Why is a 'good abortion law' not enough? : the case of Estonia

dc.contributor.authorOJA, Liiri
dc.date.accessioned2018-11-28T13:13:27Z
dc.date.available2018-11-28T13:13:27Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.description.abstractThere 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.citationHealth and human rights, 2017, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 161-172
dc.identifier.endpage172
dc.identifier.issn1079-0969
dc.identifier.issn2150-4113EN
dc.identifier.issue1
dc.identifier.startpage161
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1814/59663
dc.identifier.volume19
dc.publisherHarvard University Pressen
dc.relation.ispartofHealth and human rights
dc.relation.urihttps://www.hhrjournal.org/volume-19-issue-1-june-2017/
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.titleWhy is a 'good abortion law' not enough? : the case of Estonia
dc.typeArticle
dspace.entity.typePublication
eui.subscribe.skiptrue
person.identifier.other38124
relation.isAuthorOfPublication83ce9166-d07c-49d2-a2d8-8e94419e08ab
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery83ce9166-d07c-49d2-a2d8-8e94419e08ab
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