“Women Deserve Better:” The Use of the Pro-Woman Frame in Anti-abortion Policies in U.S. States

IF 1.6 3区社会学 Q2 POLITICAL SCIENCE

Journal of Women Politics & Policy Pub Date : 2021-07-03 DOI:10.1080/1554477X.2021.1925478

Amanda M. Roberti

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引用次数: 5

Abstract

ABSTRACT In US political discourse, anti-abortion framing traditionally focuses on the right to life of the fetus. However, a “pro-life, pro-woman” frame increasingly gained ground among anti-abortion advocates inside and outside of elected office throughout the turn of the 21st century. The pro-woman frame in contemporary anti-abortion discourse situates abortion as inherently harmful for women – both psychologically and physically – and insists that women deserve better than abortion. By introducing regulatory abortion bills that “educate” women about abortion or protect them from potential harm of abortion, anti-abortion lawmakers may claim they are advocates for women. Though social movement scholars document the shift in focus from the fetus to the woman in anti-abortion movement rhetoric, it is equally important to trace this frame transformation among anti-abortion legislators. To uncover the presence of the pro-woman frame, this article analyzes anti-abortion bills introduced in all 50 US states from 2008 to 2017. The findings indicate that the pro-woman frame is found throughout a majority of the bills, which marks a significant use and acceptance of the frame by US state legislators. This frame transformation represents a strategic tactic of anti-abortion legislators to soften political behavior and beliefs that are seen as hostile toward women, especially during a time where there is an unprecedented amount of anti-abortion bills introduced in the states.

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“女性应该得到更好的待遇：”美国各州反堕胎政策中亲女性框架的使用

摘要在美国政治话语中，反堕胎框架传统上侧重于胎儿的生命权。然而，在整个21世纪之交，“支持生命、支持妇女”的框架在民选办公室内外的反堕胎倡导者中越来越深入人心。当代反堕胎话语中的亲女性框架将堕胎视为对女性的内在伤害——无论是心理上还是身体上——并坚持认为女性应该得到比堕胎更好的待遇。通过引入监管堕胎法案，“教育”女性堕胎或保护她们免受堕胎的潜在伤害，反堕胎立法者可能会声称自己是女性的倡导者。尽管社会运动学者记录了反堕胎运动言论中焦点从胎儿向女性的转变，但追踪反堕胎立法者的这种框架转变同样重要。为了揭示亲女性框架的存在，本文分析了2008年至2017年美国50个州出台的反堕胎法案。调查结果表明，在大多数法案中都存在亲女性的框架，这标志着美国州立法者对该框架的大量使用和接受。这种框架转变代表了反堕胎立法者的一种战略策略，以软化被视为对女性怀有敌意的政治行为和信仰，尤其是在各州出台了数量空前的反堕胎法案的时候。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Women Politics & Policy Multiple-

CiteScore

1.80

自引率

9.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Women, Politics & Policy explores women and their roles in the political process as well as key policy issues that impact women''s lives. Articles cover a range of tops about political processes from voters to leaders in interest groups and political parties, and office holders in the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government (including the increasingly relevant international bodies such as the European Union and World Trade Organization). They also examine the impact of public policies on women''s lives in areas such as tax and budget issues, poverty reduction and income security, education and employment, care giving, and health and human rights — including violence, safety, and reproductive rights — among many others. This multidisciplinary, international journal presents the work of social scientists — including political scientists, sociologists, economists, and public policy specialists — who study the world through a gendered lens and uncover how gender functions in the political and policy arenas. Throughout, the journal places a special emphasis on the intersection of gender, race/ethnicity, class, and other dimensions of women''s experiences.