Contradictions of democratization: The politics of reproductive rights and policies in postsocialist Poland.

摘要

My dissertation, Contradictions of Democratization: The Politics of Reproductive Rights and Policies in Postsocialist Poland, is an ethnographic study of the effects of the post-socialist democratization process on reproductive rights and policies, particularly in light of globalization, such as the European Union (EU) expansion. Specifically, my dissertation focuses on the effects of restrictions in access to abortion, sex education, contraception, and prenatal testing on women from a range of socioeconomic classes. I analyze reproductive policies through the lens of a puzzle: Why is it that the birth rate is falling despite a revival of the Catholic focus on motherhood and the accompanying restrictions in access to reproductive and family planning services? My research shows that abortion and reproductive politics are at the center of transformative and controversial negotiations taking place nationally in Poland and internationally within the EU. While East European nations are seeking legitimacy as newly emerging democratic states through EU membership and the opening of their economies to free market liberalism, they are internally battling the emerging social movements that are attempting to open new democratic channels by challenging traditional power structures. The Polish Catholic Church, heroically influential in prompting the fall of socialism, now finds itself being challenged by new democratic actors such as non-governmental organizations working for liberalization of reproductive policies. Thus, I analyze the reciprocal effect of how politics affects reproduction and how reproduction is used in the political process. My study examines four crucial questions: (1) What are the effects of restrictive postsocialist reproductive policies on women's body autonomy, reproductive health, and their reproductive and sexual decision-making? (2) What are the lived experiences of women as they strategize to maintain reproductive and sexual agency under the regulation and surveillance of body politics of the Church and the state? (3) How are abortion and reproduction used by states and politicians to legitimize their national and European agendas?, and (4) What is the role of the Catholic Church in shaping reproductive and sexual health policies in Poland and in the EU?