Wednesday, 13 November 2019 at 1:30 pm – Wednesday, 13 November 2019 at 3:30 pm

The limits of ‘Choice’? The utility of the reproductive justice framework in the Northern Ireland context

Part of the Politics and International Relations Research Public Lecture Series

Date: Wednesday 13th November 2019

Time: 1.30pm – 3.30pm

Location: GM 342, Geoffrey Manton Building, Manchester, M15 6LL

Tickets: Free – Available on Eventbrite


Why is it so difficult to reform abortion law in Northern Ireland? Why have positions become so extreme and
polarised? This talk will consider these questions by arguing that how we frame and talk about abortion can have a tangible impact on how abortion becomes legislated for, and the potential for access in practice. One of the most prevalent framings of abortion is the notion of ‘choice’. Part of liberal political theory, the notion of the rights bearing citizen and individual bodily autonomy, whilst resonant to a feminist audience may hold less value for the general public. The concept of reproductive justice, developed by African American activists and academics in the 1990’s, links abortion to the wider context around parenting and the social environment in which we parent. This paper argues that applying this framework to the Northern Irish context exposes firstly, how ‘thin’ the choice ideology is in the context of wider UK austerity measures, and secondly, provides a more holistic and resonant tool to argue for abortion law reform.

Claire Pierson is a Lecturer in Politics at the University of Liverpool. Her work focuses on reproductive rights
and activism and the UN women, peace and security agenda and gendered conflict transformation. She has conducted research and published on political discourse on abortion, trade union members views on abortion as a workplace issue, reproductive justice in South Africa and the Philippines and women and peace-building in Northern Ireland. She is currently developing projects on political transformations and abortion access and the use of human rights in abortion law reform.

The Politics and IR Public Lecture Series is sponsored by the History, Politics and Philosophy department and organized by Kathryn Starnes, Lecturer in International Relations at Manchester Metropolitan University.

For more information, please contact:

Kathryn Starnes · K.Starnes@mmu.ac.uk

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