Annotated Bibliography

Australian Government. (2007). MBS Online- Medicare Benefits Schedule. Retrieved November 29, 2007 from http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/search.cfm?q=35643%2C35639+and+35640&sopt=S I was so lucky to have found this information. I was searching through Medicare’s website, Australia’s universal health care system, and couldn’t find any information on abortion, even concerning whether or not they covered it. I emailed them and got a response the next day (from a government system!) with a link to this page containing useful information for this project. It mentions many types of abortion with the original fee, the percentage of reimbursement, and what that percentage amounts to, allowing a woman to calculate how much she would actually be paying out of pocket after the reimbursement. Baumgardner, J. and Richards, A. “A Day without Feminism.” Manifesta. Ed. Baumgardner, Jennifer and Richards, Amy. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux: New York, 2000. 3-9. This is a book we read in Dr. Spencer’s women’s studies class “From Friedan Forward” and concerns many issues facing women today. It opens with a discussion about what exactly feminism is, then goes on to talk about issues such as where the media comes in to play, how feminism changes throughout a woman’s life, certain aspects of culture, how to relate feminism to the younger generation, how to become involved in activism, and more. I used this book mainly to illustrate the fact that pregnancy was a woman’s problem, and nothing a man had to take responsibility for.

Cline, A. (2007) Abortion & Religion: Diverse Religious Traditions on the Morality of Abortion. Retrieved December 4, 2007 from http://atheism.about.com/od/abortioncontraception/p/Religions.htm

This article from about.com focuses on different religious views on abortion. It is quite thorough, covering everything from Roman Catholicism to Sikhism, and many views in between. It discusses the religious stance on the act of abortion and any exception that might be allowed. In many of the religions, abortion is recognized as more than just murder and exceptions will be made for the sake of the mother. This article also offers links within the site to other related links, as well as related sponsored links.

dictionary.com- Access, Legality, Rural, and Urban

I used dictionary.com simply to define these four terms. All I did was type the term into the top and determine from the list of definitions it generated which was most conducive to my project.

Dhruvarajan, Vanaja. “Gender, Race, and Nation.” Gender, Race, and Nation. Ed. Dhruvarajan, Vanaja and Vickers, Jill. University of Toronto Press Incorporated: Toronto, 2002. 25-63

Chapter 1- This chapter focused on the concept of difference, and how dividing solely by gender, gender roles, or sex, may marginalize an entire group of women who may not feel represented. How differences are evaluated is one of the most important things when concerned with difference; when makes one woman different from another? One thing or many things, and how much does or should each facet of difference matter? This chapter links difference, and considering difference to Western thought and forming difference into political practice. Then it stems into weaknesses of issues that do not reach beyond difference- such as a sole division on sex. It also discusses limits to this way of thinking and suggests alternatives. Finally, it provides a tangible example of how to deal with difference on a daily basis and determines how systems of power develop when difference is concerned.

Marie Stopes International. (2006) Youth Programmes and Education. Retrieved December 4, 2007 from http://www.mariestopes.com.au/youth_education

A lot of the sites within Australia were incredibly interesting and informative, and this one is no different. It is a comprehensive website of information and services specifically geared to youth education. This site offers information in the form of statistics, services, center locations, latest news, research, and two things especially for teens: likeitis.org and sextxt. Likeitis.org is a teen subsidiary website with information about sexual and reproductive health, and sextxt is a texting service which allows teens to receive information to their cell phones. Not only is this site offering information to the layman looking for information for a project, but it is helpful in determining what its audience need and giving it to them.

Mohanty, Chandra, T. “Sisterhood, Coalition, and the Politics of Experience.” Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity. Duke University Press: North Carolina, 2003. 106-123.

I used this chapter, “Sisterhood, Coalition, and the Politics of Experience” simply for the definition “politics of location” which I felt was very important to my project, as location is vital when determining any kind of access, especially that to abortion. However, this chapter contains more than this simple definition, much of which was discussed in posts and class. One of the main things that Chandra Mohanty mentions in chapter four is universality of gender oppression, and how this is an inaccurate portrayal of the subjugation that women across the world face. Yes, women are widely oppressed in different ways, but the oppression is not equal and to claim equality in oppression is assuming other factors such as race and class must be invisible. Another thing mentioned within this chapter is coalition, and the concern with differences within political structures, and within the home.

