Abortion Politics, Women's Movements, and the Democratic State: A Comparative Study of State Feminism (Gender and Politics Series)

containing The Results Of A Cross-national Research Project On Abortion Politics In Eleven Democratic States (between The 1960s And 2000), This Volume Marks Major Progress In Abortion Research. It Develops A Comprehensive Research Design To Examine Whether Or Not Women's Policy Agencies (institutional Groups Intended To Improve The Status Of Women) Have Functioned As Necessary And Effective Allies Of Women's Movements. It Explores Their Efforts To Gain Access To Power Arenas And Secure Abortion Laws That Coincide With Feminist Goals. Indeed, These Findings Constitute A Rigorous Application Of Comparative Methodology To Assess Explanations From Social Movement And Democratic Theory Pertaining To Variations In State Feminism And Movement Success. This book comprises the results of a cross-national research project on abortion politics in 11 democratic states between the 1960s and 2000. The authors have developed a comprehensive research design to examine whether or not women's policy agencies(institutional machineries intended to improve the status of women) have functioned as necessary and effective allies of women's movements in their efforts to gain access to power arenas and secure abortion laws that coincide with feminist goals. The findings constitute a rigorous application of comparative methodology to assess explanations from social movement and democratic theory pertaining to variations in state feminism and movement success. - ;Abortion Politics, Women's Movements and the Democratic State examines the impact of women's movements since the 1960s on the policy-making processes determining abortion laws. The impact of women's movements is assessed in terms of their success in increasing the democratic representation of women generally and movement organizations specifically. Rather than asking 'how many women are in political office' this study asks 'to what extent are women included in the day to day process of making decisions?' Of special interest in this project is the extent to which states, through establishment of women's policy agencies, have assisted, opposed, or ignored the demands of movement activists for access to power and for feminist abortion policies. Researchers have examined these questions in policy debates over the last four decades in 11 advanced industrial democracies: Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States Abortion Politics, Women's Movements and the Democratic State examines the impact of women's movements since the 1960s on the policy-making processes determining abortion laws. The impact of women's movements is assessed in terms of their success in increasing the democratic representation of women generally and movement organizations specifically. Rather than asking 'how many women are in political office' this study asks 'to what extent are women included in the day to day process of making decisions?' Of special interest in this project is the extent to which states, through establishment of women's policy agencies, have assisted, opposed, or ignored the demands of movement activists for access to power and for feminist abortion policies. Researchers have examined these questions in policy debates over the last four decades in 11 advanced industrial democracies: Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States. The findings of this cross-national longitudinal study document that women's movements have been successful in gaining both substantive and descriptive representation on abortion policy in a majority of the 32 debates studied. The ability of women's policy offices to provide a necessary and effective linkage between women's movement activism and increased democratic representation in policy- making varies both cross-nationally and over time. The openness of policy subsystems and the status of the parties on the left are factors that interact with variations in movement cohesion and resources to account for these variations. Introduction: abortion, women's movements, and democratic politics / Dorothy McBride Stetson State feminism and policy debates on abortion in Austria / Regina Köpl The abortion debates in Belgium 1974-1990 / Karen Celis Of rights and power: Canada's federal abortion policy 1969-1991 / Melissa Haussman Gendering the abortion debate: the French case / Jean C. Robinson Abortion debates in Germany / Lynn Kamenitsa Women's movements' defence of legal abortion in Great Britain / Dorothy McBride Stetson Abortion debates in Ireland: an ongoing issue / Evelyn Mahon Debates and controversies on abortion in Italy / Marina Calloni Policy-making on abortion: arenas, actors, and arguments in the Netherlands / Joyce Outshoorn Gendering abortion debates: state feminism in Spain / Celia Valiente US abortion debates 1959-1998: the women's movement holds on / Dorothy McBride Stetson Conclusion: comparative abortion politics and the case for state feminism / Dorothy McBride Stetson "Containing the results of a cross-national research project on abortion politics in eleven democratic states (between the 1960s and 2000), this volume marks major progress in abortion research. It develops a comprehensive research design to examine whether or not women's policy agencies (institutional groups intended to improve the status of women) have functioned as necessary and effective allies of women's movements. It explores their efforts to gain access to power arenas and secure abortion laws that coincide with feminist goals. Indeed, these findings constitute a rigorous application of comparative methodology to assess explanations from social movement and democratic theory pertaining to variations in state feminism and movement success."--Jacket This volume examines the impact of women's movements on the policy making processes determining abortion laws. It comprises the results of a cross-national research project on abortion politics in 11 democratic states between the 1960s and 2000