{"title":"Democratic paradox: How federalism and religious activism fuel the rollback of abortion rights in the U.S","authors":"E. Chelle","doi":"10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101162","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This short report examines how the distinctive features of American democracy – particularly its federal structure and activism of religious organizations – shaped the evolution of abortion policy and contestation in the United States. As a synthesis, its purpose is to provide an analytical overview of the evolution of abortion policy in the United States through the lens of political science.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The bibliography was curated based on each source’s contribution to a political science framework for understanding abortion policy. Priority was given to works that offer conceptual, historical, or institutional insights relevant to the development of abortion regulation, the role of religious mobilization, and the dynamics of federalism in the U.S. context. All quantitative data referenced in this report originate from reputable research institutes and organizations. Notably, data on protest incidents and violence were drawn from the National Abortion Federation, while demographic and access statistics were sourced from the Guttmacher Institute and the Pew Research Center. These organizations are recognized for their methodological rigor and reliability in the field of reproductive health and public policy.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The results demonstrate how U.S. abortion rights have been shaped at the intersection of democratic processes and religious mobilization. The analysis reveals this evolution across four interconnected phases. First, it traces the initial policy formation (1880–1973), where professional and religious groups engaged with state-level democratic institutions to influence early legislation. Second, it examines the era of constitutional conflict (1973–2022), where the federal judiciary became the central democratic arena for rights contestation, culminating in the <em>Dobbs</em> decision. Third, it documents the concurrent rise of a powerful faith-based mobilization, which utilized democratic avenues of protest and lobbying to build a sustained opposition movement in a coherence with the consolidation of a conservative religious right. Finally, the paper highlights the resulting fragmentation of access as a direct outcome of the U.S. federal system—a core democratic feature—which allows politically and religiously motivated state governments to impose significant geographic and socioeconomic barriers. These findings illustrate how religious activism, channeled through America’s unique democratic structures, has defined the nation’s exceptional and contentious approach to abortion.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The primary conclusion is that democratic processes in the United States can paradoxically lead to a regression of established rights. This outcome is driven by the interplay between the nation’s federal institutions and its unique landscape of religious mobilization. The 2022 Dobbs decision exemplifies this dynamic, as it empowered state-level democratic processes to dismantle a nationally recognized right, a move fueled by intense religious activism distinct among Western nations. This has intensified geographic and socioeconomic disparities, demonstrating how America’s specific democratic framework can facilitate a rollback of rights and increase the country’s policy isolation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37707,"journal":{"name":"Ethics, Medicine and Public Health","volume":"33 ","pages":"Article 101162"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Ethics, Medicine and Public Health","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352552525001215","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective
This short report examines how the distinctive features of American democracy – particularly its federal structure and activism of religious organizations – shaped the evolution of abortion policy and contestation in the United States. As a synthesis, its purpose is to provide an analytical overview of the evolution of abortion policy in the United States through the lens of political science.
Methods
The bibliography was curated based on each source’s contribution to a political science framework for understanding abortion policy. Priority was given to works that offer conceptual, historical, or institutional insights relevant to the development of abortion regulation, the role of religious mobilization, and the dynamics of federalism in the U.S. context. All quantitative data referenced in this report originate from reputable research institutes and organizations. Notably, data on protest incidents and violence were drawn from the National Abortion Federation, while demographic and access statistics were sourced from the Guttmacher Institute and the Pew Research Center. These organizations are recognized for their methodological rigor and reliability in the field of reproductive health and public policy.
Results
The results demonstrate how U.S. abortion rights have been shaped at the intersection of democratic processes and religious mobilization. The analysis reveals this evolution across four interconnected phases. First, it traces the initial policy formation (1880–1973), where professional and religious groups engaged with state-level democratic institutions to influence early legislation. Second, it examines the era of constitutional conflict (1973–2022), where the federal judiciary became the central democratic arena for rights contestation, culminating in the Dobbs decision. Third, it documents the concurrent rise of a powerful faith-based mobilization, which utilized democratic avenues of protest and lobbying to build a sustained opposition movement in a coherence with the consolidation of a conservative religious right. Finally, the paper highlights the resulting fragmentation of access as a direct outcome of the U.S. federal system—a core democratic feature—which allows politically and religiously motivated state governments to impose significant geographic and socioeconomic barriers. These findings illustrate how religious activism, channeled through America’s unique democratic structures, has defined the nation’s exceptional and contentious approach to abortion.
Conclusions
The primary conclusion is that democratic processes in the United States can paradoxically lead to a regression of established rights. This outcome is driven by the interplay between the nation’s federal institutions and its unique landscape of religious mobilization. The 2022 Dobbs decision exemplifies this dynamic, as it empowered state-level democratic processes to dismantle a nationally recognized right, a move fueled by intense religious activism distinct among Western nations. This has intensified geographic and socioeconomic disparities, demonstrating how America’s specific democratic framework can facilitate a rollback of rights and increase the country’s policy isolation.
期刊介绍:
This review aims to compare approaches to medical ethics and bioethics in two forms, Anglo-Saxon (Ethics, Medicine and Public Health) and French (Ethique, Médecine et Politiques Publiques). Thus, in their native languages, the authors will present research on the legitimacy of the practice and appreciation of the consequences of acts towards patients as compared to the limits acceptable by the community, as illustrated by the democratic debate.