Mohanty, Chandra, T. “Genealogies of community, home and nation.” Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity. Duke University Press: North Carolina, 2003. 124-136.

Chapter five I used to form a definition for multicultural feminism, but it was also a very informative chapter and one we discussed in class in great length as well. This chapter emphasizes the importance of a community and how we must look outside ourselves as individuals and look to others to guide our way of thinking. Not let others think for us, but not think only for ourselves as well. It’s important to consider who your community is and how it is made up, and what you like and dislike about it, and how to change what you don’t or emphasize what you do like. We need to respect the differences in every member within our community, whether that community be Denton as is our case, or on a larger scale. Why is the first thought or question “Where are you from?” or “When are you going home?” rather than “What can I do to make your time here more enjoyable?” when speaking to someone from a different country? Not only will this show respect, but it will show that you deserve it as well, and a circle will be formed.

Moss, Tamara. (2004). Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing in the United States. Retrieved December 5, 2007 from http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/PUBLICATIONS/factsheet/fsprechd.htm

This article discusses the declining rate of pregnancy, birth rates, and abortion rates among adolescents in the United States in every age and racial/ethnic group. It states that researchers maintain that teens are becoming more active users of contraceptives, or are choosing to remain abstinent during early and middle adolescence. It does state, however, that the U.S. continues to have higher rates of pregnancy, birth, and abortion than other industrialized nations. The article goes on to state some facts concerning pregnancy rates among sexually active teens, birth rates in all age groups, birth rates in all racial/ethnic groups, abortion rate, and that many births occurred to teens living in poverty and to unmarried teens.

Simpson, N. and Henrietta, W. (2003) Interview: Teenage pregnancy and abortion rates in Australia cause for concern. Retrieved December 5, 2007 from http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2003/s917051.htm

This article is an interview with reporter Natasha Simpson and Dr. Henrietta Williams of Family Planning Victoria on Eleanor Hall’s show, host of The World Today's lunch hour of current affairs, from August 2003 concerning teenage pregnancy and abortion rates. The need for better sex education and proper methods of contraception are discussed, as well as the trends toward higher rates of both birth and abortions in Australia. There is mention that parents may be uncomfortable discussing sex with their children, but that the earlier sex education is discussed the less poor outcomes there will be. The reporter mentions that some feel that earlier sex education promotes sexual promiscuity, and Eleanor responds with stating the lack of research proving this fact, but that it actually improves sexual health.

Wikipedia. (2004). Abortion in Australia. Retrieved November 29, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Australia

This was another website I used frequently within my research. It concerns the general issue of abortion in Australia and begins by discussing the history of abortion in the country, the state-by-state legal situation with a map that I utilized in my blog, and public opinion. Again, it ends with links to articles within Wikipedia.

Wikipedia. (2003) Abortion in the United States. Retrieved November 28, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_the_United_States

This was a thorough article that I used as a source more than once throughout the course of this project, sometimes just to check facts against it, other times to use its information. It was very comprehensive in its coverage of the general aspects of abortion in the U.S., covering issues such as statistics, public opinion, abortion before Roe v. Wade, what happened in Roe v. Wade, and other legislative decisions concerning abortion.

Wikipedia. (2005) Abortion-Related Violence. Retrieved November 30, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion-related_violence

Another hard to swallow and difficult article, but again crucial to my project, I found this information to be irreplaceable. It goes into depth about abortion related violence in the United States and across the world where violence has occurred. This article has dates, names, and types of incidents, and the places where these incidents occurred. It also includes a section concerning support of abortion related violence, and how people on either side of the debate feel about the attacks. It also mentions abortion related violence in popular culture, media, and literature, and closes with links to related articles within Wikipedia.

Wikipedia. (2005). Pro-Life. Retrieved November 30, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro-life

As controversial as this information was, it was crucial to my project and I was glad to have been able to find it. This article discussed the diversity surrounding the debate, as well as the debate of pro and anti-choice itself, legalities and politics, religious motivations, term controversy, and activism.

