Abortion Access as a Racial Justice Issue

Kozhimannil, Katy B.; Hassan, Asha; Hardeman, Rachel R.

doi:10.1056/nejmp2209737

Cited by 44 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Passing these laws was seen as the moral duty of white citizens, and this lead to the sterilization of over 700,000 US citizens, and they became the basis for the racial extermination laws of Nazi Germany. [159][160][161] The fetal personhood crusade is a mix of myth, misogyny, and politics. Science should not be a part of it.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pseudo‐embryology and personhood: How embryological pseudoscience helps structure the American abortion debate

Gilbert

2022

Natural Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is a pseudo‐embryology flourishing today, well nourished by popular science, religious ideologies, and the public media. Just as eugenics was a pseudoscience that influenced (and still influences) American popular culture and which was responsible for racist anti‐immigration laws (such as the Immigration Restriction Act of 1924), pseudo‐embryology is also influencing popular culture and legislation. This new pseudoscience promotes the belief that science supports current zygotic and fetal personhood movements as well as anti‐abortion legislation. However, what often passes for science are actually ideological myths, often grounded in and supporting male superiority. Indeed, the first myth of pseudo‐embryology is that fertilization is a masculine act that can be viewed as a classical hero narrative. The second myth is that fertilization is ensoulment, allowing it to displace the feminine act of birth as to when life begins. Here, DNA is seen to play the secular analogue of soul. The third myth is that the fetus in the womb is an independent autonomous entity and that birth merely moves the fetus from the womb to the outside world. This expresses the "seed‐in‐the‐soil" myth that was also prevalent in ancient cultures. In this manner, masculine stories of fertilization are valorized while feminine narratives of birth are suppressed. So when public narratives discuss what "science" says about when human life begins, we are not really discussing science. Rather, we are allowing our discussions to fall back into tenacious ancient misogynist myths that have nothing to do with the conclusions of modern developmental biology. Key points There is no consensus among biologists as to when personhood begins. Different biologists have proposed that personhood begins at such events as fertilization, gastrulation, the acquisition of an EEG pattern, and birth. Other scientists claim that the acquisition of personhood is gradual or that the question of personhood is not a biological one. The “science” debated in public discussions is not the set of conclusions based on biological research. Political discussions of reproduction are often based on false culturally‐based stories. Fertilization is falsely perceived as a race of sperm through a passive female, emphasizing male performance rather than interactions and mutual gamete maturation. The genome is falsely depicted as one's soul, promoting the idea that fertilization is ensoulment. Genetic determinism is often assumed, and plasticity ignored. The fetus is falsely depicted as a seed in nutritive soil, autonomous from the mother. The joint nature of maternal and fetal physiologies and anatomies are marginalized. The false narratives combine to form a “pseudo‐embryology” that influences our thoughts and laws.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pseudo‐embryology and personhood: How embryological pseudoscience helps structure the American abortion debate

Gilbert

2022

Natural Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Approximately one in four women in the United States has an abortion in her lifetime. 5 Most Americans who obtain an abortion (60%) are in their 20s, and 59% of women who have had an abortion have other children. 6 Although people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and incomes have abortions, most (75%) are disproportionately poor or low income.…”

Section: Abortion In the United Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6 Although people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and incomes have abortions, most (75%) are disproportionately poor or low income. 6 They are also more likely to be Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and other people of color [4][5][6][7][8] due to a lack of equitable access to high-quality reproductive health services, resulting in a higher burden of unintentional pregnancy. Structural racism results in longstanding inequities in maternal morbidity and mortality that make continuing a pregnancy to term more dangerous, particularly for Black and Indigenous people.…”

Section: Abortion In the United Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Structural racism results in longstanding inequities in maternal morbidity and mortality that make continuing a pregnancy to term more dangerous, particularly for Black and Indigenous people. 5 A recent estimate suggests that a nationwide total abortion ban in the United States would result in an increase in the lifetime risk of death from all pregnancy-related causes from 1 in 3,300 to 1 in 2,800 for all women. 9 For non-Hispanic Black women, the risk would increase further, from 1 in 1,300 to 1 in 1,000 9 -three times that of the general population.…”

Section: Abortion In the United Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are also more likely to be Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and other people of color4-8 due to a lack of equitable access to high-quality reproductive health services, resulting in a higher burden of unintentional pregnancy. Structural racism results in longstanding inequities in maternal morbidity and mortality that make continuing a pregnancy to term more dangerous, particularly for Black and Indigenous people 5. A recent estimate suggests that a nationwide total abortion ban in the United States would result in an increase in the lifetime risk of death from all pregnancy-related causes from 1 in 3,300 to 1 in 2,800 for all women 9.…”

Section: Abortion In the United Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Ethical Care for Patients with Self-Managed Abortion After Roe

Manns‐James¹,

Pfeifer²,

Gillmor-Kahn³

2023

AJN, American Journal of Nursing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The 2022 Supreme Court decision leaving the regulation of abortion to the states is sure to result in a complex regulatory environment for patients and nurses. In states where abortion is illegal, patients may self-manage abortions using medications they obtain through the mail or by other means. Nurses may care for these patients in multiple settings and may wonder about their own legal and ethical obligations. This article reviews patient privacy as it relates to self-managed abortion, ethical reporting requirements for nurses, and best practices for treating complications of self-managed abortion using a harm reduction framework, with a focus on protecting patients' rights. Recommendations for ethical patient care are also provided.

show abstract