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Accepted Paper:
(Un)Safe? Legalisation: Abortion travels, self-managed abortion and the understanding of safety.
Joanna Mishtal
(University of Central Florida)
Giulia Zanini
(Ca' Foscari University of Venice)
Silvia De Zordo
(University of Barcelona)
Paper short abstract:
Most European abortion laws allow care within given legal terms. These and other barriers may result in women and pregnant people deciding to self-manage their abortion or travel abroad for care. We explore the relationship between legal frameworks and pregnant people’s perceptions of safety.
Paper long abstract:
The majority of abortion legislations in European countries allow abortion on given grounds and consider illegal all terminations that take place outside such legal terms. Irrespective of abortion legislations, women and pregnant people may encounter barriers to access and decide to self-manage their abortion or they travel abroad to find care. Drawing on a 6-year research project on abortion travel in Europe, in this paper we explore whether and how women and pregnant people travelling abroad to obtain abortion have attempted self-managed abortion (SMA) prior to travelling, and what understandings of abortion drive their decisions. We especially unpack the relationship between legal frameworks and pregnant people’s perceptions and understandings of safety, and illustrate how criminalizing of some abortions leaves little room for meeting everyone’s abortion needs.