Wikipedia. (2006) Legal protection of Access to Abortion. Retrieved November 30, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_protection_of_access_to_abortion


This article had a lot of relevant information to my project and I ended up using it quite a bit in many entries. It discusses the actions that different governments take to protect the access to abortion, such as setting up buffer zones- free and floating- to guard facilities, employees, and women who make use of services offered. The article begins with laws in Australia and Canada, then in great and detailed length, discusses laws in the U.S. It goes law by law when there are more than one state with the same law, or state by state when there are specifics in one state that don’t necessarily apply to another. The article ends with the debate about legal protection of access with some arguing that it’s a necessary privilege and others saying that it is an infringement of their rights. This article, like the other Wikipedia articles, ends with related links to articles within Wikipedia.

Wikipedia- Racism, Classism, Sexism, and Ageism

For the “isms”, I used Wikipedia similar to the way I used dictionary.com except that I used Google as my search tool and the Wikipedia definition.

Yellow Pages AU. (2007). Pregnancy Termination Services in All States. Retrieved November 29, 2007 from http://www.yellowpages.com.au/search/postSearchEntry.do;jsessionid=BA33BA434F03A8AEC4CEA62DB811B188.yp304_22124?clueType=0&clue=Pregnancy+Termination+Services&locationClue=&x=42&y=16

The Yellow Pages AU proved to be a valuable source of information, because I am not sure where else to look for a comprehensive list of abortion clinics in a country. Similar to the U.S. yellow pages, it lists a total number of clinics nation wide, as well as the number of clinics within each state. It was slightly misleading, however, because one organization might offer services in a location but not have a center there, which seemed to cause a discrepancy in the total number of clinics.

Yellow Pages US. (2007) Abortion Services nationwide. Retrieved November 30, 2007 from http://www.yellowpages.com/nationwide/category_search/Abortion-Services?search_terms=abortion+clinics&search_mode=all

I was happy to have found this site, because I couldn’t think of any other way to determine the number of clinics nationwide. Yellow Pages online lists the total number of clinics nation wide, and in a sidebar on the left lists the number of clinics in each state, including D.C. The listings offer locations and contact information, and sometimes reviews, links to list of services, their website, payment options, or hours of operation.

**I could not for the life of me make Blogger let me do any sort of hanging indent. My apologies, but I do recognize that is part of APA format citations! Also somehow the spacing is off from what I am trying to do in my edit to what it shows in the actual blog so I had to go back and bold all the citations to make them easier to differentiate.

Where do we go from here?

While keeping abortion legal and accessible is a valiant fight and widely known as a concern for women’s rights, one might wonder why the rate of abortion is so high. Yes, the practice of abortion has been around since the beginning of time, with spontaneous abortion, women using herbs to cause sickness, or tools to “stir the uterus”. And there will always be the instance of failed contraceptives, rape, and other cases where a child should not be brought into the world. But why is the rate so high? Australia has one of the highest teenage abortion rates in the world and it is ranked sixth among OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries for teenage pregnancies. Abortions are the second most common reason for young Australian woman to be admitted to the hospital, and 22 out of every 1000 pregnancies result in an abortion, compared with 19 out of 1000 live births. http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2003/s917051.htm In the U.S., the abortion rate among teenage women is decreasing. The most recent information I found stated that among 15- to 19-year-old females, the abortion rate declined by 39 percent between 1990 and 1999, from 38 per 1,000 women to 25. The birth rate also fell, with my source stating that among all teens ages 15 to 19, the U.S. birth rate declined by 30 percent between 1991 and 2002, from 62 per 1,000 women in 1991 to a record low of 43 in 2002. http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/PUBLICATIONS/factsheet/fsprechd.htm 22 abortions in Australia and 25 in the U.S. out of 1000 teenage women doesn’t seem like much, especially when you consider the fact that the numbers are falling. But when one is coerced into having a sexual encounter, not educated about contraceptives or birth control, or forced to abort a female fetus or forced to abort for other reasons, even one abortion can be too many. Not that I’m taking an anti-choice stance here, as my use of words might convey. The fact is, abortion is not a simple procedure, nor is it one that should be taken lightly, but it is a choice that women must have. However, there must be steps to prevent the necessity of an abortion such as education reform. Do away with abstinence only education. Yes, it’s a beautiful ideal, but the fact is, teens experiment and have sexual encounters, and parents are less and less likely to talk to their children about sex, depending on schools to do it for them. If the schools promote “Just say no”, these teens get their information from their friends, information ranging anywhere from “Do it standing up and you wont get pregnant” to “You can get pregnant from swallowing” to any of the other atrocities you hear on the streets and in school hallways that are completely untrue. Abortion should be legal and accessible to all women everywhere. It should be a choice one woman makes for herself, based on what she believes and what her life circumstances are. To help prevent the need to make this choice aside from instances of rape, failed contraceptives, and other accidents, I feel that education reform is a big key. Also, removing the stigma from sex, not to degrade it but to impart accurate and impartial knowledge at all appropriate age levels.

