Critical Social Inquiry 0272 - From Choice to Justice: The Politics of the Abortion Debate

Abortion rights continue to be contested in the U.S. and throughout the world. Since it was legalized in the U.S. in 1973, there have been significant erosions in abortion rights and access, and today, legal abortion itself is facing direct challenges from state laws, some of which are already slated to be heard by the Supreme Court. Harassment of abortion clinics, providers, and clinic personnel by opponents of abortion is routine, and there have been several instances of deadly violence. This course examines abortion politics in the U.S. before before legalization to the present. We view the abortion battle in the U.S. in the wider framework of reproductive justice. Specific topics of inquiry include: abortion worldwide, coercive contraception and sterilization abuse, welfare rights, population control, incarceration and reproduction, and the criminalization of pregnancy. We explore the ethical, political and legal dimensions of the issue and investigate anti-abortion organizing and the resistance to it from the abortion rights and reproductive justice movements.

In/Justice Students should generally expect to spend 6-8 hours a week on work outside of class time.