Debates Around Abortion in the Global North Europe, North America, Russia and Asia Routledge Research in Gender and Society Series

By means of a historical, legal and scientific approach, this book identifies the issues, progress and setbacks in the right for women to access abortion in various countries of the Global North.

The book provides insights on the past, present and potential actions and struggles in the future about continuing to have the right to procure an abortion. Rites and rituals in order to better understand the practices of Asian countries, such as China, Japan and Taiwan, permeate discussions and debates. The volume presents the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on access to abortion healthcare services and abortion, and the innovative initiatives and schemes designed and implemented. The latter encourages health professionals and decision-makers to reflect on the ?good practices? and retain and develop over the long term.

This edited collection is intended for academics and students across the social sciences and healthcare sector, members of the legal profession, healthcare professionals, activists, policy-makers, and any stakeholders working for and caring about women?s reproductive rights and abortion rights.

‘Women’s Legal Rights to Abortion: Watch Out!’
FABIENNE PORTIER-LE COCQ

PART 1: Abortion in Historical Context

1 Debating Therapeutic Abortion in Nineteenth-Century Belgium
JOLIEN GIJBELS

2 The ‘Birth’ of a Modern Nation: A Brief History of Women’s Access to Abortion in China
CHANG LIU AND KAILING XIE

PART 2: Abortion, Politics, and Social Policy

3 Abortion: The Contraception Paradox in England
ANN FUREDI

4 A Bilingual Analysis of Canada’s Bill C-484: The Unborn Victims of Crime Act
ANNE-MARIE RIVARD

PART 3: Abortion and Legislation

5 Birth Control Policies and Abortion Issues in Post-Communist Russia
BORIS DENISOV AND VICTORIA SAKEVICH

6 Abortion Law in Italy: A Pluralist Legislation Lacking Effectiveness?
LUCIA BUSATTA

PART 4: Abortion, Culture, and Traditions

7 Rising Tides, Ebbing Tides: Appeasement Rituals Around Perinatal Death in Contemporary Japan
CARINA ROTH

8 The Evolving Personhood of the Foetus in Taiwan Within the Transnational Flow
GRACE CHENG-YING LIN

PART 5: The Role of Healthcare Professionals

9 Abortion Versus Contraception: The Roots of a Terminological Professional Debate
PILAR LEON-SANZ

10 Abortion in Times of the Covid-19 Pandemic
FABIENNE PORTIER-LE COCQ

Fabienne Portier-Le Cocq is Professor of Contemporary British Studies. She is a member of the research group Histoire et Dynamique des espaces anglophones (HDEA) at Paris-Sorbonne University.She conducted comparative research for the European Commission (Daphne II programme) for five years. She authored Sexualités et maternités des adolescentes: voix anglaises et écossaises (2009), and co-authored Les Politiques de jeunesse au Royaume-Uni et en France (2012).This is her third book with Routledge and her latest publication is Motherhood in Contemporary International Perspective, Continuity and Change (2020).