Regulating Abortion: The Politics of US Abortion Policy

by Deborah R. McFarlane, Wendy L. Hansen

Overview

Explores the historical development and severe ramifications of America's strict abortion regulations.

Nearly one in four women in the United States undergoes an abortion during their life. In Regulating Abortion, Deborah R. McFarlane and Wendy L. Hansen uncover the history of the complex web of regulations surrounding abortion in the United States and shed light on the stark reality of this heavily regulated and politically divisive health care service.

McFarlane and Hansen delve into the historical development of abortion regulations since Roe v. Wade. They explore the underlying reasons for the extensive regulation of what they assert is a routine and safe medical procedure. The authors examine the multitude of factors that influence state-level abortion policies, including party affiliation, religion, the representation of women in legislatures, and political contributions. By demonstrating how these factors shape the landscape of abortion regulation across different states, they reveal the varying methods and justifications used to either restrict or protect abortion access, with a particular focus on the disproportionate impacts on women of color.

The recent landmark US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned long-standing precedents. McFarlane and Hansen provide timely insights into the implications of this ruling and how it further amplifies the disparities among states in regulating abortion. An essential resource for understanding the influences driving this divide, Regulating Abortion offers a comprehensive analysis of US abortion policy contextualized by relevant Supreme Court decisions and a comparative exploration of abortion regulation in Western Europe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421448718
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	05/28/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Deborah R. McFarlane, DrPH, is a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico. She is the coauthor of The Politics of Fertility Control: Family Planning and Abortion Policies in the American States and the editor of Global Population and Reproductive Health. She received her DrPH from the University of Texas, her MPA from Harvard University, and her MPH from the University of Michigan. Wendy L. Hansen is a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico. Her research focuses broadly on public policy and government regulation, including such areas as voting behavior, campaign finance, reparations, and refugee integration, with an emphasis on econometric modeling of government, corporate and individual level decision-making. She received her BA from Lawrence University and her PhD from the California Institute of Technology.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables
Acknowedgments
Introduction
1. Abortion Services in the United States and Theoretical Approaches to Their Regulation
2. Setting the Parameters for State Abortion Policies
3. Weakeneing Roe
4. Politics across the States
5. After the Policymakers Go Home
6. How Abortion Is Regulated in Western Europe
7. The Dobbs Decision and Beyond
Conclusion
Appendix
Notes
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Regulating Abortion delivers a meticulous investigation of state-level abortion policies spanning the past three decades. McFarlane and Hansen's work illuminates the inequitable reality of how women of color and poor women continue to bear the harshest consequences of unjust regulatory policies which have eroded access to abortion services.
—Alesha E. Doan, author of Abortion Regret: The New Attack on Reproductive Freedom

Relying heavily on the fields of political science and public health, this book provides detailed and rich quantitative analyses of abortion regulation in the United States prior to and after the Dobbs decision, revealing how the US judicial system never fully protected the right to abortion. A necessary read for any scholar of abortion regulation.
—Tracy Weitz, American University

Editorial Reviews

Regulating Abortion: The Politics of US Abortion Policy by political scientists and public health experts Deborah R McFarlane and Wendy L Hansen documents the evolution of the disparate state-level regulations of abortion care. Despite both medication and surgical induced abortions being safe procedures, the authors analyze the passage of state laws that step-by-step limited both the supply of and access to abortion care.
—Lancet

From the Publisher