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Restructuring reproduction

International and national pressures

University of Auckland, ma.baker{at}auckland.ac.nz

In 1968, the United Nations began viewing family planning as a human rights issue, relaxing the previous focus on population control. By the 1990s, UN documents empowered women in reproductive matters and urged governments to ensure women's access to a wider range of family planning services. However, after decades of widespread contraceptive usage, below-replacement fertility rates are once again worrying some governments in developed countries. This article traces policy and discourse changes relating to contraception, abortion and fertility decline, focusing on the `liberal' welfare states. Despite international pressure on governments, programs and discourse remain cross-nationally diverse, influenced by domestic politics and the relative strength of competing interest groups arguing about public funding, alternatives to `natural increase', maternal employment and the politics of choice.

Key Words: fertility decline • reproductive policies • restructuring social policies

Journal of Sociology, Vol. 44, No. 1, 65-81 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1440783307085843


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