The Polarization of Reproductive and Parental Decision-Making

Authors

Jamie R. Abrams, University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Women’s abortion and parental decision-making in child rearing are constructed as polarized methods of decision-making in law, politics, and society. Women’s abortion decision-making is understood as myopic and individualistic. Parental decision-making is understood as sacrificial and selfless. This polarization leaves reproductive decision-making isolated, marginalized, and vulnerable while parental decision-making is essentialized, protected, and revered. Both framings are inaccurate and problematic. A unified family decision-making framework that aligns abortion decision-making and parental decision-making reveals that both forms of decision-making are more multi-dimensional, relational, and family-centered than currently understood. This Article exposes the ground to be gained by crossing longstanding boundaries in family law and reproductive rights to more accurately and inclusively frame decision-making. This is a critical step to pull abortion decision-making from its marginalized periphery and reposition it as complex, imperfect, family-focused, and central to family law

Recommended Citation

Jamie R. Abrams, The Polarization of Reproductive and Parental Decision-Making, 44 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 1281 (2018) .
https://ir.law.fsu.edu/lr/vol44/iss4/1