The Sociocultural and Political Aspects of Abortion: Global Perspectives

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Seeking to define the ways various cultures view pregnancy, miscarriage, and abortion, this multidisciplinary collection of essays seeks to illustrate how these views influence policy decisions and practices regarding abortion around the world. Putting questions of pro-life and pro-choice aside, the contributors provide demographic coverage of the issues involved and contextualize some of the personal realities that underlie the approximately 50 million abortions that are believed to take place yearly worldwide. While the political and social climates in which women seek abortions vary from place to place, many of the chapters try to understand the moral implications that guide the decision to end a pregnancy from the perspective of the those who seek to do so. Focusing primarily on developing nations, this important contribution to the literature on abortion provides readers with a careful overview of the different meanings attached to abortion depending on the cultural, social, and political climate. Areas covered include Tanzania, Bangladesh, West Africa, Ghana, Romania, Russia, Mexico, and Nigeria. General chapters on induced abortion, demographic research and abortion policy, and social pressures to abort are also included. This unique approach to the study of abortion will contribute to a greater understanding of a prominent social issue.

Reviews

In this comprehensive edited volume, 22 contributors--demographers, psychologists, and anthropologists--take a well-balanced, "transdisciplinary" approach to their subject, examining the often contradictory social and political pressures for and against abortion in many parts of the world....Recommended. Faculty and specialists.-Choice
This is an important book that provides a wealth of information about a neglected subject. Given the way abortion attitudes, laws, and practices affect the well-being of millions of women around the globe, social development scholars and practitioners should consult Baru's book to become more familiar with the many complex issues attending induced abortion today.-Social Development Issues
"In this comprehensive edited volume, 22 contributors--demographers, psychologists, and anthropologists--take a well-balanced, "transdisciplinary" approach to their subject, examining the often contradictory social and political pressures for and against abortion in many parts of the world....Recommended. Faculty and specialists."-Choice
"This is an important book that provides a wealth of information about a neglected subject. Given the way abortion attitudes, laws, and practices affect the well-being of millions of women around the globe, social development scholars and practitioners should consult Baru's book to become more familiar with the many complex issues attending induced abortion today."-Social Development Issues

Author Bio

ALAKA MALWADE BASU is Senior Research Associate at the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University.