The Erosion Of Rights To Abortion Care In The United States: A Call For A Renewed Anthropological Engagement With The Politics Of Abortion

Keywords

abortion; ethnographic research; reproduction; reproductive health; United States

Abstract

Women's rights to legal abortion in the United States are now facing their greatest social and legislative challenges since its 1973 legalization. Legislation restricting rights and access to abortion care has been passed at state and federal levels at an unprecedented rate. Given the renewed vigor of anti-abortion movements, we call on anthropologists to engage with this shifting landscape of reproductive politics. This article examines recent legislation that has severely limited abortion access and maps possible directions for future anthropological analysis. We argue that anthropology can provide unique contributions to broader abortion research. The study of abortion politics in the United States today is not only a rich opportunity for applied and policy-oriented ethnographic research. It also provides a sharply focused lens onto broader theoretical concerns in anthropology and new social formations across moral, medical, political, and scientific fields in 21st-century America.

Publication Date

3-1-2017

Publication Title

Medical Anthropology Quarterly

Volume

31

Issue

1

Number of Pages

40-59

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1111/maq.12298

Socpus ID

84999737994 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84999737994

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