Reproductive Laws for the 1990s (Contemporary Issues in Biomedicine, Ethics, and Society)

The Project on Reproductive Laws for the 1990s began in 1985 with the realization that reports of scientific developments and new technologies were stimulating debates and discussions among bioethicists and policymakers, and that women had little part in those discussions either as participants or as a group with interests to be considered. With the help of a planning grant from the Rutgers University Institute for Research on Women, the Women's Rights Litigation Clinic at Rutgers University Law School-Newark held a planning meeting that June attended by approximately 20 theorists and activists in the area of reproductive rights. Project purposes, methods, and general shape took form at the meeting. Two goals have characterized the Project's work since then: first, to generate discussion, debate, and, where possible, consensus among those committed to reproductive autonomy and gender equality as to how best to respond to the questions raised by re­ ported advances in reproductive and neonatal technology and new modes of reproduction; and second, to ensure that those shaping reproductive law and policy appreciate the ramifications of these developments for gender equality. In meeting this twofold agenda, the Project focused on six areas: time limits on abortion; prenatal screening; fetus as patient; reproductive hazards in the workplace; interference with reproductive choice; and alternative modes of reproduction. The Project identified individuals to take respon­ sibility for drafting model legislation and position papers in the six areas (for the drafters, see the Appendix). Front Matter....Pages i-x Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Introduction....Pages 3-10 Front Matter....Pages 11-11 Reproduction and Access to Health Care....Pages 13-20 Front Matter....Pages 21-21 Reproductive Laws, Women of Color, and Low-Income Women....Pages 23-67 Reproductive Technology and Disability....Pages 69-124 Front Matter....Pages 125-125 Time Limits on Abortion....Pages 129-153 Prenatal Screening....Pages 155-183 Fetus as Patient....Pages 185-235 “Hard Cases” and Reproductive Rights....Pages 237-240 Disability Rights Perspectives on Reproductive Technologies and Public Policy....Pages 241-247 The Fetus is a Patient....Pages 249-257 Reconciling Offspring and Maternal Interests during Pregnancy....Pages 259-274 Reproductive Hazards in the Workplace....Pages 277-305 Interference with Reproductive Choice....Pages 307-328 An Attorney General’s Outlook....Pages 329-330 The View from Capitol Hill....Pages 331-339 Protective Legislation and Occupational Hazards: Flawed Science and Poor Policies....Pages 341-351 A Model for Advocacy: From Proposals to Policy....Pages 353-358 Alternative Modes of Reproduction....Pages 361-403 Alternative Modes of Reproduction: Other Views and Questions....Pages 405-409 Regulating the New Reproductive Technologies....Pages 411-419 Front Matter....Pages 125-125 Alternative Modes of Reproduction: The Locus and Determinants of Choice....Pages 421-431 The Key Social Issues Posed by the New Reproductive Technologies: A Physician’s Perspective....Pages 433-438 Back Matter....Pages 441-472