Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

I am grateful for David Pozen's thoughtful observations regarding About Abortion. They have sharpened my understanding of how to think about the problem of abortion – or more accurately, about how abortion is kept problematic – as a matter of law and of social practice. I invoke the word "problematic" to describe the cultural setting in which abortion sits: although the procedure is legal, common, and safe, it is often treated as though it were not legal, or barely so; not common, except perhaps for women and girls who have nothing to do with you; and not at all safe, but rather an invitation to life-long suffering. These disconnects between abortion's reputation and its actuality are illuminated through Pozen's discussions of the "abortion closet" and of his application of "rules and standards" to abortion. In this reply, I expand briefly on his insights, beginning with closets.

Disciplines

Health Law and Policy | Law | Law and Society

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Comments

In reply to:

David E. Pozen, The Abortion Closet (with a Note on Rules and Standards), Columbia Journal of Gender & Law, Vol. 35, p. 161, 2017.

Download

Share

COinS