Open Access
Why is a 'good abortion law' not enough? : the case of Estonia
License
Cadmus Permanent Link
Full-text via DOI
ISBN
ISSN
1079-0969; 2150-4113
Issue Date
Type of Publication
Keyword(s)
LC Subject Heading
Other Topic(s)
EUI Research Cluster(s)
Initial version
Published version
Succeeding version
Preceding version
Published version part
Earlier different version
Initial format
Author(s)
Citation
Health and human rights, 2017, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 161-172
Cite
OJA, Liiri, Why is a ‘good abortion law’ not enough? : the case of Estonia, Health and human rights, 2017, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 161-172 - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/59663
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.