DIY Abortion in Context (late 20th – 21st Century)
Keywords:
abortion; self-managed abortion; self-care; self-control; reproductive autonomy; reproductive choicesAbstract
Reproductive choices are strategic life choices. The decision to continue or inter-rupt a pregnancy is influenced by personal lifestyle, beliefs, and values, notwith-standing social biases and politics. The choice of the method to achieve an induced abortion might be complex. The national legal context can be crucial to one’s decision-making regarding surgical or medical abortion, and in which setting. After the introduction of the abortion pills misoprostol and mifepristone, there has been a steady increase in demand for medical abortion, either with professional assis-tance or in a do-it-yourself (DIY) way.
In this article, I will focus on what influences a pregnant person to choose a self-managed medical abortion. I will discuss aspects of the legal, social, and political contexts that favour such a choice, along with the personal motives. Although the state’s population policies regarding the availability and access to contracep-tion and abortion impact individual decision-making, the final decision is multi-factorial.
We will examine diverse European national contexts concerning abortion and contraception to demonstrate that self-managed medical abortion is supported by women regardless of whether they live in countries with liberal abortion legislation. The historical period under consideration will begin in the late 20th century and continue into the 21st century. The selection of this time frame is based on a series of significant and transformative events that took place during this period, including the demographic repercussions of the Second World War, the introduction of oral contraceptives, the reform of abortion laws, the fall of Communism, and the advent of medical abortion pills.
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