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Reproducing Patriarchy: Reproductive Rights Under Siege
by Pam Chamberlain
and Jean Hardisty
The Public Eye Magazine - Vo. 14, No. 1
by Pam Chamberlain and Jean Hardisty
A woman's ability to control her reproductive decisions-
her reproductive rights- involves more than her
right to safe and legal abortion. Reproductive rights
encompass the right to bear and raise children,
the right to access adequate reproductive health care,
and the right to prevent pregnancy or terminate
an unwanted or unsafe pregnancy. In the almost thirty years since the
1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade,
much of the public's attention has been absorbed with the struggle over
the right to abortion. The US political right wing has played a central
role in that struggle, with nearly every right-wing politician promising
a "litmus test" of opposition to abortion for government and
judicial appointments. But the right's attack on women's reproductive
rights goes far beyond its attack on the right to abortion. The same
political forces that work to deny women access to abortion and birth
control often simultaneously work to deny women their full range of reproductive
rights.
Nevertheless, the centerpiece of the right's attack is
the abortion issue. Abortion is not simply a medical procedure
or a moral question. It is a political issue that will never go away.
Its supporters and foes are locked in an ever-changing struggle. In the
1990s, that struggle became more violent. Abortion rights activists,
always demonized and threatened by anti-abortion activists, now actually
fear for their safety. What is the make-up of the anti-abortion movement,
how does it relate to the larger attack on reproductive rights,
and how can women expect their rights to be attacked in the future?
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