The social meaning of abortion and the perils of a neoliberal rights-based discourse

Abstract

In 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and thus ended the legal protection of access to abortion at the federal level. Using techniques of corpus linguistics paired with critical discourse analysis, this article examines how the word abortion is used in a corpus of newspaper reports covering the decision. The analysis uncovers a staunch position of the right to abortion as an abstracted notion, alongside a simultaneous legitimation of individuals acting on those rights in order to construct them as worthy. In essence, the news media discursively reproduce a hegemonic order that demands adherence to the system, valorises responsible subjects and obscures structural inequities of gender, race and class in the name of freedom of choice. Echoing the call of Black and Indigenous feminist activists, this article argues for a shift in discourse towards one of reproductive justice.