To futher the change of our foremothers, we must first recognize a woman a whole being which incorporates reproductive rights, but of which is not wholly made. We must ask ourselves why sex is so frightening that we shy away from the discussion with our parents or children, and do not embrace it as a part of our human being and development. We must listen to the voices that can't be heard, and instead of speaking for them, silence others so that they may speak for themselves. We must recognize a pregnancy as the responsibility of a man and a woman instead of soley stigmatizing the woman. We must embrace choice as the correct option in the furthering on women's and reproductive rights. We must reform our education and health care systems so that access is granted to those who need it most.

We must think outside ourselves, advocate, and act for the rights we, as feminists, as people, deserve.

Social effects of access

Aside from the legalities for a moment, another thing that can affect access to abortion is the social norm of the area a woman may be living in. Country, city, city size, religion, morals, values, culture, family, age, education level, career, ambitions, any and all of these and more could affect a woman's decision to have or not have an abortion.

We have briefly discussed the differences a country could have on the accessibility of an abortion to a woman. The city and mainly the size of the city a woman is living in could make a big difference in her decision if she is easily or even not so easily swayed by others. For example, “ [if] a girl ‘gets herself pregnant,’ she could lose her membership in her local chapter of the National Honor Society.” (Manifesta p. 5) This could influence a woman’s decision to abort a child if keeping that membership is important to her or her family; one could argue that the possibility of losing her membership in the chapter is reducing her autonomy in the decision. Another example is the debilitating affect of gossip; this is something not widely discussed in relation to abortion so this is personal experience and opinion. If a young woman gets pregnant in high school she is subject to rumors ranging anywhere from her rampant sexuality to drug use to multiple abortions and the like. This may increase her desire of wanting a quiet, early abortion where no one could find out, but the parental consent laws potentially conflict with that. For an older woman, if she has a few kids and gets pregnant again, the rumor mill may start up again, increasing her desire to obtain an abortion. Then there are the women who get pregnant and are considered sluts, but if they consider abortion, are looked upon as murderers; how could this rhetoric not affect a woman’s decision, unless she is deaf and blind?

Religion is another aspect that definitely plays a big part in the access to abortion. There is a diverse range of religious beliefs in both Australia and the U.S. and all have different beliefs on abortion. Abortion is an ethical issue and of course, most religions would have something to say on the issue. Roman Catholics tend to be anti-choice, Protestant Christianity ranges from violently anti-choice to Pro-choice, Jewish tradition allows for abortion for the sake of the mother, Conservative Muslims condemn abortion but there is room for permitting it within reason, Buddhism is disinclined to allow abortion except to save the life of the mother, Hinduism condemns abortion in all circumstances but widely practiced, Sikhism feels that abortion is a sin but it is practiced especially with female fetuses, and Taoism does not forbid or encourage it and treats it as a necessary evil and last resort. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any information concerning aboriginal/indigenous Australian religion and their views on abortion.
http://atheism.about.com/od/abortioncontraception/p/Religions.htm

It is my opinion that morals and values usually stem from your religious beliefs, but if they differ abortion may be one of the causes of the split. Or one might not be religious and their morals and values have to come from elsewhere such as their parents, education, and society. I also feel that culture and family go hand in hand when it comes to the issue of abortion, though many times ones views may differ from that of their’s.

