Reproductive Rights. A study of pro-choice activists in times of anti-gender ideology in Poland
Abstract: Reproductive rights are an immanent part of human rights. In this thesis, I have conducted seven semi-structured interviews with Polish pro-choice and pro-abortion activists. Through the lens of multiple methods including interviews, participant observation, reflexivity, analysis of online and offline data I addressed questions on the activists’ perception of their roles and their assessment of the legal status of abortion in Poland. The participants’ narrative exposed their conditions of activism in times of anti-gender ideology and the undertaken strategies against current abortion law. Intending to produce that result, I analyzed the stories told by the activists of pro-choice movement drawing on Foucault’s approach to power relations, the meaning of citizenship in the view of feminist scholars, and social movement theory. Although the activists talked about their obstacles in many ways, I find that they turned out to unanimously accuse politicians, the Catholic Church, and anti-choice organizations supporting restrictive abortion rights. Activists present themselves as stigmatized, unheard, frustrated, angry but also full of hope for coming changes. They describe a danger and risk related to pro-choice activism for legal and social perspectives. I find that scattered strategies and the diversity of activists are the strength of the movement. However, the main key to change is their unification and cooperation across divisions.
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