What Constitutes a “Due” Burden on Women’s Access to Abortion: A Cultural Discourse Analysis of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt
We can find numerous international treaties and legal documents that support women’s choice for safe and legal abortion. However, there are constant different, incompatible and even opposing discourses around abortion globally. This paper examines a 2016 legal case (Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerste...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The International Academic Forum
2021-01-01
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| Series: | IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-cultural-studies/volume-6-special-issue/article-6/ |
| _version_ | 1818662949852545024 |
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| author | Gao Xueying |
| author_facet | Gao Xueying |
| author_sort | Gao Xueying |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We can find numerous international treaties and legal documents that support women’s choice for safe and legal abortion. However, there are constant different, incompatible and even opposing discourses around abortion globally. This paper examines a 2016 legal case (Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt) to explore how anti-abortion discourse in the U.S. has found its way into the legal text. I begin by addressing women’s right to abortion as a human rights issue and then I investigate how U.S. abortion law entangles with social and cultural reality in the country; I then offer a close reading of the Supreme Court’s judgement and discuss the implications of such a legal text. Public opinions on reproductive rights in the U.S. are closely related to the dynamics between religious culture and feminist activism, and political manipulation leads to divided opinions over the issue. A close reading of the case shows that the court’s constant emphasis on “right to privacy” sets the stage for the current fragility of the reproductive rights in the U.S. cultural and political context. First, it opens a gate for anti-abortion groups to burden women with moral responsibility; second, under TRAP laws it becomes difficult for the abortion providers to justify their stand. I further argue that the undue burden test, which was central to winning this case, is not a strong test for future lawsuits over abortion rights. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T05:09:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-04e588f010d94e6b9ec03a377776e85e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2187-4905 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T05:09:05Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | The International Academic Forum |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-04e588f010d94e6b9ec03a377776e85e2022-12-21T22:02:18ZengThe International Academic ForumIAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies2187-49052021-01-016SI778910.22492/ijcs.6.SI.06What Constitutes a “Due” Burden on Women’s Access to Abortion: A Cultural Discourse Analysis of Whole Woman’s Health v. HellerstedtGao Xueying0National University of SingaporeWe can find numerous international treaties and legal documents that support women’s choice for safe and legal abortion. However, there are constant different, incompatible and even opposing discourses around abortion globally. This paper examines a 2016 legal case (Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt) to explore how anti-abortion discourse in the U.S. has found its way into the legal text. I begin by addressing women’s right to abortion as a human rights issue and then I investigate how U.S. abortion law entangles with social and cultural reality in the country; I then offer a close reading of the Supreme Court’s judgement and discuss the implications of such a legal text. Public opinions on reproductive rights in the U.S. are closely related to the dynamics between religious culture and feminist activism, and political manipulation leads to divided opinions over the issue. A close reading of the case shows that the court’s constant emphasis on “right to privacy” sets the stage for the current fragility of the reproductive rights in the U.S. cultural and political context. First, it opens a gate for anti-abortion groups to burden women with moral responsibility; second, under TRAP laws it becomes difficult for the abortion providers to justify their stand. I further argue that the undue burden test, which was central to winning this case, is not a strong test for future lawsuits over abortion rights.https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-cultural-studies/volume-6-special-issue/article-6/abortion lawhuman rightlaw and culturereproductive rightundue burden |
| spellingShingle | Gao Xueying What Constitutes a “Due” Burden on Women’s Access to Abortion: A Cultural Discourse Analysis of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies abortion law human right law and culture reproductive right undue burden |
| title | What Constitutes a “Due” Burden on Women’s Access to Abortion: A Cultural Discourse Analysis of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt |
| title_full | What Constitutes a “Due” Burden on Women’s Access to Abortion: A Cultural Discourse Analysis of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt |
| title_fullStr | What Constitutes a “Due” Burden on Women’s Access to Abortion: A Cultural Discourse Analysis of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt |
| title_full_unstemmed | What Constitutes a “Due” Burden on Women’s Access to Abortion: A Cultural Discourse Analysis of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt |
| title_short | What Constitutes a “Due” Burden on Women’s Access to Abortion: A Cultural Discourse Analysis of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt |
| title_sort | what constitutes a due burden on women s access to abortion a cultural discourse analysis of whole woman s health v hellerstedt |
| topic | abortion law human right law and culture reproductive right undue burden |
| url | https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-cultural-studies/volume-6-special-issue/article-6/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gaoxueying whatconstitutesadueburdenonwomensaccesstoabortionaculturaldiscourseanalysisofwholewomanshealthvhellerstedt |