Reproductive politics: what everyone needs to know

1. Overview What do we mean by reproductive politics? Are sex and reproduction private or public matters 2. Historical questions When and why was abortion criminalized in the United States? How did urbanization and "moral reform" movements in the nineteenth century shape reproductive politics? What impacts did immigration have on reproductive law and politics in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries? What were anti-miscegenation and eugenic laws? What access did women have in the past to voluntary sterilization? What do we know about women's reproductive decisions in the face of legal and medical constraints? What was the process of legalizing contraception? How did "genocide" and sterilization abuse become matters of concern for women of color and their allies? What were hospital abortion boards? What factors stimulated the push to legalize abortion? How many abortions were performed in the criminal era? When did the anti-abortion movement emerge? What role did violence pay in anti-abortion activism? How have US presidents dealt with the subject of abortion? 3. Feminism and reproductive politics Why is feminism so important to reproductive politics, and vice versa, in the United States? Why did Susan B. Anthony oppose abortion? Following the First Wave generation, how did feminist ideas about contraception develop? What was the reaction to the Pill? How did feminist activists support reproductive rights in the 1960s and 1970s? 4. The legal context Why are reproductive issues governed variously by state laws, federal laws, and court decisions? What did Roe v. Wade actually say? How did Congress respond to the Supreme Court's decision? How have subsequent judicial rulings and legislation altered the rights created by Roe v. Wade? 5. Religion and reproduction What ideas have structured religious thinking about reproductive policy? How do various Protestant denominations approach abortion? What are the views of the Catholic Church regarding contraception and abortion, and how have they changed over time? What does Islam teach about reproductive control? How does Judaism regard abortion and contraception? What impact have religious teachings had on women's reproductive practices in the United States? How does the First Amendment's "establishment clause," guaranteeing religious freedom, affect matters? 6. Population issues and reproductive politics What is the state of population growth in the United States today, and how is it affected by immigration? What is the link between citizenship and reproductive policies? 7. Public policy and reproductive politics How do policies such as day-care funding and family leave shape women's reproductive decisions? How have gender-based wage disparities intersected with reproductive politics? How have policies regarding drugs influenced reproductive politics? How does the current national welfare policy affect reproductive politics? How does policy governing foster care and other child-protective services affect reproductive politics? 8. Teenage and single pregnancy in the United States How have attitudes about single and teenage pregnancy changed since World War II? What rights do teenagers have regarding reproductive health care? How are children born to teenage mothers and single mothers affected? 9. Values debates and reproductive politics What is "abstinence only" sex education? When did "life begins at conception" emerge as an important idea in reproductive politics? What relationship does the anti-abortion movement claim with the nineteenth-century abolitionist movement? What is "Feminists for Life" (FFL)? How are attitudes and policies regarding gays and lesbians as parents evolving in the United States? What is a "conscience clause"? 10. Contraception What are the most commonly used forms of contraception in the United States? Is "emergency contraception' the same thing as abortion? Why are long-acting contraceptives politically controversial? Why isn't there a male hormonal contraceptive? Is breast-feeding an effective contraceptive? Does the federal government pay for contraceptives and other reproduction-related services? What is the annual cost to US taxpayers of unintended pregnancies? 11. Contemporary abortion politics I : opinions and science What are the most common objections to abortion today, and how have objections changed over time? How do advocates of abortion rights make their case? What do public opinion polls show about American attitudes toward abortion today? Is there evidence that abortion causes psychological and physical illness, and deleteriously affects subsequent pregnancies?

12. Contemporary abortion politics II : experience and practice

What is the abortion rate in the United States and how has it changed in recent years?

At how many weeks of pregnancy is the typical abortion performed?

What is the difference between a medical and a surgical abortion?

What is the difference between a D&X procedure, a "partial birth" abortion, a "late-term" abortion, and a "later" abortion?

How safe is abortion, generally?

Who obtains abortions in the United States today?

What are some reasons women give for having abortions?

Why is the abortion rate so high for poor women?

How many abortion practitioners provide services in the United States today, and how are their services distributed geographically?

In what settings are abortions typically performed?

Are abortion practitioners in danger today?

Do medical schools teach abortion practice?

13. Contemporary abortion III : activism, law, and policy

How are state legislatures responding to abortion and satellite issues?

What is pre-abortion counseling?

What are "waiting periods"?

What are TRAP laws?

What is the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act?

What is a crisis pregnancy center?

Can women use health insurance plans to cover abortion?

What is the future of legal abortion?

What does the abortion rights movement look like today?

14. Fetuses

Has the fetus always been the focus of anti-abortion concerns?

What is "fetal personhood"?

What does "fetal rights" mean?

What is fetal homicide?

What is the evidence regarding fetal pain?

What is fetal viability?

15. Family building, reproductive technologies, and stem cell research

What qualifies as a family today?

What causes infertility?

What does "assisted reproductive technologies" (ART) refer to?

What is genetic testing?

Why do different groups respond to the idea of genetic testing differently?

What is surrogacy?

What ethical questions regarding assisted reproductive technologies remain unresolved?

What is the connection between stem cell research and reproductive politics?

16. Adoption

What does adoption look like in the United States today?

Who adopts infants and foreign-born children in the United States?

Why is inter-country adoption controversial?

What laws govern adoption in the United States?

17. The environment and reproductive politics

How are environment contaminants affecting reproductive health in the United States?

What are environmentalists saying about population growth, consumption, and challenges to global sustainability?

What are the implications of these environmental perspectives for the most vulnerable women?

18. Disability and reproductive politics

What basic reproductive restrictions have been placed on women with disabilities in the past and today?

How have prenatal diagnostics shaped Americans' view of disability?

19. Birthing, breast-feeding, and reproductive politics

In what settings are babies born in the United States today?

What status do midwives have in the United States?

Why is the rate of caesarian section so much higher in the United States than it used to be?

What is natural childbirth?

Is there a maternal health care crisis in the United States?

What do medical authorities say about the relationship between breast-feeding and infant health?

Must employers allow employees to express milk with breast-pumps while at work?

Do states have laws about breast-feeding in public?

20. Men and reproductive politics

In what ways are reproductive rights the concerns of men as well as women?

Has the so-called men's rights movement influenced discussion about men's role in reproductive decision making?

How does domestic violence intersect with reproductive issues?

21. Global reproductive health and US programs and politics

What is USAID's family planning program?

What are the "global gag rule" and the Helms Amendment?

What is the United Nations Population Fund and what relationship does the United States have to this organization?

Is there an international body monitoring women's reproductive health?

22. Health care and reproductive politics

What does the Federal Health Care Reform Act of 2010 say about pregnancy, contraception, abortion, and reproductive health care generally?

Why did abortion become so controversial during congressional health care debates?

23. Language and frameworks

When did Americans adopt the language of "choice" and "right to life"?

Do various groups of women interpret their needs regarding fertility and reproduction uniquely and if so, why does this matter?

What is "reproductive justice"?

What contemporary, contested frameworks are structuring reproductive politics today?