CfP: Abortion in the British Isles, France and North America since 1800
International Conference organised by the University of Paris-Sorbonne (France), 6-8 November 2018.
Conveners:
Claire Charlot, Adrien Lherm (Paris-Sorbonne, HDEA EA 4086), and
Fabienne Portier-Le Cocq (University François Rabelais, Tours, ICD EA
6297).
Around the world, 2018 will mark the anniversary
of a series of events relating to the decriminalisation of abortion: the
enforcement of the UK Abortion Act 1967 (50 years), the US Supreme
Court ruling of Roe vs. Wade (45 years), and the Canada Supreme Court ruling of R. v. Morgentaler
(25 years). The Republic of Ireland is also planning a referendum on
the possible repeal of Article 8 of its Constitution which, if approved,
would lead to the decriminalisation of abortion there too. In addition,
shortly after the British General Election of 2017, Prime Minister,
Theresa May, announced that women from Northern Ireland (currently
excluded from the British Abortion Act) would be allowed to travel to
mainland Britain to secure an abortion on the National Health Service.
Over
the years, some countries have authorised abortion on therapeutic
grounds (when the physical and mental health of the mother or health of
the foetus is at risk), and sometimes extended terminations to other
grounds such as birth control or the right of women to take control over
their bodies. In this instance, the context provided by the 1960s and
the 1970s would prove decisive in the liberalisation of legislation; a
move described by some as ‘permissive’ and by others as ‘progressive’. A
reform of the laws on contraception often pre-dated the legalisation of
abortion, helping to shape a context in which women sought greater
freedom from child-bearing.
However, despite changes in attitudes
and legal frameworks, the abortion debate goes on and many attempts have
been and are still being made to turn the clock back. This can take
various forms: street protests, physical violence (including assault and
shootings), legal challenges, and demands for amendment or repeal of
existing legislation from anti-abortion lobbies and political movements
or parties created for the sole purpose of going back to a world without
legally-available abortion.
The aim of this conference will be to
consider all these developments in France and in the UK, Ireland,
Canada and the United States, and to seek to explain how debate, the
Law, as well as the situation on the ground, have changed over the last
two centuries in the different countries concerned. Among the possible
topics of interest for the conference are: a) quantifying abortions and
relating the phenomenon to that of statistical knowledge; b) charting
the evolution of the legislation or rulings which led to the
criminalisation and then the decriminalisation of abortion; c) examining
the social status of women affected by those changes in the countries
concerned; d) describing and explaining changes in attitudes among the
various actors involved: public opinion, the medical profession,
politicians, members of the different churches, journalists, the
activists of the different movements or political parties and of course
women themselves; e) exploring the sociological profiles of women who
seek abortions.
Such topics raise a number of key questions. Is
abortion used today as a method of birth control? Can we speak of
abortion on demand? Can we speak of a backlash against abortion? Such
questions, it is hoped, will contribute to an interdisciplinary
discussion among conference participants concerning the issues raised by
abortion.
Proposals for papers on one of these topics – or others
– are invited either in French or English, and may address only one
aspect of the abortion question at a national level, or adopt a
comparative approach. We hope to attract specialists from a wide variety
of fields: bioethics, demography, law, religious studies, economics,
history, medical studies, philosophy, sociology, political science, and
so on.
Please send a proposal (a 500-word abstract and a short CV) to each of the three organisers: Claire Charlot (clairecharlot.sorbonne@gmail.com), Adrien Lherm (adrienlherm@wanadoo.fr) and Fabienne Portier-Le Cocq (fabienne.portier-lecocq@univ-tours.fr). The deadline is 23rd December 2017. Those submitting a proposal will be informed before the New Year whether their paper has been accepted. Some papers will be published. A registration fee will be asked of participants.
Scientific committee:
Nathalie Bajos (INSERM, France), Françoise Barret-Ducrocq
(Paris-Diderot, France), Claire Charlot (Paris-Sorbonne, France), Ann
Furedi (Bpas, United Kingdom), Hélène Harter (Rennes 2, France),
Françoise Le Jeune (Nantes, France), Adrien Lherm (Paris-Sorbonne,
France), Janine Mossuz-Lavau (CNRS, CEVIPOF), Fabienne Portier-Le Cocq
(Tours, France), Joshua C. Wilson (Denver, USA).
Contact Email: clairecharlot.sorbonne@gmail.com