1 - Introduction

Summary

Abortion has been a politically contested issue in many countries for at least half a century. However, within the context of more recent global challenges arising from the increased prominence of right-wing populism, typified by organisations espousing misogyny and pronatalist policies, abortion has become highly politicised. This politicisation contributes to restricted access to abortion, the proliferation of social stigma surrounding abortion, and high levels of unsafe abortion in the global south (Bloomer et al, 2018). There are an estimated 121 million unintended pregnancies annually of which 61 per cent end in abortion, totaling 73.3 million abortions annually. This corresponds to a global abortion rate of 39 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–49 years (Bearak et al, 2020: 1152). 25.1 million abortions each year are unsafe, with 24.3 million (97 per cent) of these in developing countries. The proportion of unsafe abortions was significantly higher in developing countries than developed countries (49.5 per cent vs 12.5 per cent) (Ganatra et al, 2017: 2372). Unsafe abortion is a leading–but preventable–cause of maternal deaths and morbidities. It can lead to physical and mental health complications and social and financial burdens for women, communities and health systems (World Health Organisation, WHO, 2021).

The public health consequences of the politicisation of abortion have long been on the agenda of global health policy makers. Increasingly, social scientists have turned their attention to understanding the underpinning social and structural dynamics that contribute to the construction of antiabortion political agendas. Studies of abortion discourse have demonstrated the way political actors, the media and civil society organisations use narrative devices, such as harmful stereotypes about women who have abortions, to influence public policy debates (Smyth, 1998; Whittaker, 2004). Scholars of abortion stigma have developed robust scales for measuring stigma in the general population and stigma at a community or national level, allowing for relationships between stigma and abortion law and policy to be identified (Sorhaindo et al, 2016; Cutler et al, 2021). Sociological analysis of religion locates religiosity within the determinants of individual anti-abortion attitudes and wider public policy (Adamczyk et al, 2020). There is ample evidence across all of this scholarship that certain aspects of religious belief, worldview and discourse are useful to those who wish to restrict access to safe, legal abortion.