Why is a 'good abortion law' not enough? : the case of Estonia
dc.contributor.author | OJA, Liiri | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2018-11-28T13:13:27Z | |
dc.date.available | 2018-11-28T13:13:27Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2017 | |
dc.description.abstract | There are various ways to critically discuss abortion. Constructing or finding the most suitable analytical framework-whether rooted in legal formalism, socio-legal considerations, or comparativism-always depends on the country of subject and whether the analysis is for litigation, advocacy, or more theoretical purposes. This paper offers a model for analyzing abortion in Estonia in order to connect it as a thought-provoking case study to the ongoing transnational abortion discussions. I set out by describing the Estonian Abortion Act as a "good abortion law": a regulation that guarantees in practice women's legal access to safe abortion. Despite this functioning law, I carve a space for criticism by expanding the conversation to the broader power relations and gender dynamics present in Estonian society. Accordingly, I explain the state of the Estonian feminist movement and gender research, the local legal community's minimal engagement with the reproductive rights discourse, and the lingering Soviet-era narratives of reproduction and health, which were not fully extinguished by the combination of human rights commitments and neoliberalism upon restoration of independence in the early 1990s. I consequently show that Estonia's liberal abortion regulation is not grounded in a sufficiently deep understanding of human rights-based approaches to reproductive health, therefore leaving the door open for micro-aggressions toward women and for conservative political winds to gain ground. | |
dc.identifier.citation | Health and human rights, 2017, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 161-172 | |
dc.identifier.endpage | 172 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1079-0969 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 2150-4113 | EN |
dc.identifier.issue | 1 | |
dc.identifier.startpage | 161 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1814/59663 | |
dc.identifier.volume | 19 | |
dc.publisher | Harvard University Press | en |
dc.relation.ispartof | Health and human rights | |
dc.relation.uri | https://www.hhrjournal.org/volume-19-issue-1-june-2017/ | |
dc.rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess | |
dc.title | Why is a 'good abortion law' not enough? : the case of Estonia | |
dc.type | Article | |
dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
eui.subscribe.skip | true | |
person.identifier.other | 38124 | |
relation.isAuthorOfPublication | 83ce9166-d07c-49d2-a2d8-8e94419e08ab | |
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery | 83ce9166-d07c-49d2-a2d8-8e94419e08ab |