Reproductive Rights and Fascist Threat

The movement ofhistory is toward more reproductive rights for persons to decide whether to become pregnant orto terminate a pregnancy. This movement contributes to the buildup ofa fair society in which becoming pregnant is nota liabilityand does notjeopardizean individual'sautonomyand independe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of public health (1971) 2022-09, Vol.112 (9), p.1229-1229
Main Author: Morabia, Alfredo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abortion
Birth control
Contraception
Decriminalization
Editor's Choice
Elections
Fascism
Government
Health Law
Human Rights
Pregnancy
Presidents
Public health
Public hearings
Public participation
Reproductive rights
Social Science
Supreme courts
White supremacy
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Summary:The movement ofhistory is toward more reproductive rights for persons to decide whether to become pregnant orto terminate a pregnancy. This movement contributes to the buildup ofa fair society in which becoming pregnant is nota liabilityand does notjeopardizean individual'sautonomyand independence. Indeed, reproductive rights accompanythe strengthening ofdemocracies. Consider LatinAmerica. After years ofconservative governments and military dictatorships, abortion was legalized in Argentina in 2020 and in Colombia in 2022. The case of Chile is of particular interest. In 1971, General Augusto Pinochet, with the help ofthe CIA, attacked the government palace in Santiago de Chile to overthrowthe legally elected government ofSalvadorAllende. Under Pinochet's dictature, abortion became criminalized under anycircumstances. Recently, afterthe election ofa progressive government, Chile's new Constituent Assemblyvoted to include reproductive rights, including "a voluntaryinterruption ofpregnancy," in the draft constitution (https://reut.rs/3QBGRmB).Unfortunately, the United States provides an example ofmovement in the opposite direction: reproductive rights and democracyare currentlytargeted simultaneously. The Supreme Court has released a reactionary opinion holdingthatthere is nofederal constitutional rightto abortion in the United States, openingthe door for states, and potentiallythefederal government under a newadministration, to prohibitabortion. Atthe same time, the public hearings ofthe congressional Select Committee to Investigate theJanuary 6th Attack on the United States Capitol vividly show that it is now for the United States to reckon with its own Pinochets-to-be who send violent, White supremacist squads against the Capitol to keep the elected Joseph Biden from being president (https://january6th.house.gov). The hearings describe the carefully organized coup we denounced last year (https://am.ajph.link/FascistThreat).
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2022.307001