Age and education level, as well as the level of education received are a few very important aspects when looking at access to abortion. Obviously in the states there is limited access to women of a certain age without parental consent, and your age may also make your decision; are you old enough to raise a child? Are you ready to settle down? Are you done having your own adventures and ready to share them with someone else for the rest of your life? Education level and level of education may sound the same, but are totally different matters. Education level would be how much you’ve had, where as the level of it would be the type you’ve had. In the U.S. we have federally funded abstinence only sex education. This doesn’t work. Whereas in Australia, while the schools may be lacking, the parents and non-profit organizations are picking up the slack with reminders to bring condoms to formal dances and offering very informative websites, http://www.mariestopes.com.au/ and www.likeitis.org.au, as well as a text messaging service allowing teens to receive accurate sexual information on their cell phones. (www.sextxt.org.au)
http://www.mariestopes.com.au/youth_education

Careers and ambitions may be another issue in helping a woman make her decision. If she is at a job where she physically cannot keep working, but cannot afford to take time off for the pregnancy, so must abort, is it really her choice? Or another scenario, if she is climbing the ranks and is worried about discrimination when she has to go on leave, is abortion truly her choice?

Multicultural Feminism

Scroll down very quick before reading this and look over Mohanty's definition. When she says "feminist communities in the United States" I feel she should have said "feminist communities the world over", because narrowing it down to one country is leaving out a significant majority of the population that this definition pertains to! I feel that the U.S., people as well as government, should take a hard look at the definition of multicultural feminism, and apply it. As a country, we are too ingrained in the idea of cultural relativism, in that we are the best and everyone should be like us, when in reality, we are the last of our kind in every aspect. Or the first, with no one intersted in following. The world is a mix of cultures, and to attempt to assimilate to one frame of mind denies every culture their rights, save the one the mindframe is derived from. This is where "choice" is the most applicable option, as it allows a woman to carry out her own personal beliefs, with no one telling her what she should do or how she should do it. Allowing her the option, but taking away the availability, is taking away the choice. This is something many "pro-choice" people fighting to keep abortion legal do not recognize. The choice is already made for her if she cannot afford it and has no health care coverage, or transportation to get to a clinic. While no country is perfect, Australia has the right idea as far as abortion is concerned, for the most part. The country does have its restrictions in some parts, with only one tiny spot on the map being "totally legal", but its universal health care program, Medicare, offers a significant reimbursement, and if a clinic is not in your specific area, they might offer services there (i.e. be willing to travel for you rather than vice versa).

The U.S. and Australia are widely defined as "developed" nations, and this might lead one to categorize them under one umbrella. However, there are many differences, from the type of government of both countries, the locations and distribution of big and smaller cities in either country, the accents in either country (not an important issue but there none the less :-)), and of course, one of the bigger aspects of my paper, health care differences in either country. The United States is the only developed nation in the world that does not operate on a universal health care system. While some countries do offer the opportunity to have private insurance, others are soley based on goverment-funded care. As stated earlier, Australia offers a 75-85 % reimbursement on abortion clinic fees based on services; other countries universal health care policies offer similar rates. This greatly increases a woman's access to abortion, for even if she lives a distance from a clinic, she only has to worry about traveling there, as opposed to traveling and paying for the abortion, not to mention the other issues in the U.S. such as mandatory waiting periods, consent laws, and counseling laws.

And now, the good stuff

Now that I have addressed some of my general findings concerning legal issues and access issues facing women in the U.S. and Australia looking to have an abortion, I will begin to address the issue from a Transnational Feminist viewpoint. Women across the U.S. are either fighting for their right to keep abortion legal, or fighting for the rights of unborn children, but their main focus is centered around the legal issues. "No one" (i.e. none of the front runners of the debate) is concerned with the fact that legality may not be the only, nonetheless main, concern for some women; what about access? What about the woman in North Dakota who only has one abortion clinic in her whole state? Or the women harrassed verbally and sometimes physically, as they enter these clinics? What about women who do not have health insurance and cannot afford the procedure, or whose health insurance denies the coverage of abortion? Does legality matter to these women when access is the main issue? Within this issue of access lies a problem concerning "politics of location", and the underlying issues of these politics are many of the "ism's": classism, racism, ageism, and sexism. Because many of the abortion clinics are located in or around metro, or urban areas, one could argue they are only catering to a certian class of people- in this case the upper to upper-middle class. This could also be argued as the case with race and age. Unfortunately, many of our nation's poor are predominantly non-caucasian, and if they do live in the urban areas of the U.S. are not likely to be able to afford an abortion out of pocket, have health insurance, or if they do, they may be unlikely to have health unsurance that covers abortion adequately or at all. Ageism comes into play when you consider the amount of teenage women needing abortions in our country. In some states they're required to undergo mandatory counseling or must have parental consent. This is taking the autonomy out of her decision. Sexism in general is obviously at play when one considers the laws mandating women to give up more and more of their rights to make their own decisions.

