus and has therefore contributed to a new image of the foetus. The exploration of these issues challenges some arguments of feminist discourse. It draws attention to possible adverse implications of the technology for women's reproductive freedom and indicates the importance of the topic for political discussions.

Gender hierarchy and adolescent sexuality: the control of female reproduction in an Australian aboriginal community.

Women can bear children; men cannot. The author explores why women fail to realize more power from their ability to procreate. An instance is considered in which the practice and resistance of female Australian Aboriginal adolescents created circumstances in which their sexuality and reproduction were largely uncontrolled. The products of women's reproductive ability, children, are socially appropriated, but not women's reproductive abilities. The author views gender as a system of power relations both generated and changed in the quotidian interactions between human males and females. Adolescent sexuality and reproduction in Mangrove, and culture, power, and reproduction are discussed. The author finds women's sexual and reproductive freedom, as it is currently experienced by adolescent girls in Mangrove, to be supported by the confluence of the following factors: the diminished force of ideologies which may circumscribe women's behavior, the control of male violence, and the appreciation of motherhood and of any child simply by virtue of its being a child. It is unclear how long this arrangement will persist. Changes which may presage diminished freedom for women can already be discerned. Women's sexual and reproductive freedom are clearly human possibilities, but they are possibilities which can easily be denied.

Abortion is a Woman's Right

Abortion is not a desired fertility control programme, write JENNY WILD and JENNY KUNST. Legalising abortion and providing adequate infrastructure secures women's reproductive rights and freedom. However, the pressure for legalisation is mainly motivated by the high rate of women's mortality caused by clandestine, unsafe procedures