Access in the U.S. and Australia

United States Yellow Pages online lists 1830 abortion clinics in the United States The state with the most clinics is Florida at 192 and the state with the least is North Dakota at 1 The District of Columbia is included in this count and has 7 clinics http://www.yellowpages.com/nationwide/category_search/Abortion-Services?search_terms=abortion+clinics&search_mode=all Geographical access to abortion is limited on a practical level: 87 percent of U.S. counties have no abortion provider. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_the_United_States Another issue with accessibility is funding. In the U.S. there is no universal health care, or national funding for abortion. This means that a woman without health insurance must pay anywhere from $200 to $1000 out of pocket depending on the circumstances of her abortion, and a woman with health insurance is at the mercy of her provider. Aside from physical availability of clinics, there is the issue of access to the entrance. Anti-choice protesting has been a long standing tradition outside abortion clinics. Most clinics that perform abortions experience picketing at least 20 times a year: in 2005, 13,416 incidents of disruptive picketing were reported. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro-life Abortion related violence is another big issue with murder, attempted murder, assault, and threats against abortion providers, anthrax threats, arson, bombing, and property crime. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion-related_violence In response, the "Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act" was passed at the federal level making it an offense to use intimidation or physical force in order to prevent a person from entering a facility which provides reproductive healthcare or a place of worship. "Bubble zones" are also created, which limit how close protesters can get to the clinic- distance varies by state. There are two types: fixed and floating. Fixed zones apply to the facility itself, and floating apply to objects in transit, such as people or cars. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_protection_of_access_to_abortion Australia Yellow Pages online lists 109 abortion clinics in Australia- Marie Stopes International services locations all over the country and was listed multiple times, but did not have a clinic in every state. Therefore there was a discrepancy. The actual number of clinics is 118 according to Yellow Pages AU. New South Wales had the most clinics at 52 and Northern Territory had the least at zero though Marie Stopes International services Northern Territory but may not be located in the area. http://www.yellowpages.com.au/search/postSearchEntry.do;jsessionid=BA33BA434F03A8AEC4CEA62DB811B188.yp304_22124?clueType=0&clue=Pregnancy+Termination+Services&locationClue=&x=42&y=16 Because Australia has universal health care, women get a reimbursement of 75-85% depending on the procedure done. http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/search.cfm?q=35643%2C35639+and+35640&sopt=S Currently, there is no "buffer zone" legislation in Australia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_protection_of_access_to_abortion There has been one reported incident of abortion-related violence in Australia. A security guard at a clinic in Melbourne was shot in the face and killed by a man who was later charged and sentenced to life in prison. The incident occured in 2001. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion-related_violence

Legalities in Australia

Abortion in Australia remains a subject of state law rather than national law In every state, abortion is legal to protect the life and health of the woman, though each state has a different definition There is no law anywhere in Australia that requires the notification or consent of a woman's partner. There is no enforced waiting period for an abortion. Except in Western Australia, a minor does not require parental consent or notification Abortion Laws in Australia

Legend

Blue: Legal on request
Green: Legal for rape, maternal life, health, mental health, socioeconomic factors, and/or fetal defects
Brown: Legal for or illegal with exception for rape, maternal life, health, fetal defects, and/or mental health
Red: Illegal with exception for maternal life, health, and/or mental health

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Australia)

Some legalities in the U.S.

Parental Consent Laws in the U.S. (2006)

Legend

Pink- No parental notification or consent laws
Purple- One parent must be informed beforehand
Light Blue- Both parents must be informed beforehand
Medium Blue- One parent must consent beforehand
Dark Blue- Both parents must consent beforehand
Light Gray- Parental notification law currently enjoined
Dark Gray-Parental consent law currently enjoined

Mandatory Waiting period Laws in the U.S. (2006)

Legend

Off-White-No mandatory waiting period

Blue-Waiting period of less than 24 hours

Red- Waiting period of 24 hours or more

Gray-Waiting period law currently enjoined

Informed Consent Laws in the U.S. (2006)

Legend

Light Blue- No mandatory counselling

Medium Blue- Counselling in person, by phone, mail, and/or other

Dark Blue-Counselling in person only

Gray-Counselling law enjoined

Information required (in counselling or literature)
Filled circle: Fetal development
Triangle: Medical risks of abortion and/or continued pregnancy
Filled square: Mental risks of abortion
Star: Abortion alternatives, ex., adoption and prenatal care
Diamond: Nature of type of abortion that is to be performed
Parallel lines ("="): Breast cancer listed as risk
Empty circle: Availability of ultrasound
Empty square: Fetal pain

(Since you can't see very well, I'll just let you know Texas

has parallel lines, a filled circle, a triangle, and a star.

For anyone who's interested.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_the_United_States

Terms

Access- the ability, right, or permission to approach, enter, speak with, or use; admittance, to make contact with or gain access to; be able to reach, approach, enter, etc. (dictionary.com) Essentially, having access to an abortion means that it is available to you in a relational, locational, and economical standpoint. There will be a center within your county, or at least within the next, someone willing to take the time to sit with you and explain the process and your options, and an economic ability to pay for the procedure. Legality- the state or quality of being in conformity with the law; lawfulness. attachment to or observance of law. (dictionary.com) We all know Roe v. Wade and the right to privacy statute occurred, but just because abortion is a legal action within the United States does not mean that it's availability is not limited, in some instances greatly. Rural- of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the country, country life, or country people;of or relating to the countryside as opposed to the city. (dictionary.com) Urban- characteristic of or accustomed to cities; citified; relating to or concerned with a city or densely populated area. (dictionary.com) Universal Health care- Universal health care refers to government mandated programs intended to ensure that all citizens, and sometimes permanent residents, of a governmental region have access to most types of health care. Patients may pay for some portion of their care directly, but most care is subsidized by taxpayers and/or by compulsory insurance... The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not provide universal health care. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_health_care) Transnational Feminist Theory- Looking at the lives of women across the world "without borders", the interactions within and between women of different cultures, and how various issues such as capitalism, globalism, the "other" sexuality, labor, and poverty affect women across the world differently. This theory avoids type-casting women through objectification. It recognizes that all women share a gender, but a "global sisterhood" is a false idea, and instead works to enhance aspects of other cultures through collaboration and education. (Adapted from FB, GRN, and syllabus) Cultural Relativism- The principle that ones beliefs and activities should be interpreted in terms of ones own culture. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_relativism) -"...the term 'difference' assumes there is 'a norm' from which those who are labelled 'different' diverge, with the added implication that they should be assimilated into it, or aspire to be assimilated." (GRN p. 35) Classism- any form of prejudice or oppression against people as a result of their actual or perceived social class (especially in the form of lower or higher socioeconomic status). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classism) Ageism- stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageism) Sexism- commonly considered to be discrimination and/or hatred against people based on their sex rather than their individual merits, but can also refer to any and all systemic differentiations based on the sex of the individuals. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexism) Racism- the belief that members of one race are intrinsically superior or inferior to members of other races. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism) "Politics of Location"- "By the term 'politics of location, I refer to the historical, geographical, cultural, psychic, and imaginative boundaries that provide the ground for political definition and self-definition for contemporary U.S. feminists." (FB p. 106) Multicultural Feminism- "...the task of recognizing and undoing the ways in which we colonize and objectify our different histories and cultures, thus colluding with hegemonic processes of domination and rule... cannot assume the existence of a dialogue among feminists from different communities without specifying a just and ethical basis for such a dialogue... requires...that we 'become fluent in each other's histories'... and [seek] 'unlikely coalitions'... and clarify the ethics and meaning of dialogue. [The] most crucial [challenge] for a critical multicultural feminism is working out how to engage in ethical and caring dialogues (and revolutionary struggles) accross the divisions, conflicts, and individualist identity formations that interweave feminist communities in the United States." (FB p. 125)