The Politics of Problem Definition: Abortion Policy in Republican-Controlled Louisiana

Clare Daniel (), Anna Mahoney and Grace Riley
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Clare Daniel: Newcomb Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA
Anna Mahoney: Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
Grace Riley: School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: Following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, Republican-controlled legislatures across the U.S. initiated draconian abortion restrictions. In order to appeal to anti-abortion policymakers, advocates across the country have strategically separated “maternal and child health” (MCH) issues, such as increased insurance coverage for midwifery and doula care, from issues often labeled as “reproductive rights,” such as access to sex education, birth control, and abortion. Advocates point out this strategic separation has likely contributed overall to the downfall of abortion rights. In this paper, we analyze legislative discourse to understand the legislative challenges advocates face, the strategic separations and allyships they employ, and the implications for other states and reproductive health more broadly. We find that legislators legitimate the same scientific evidence in some contexts while not in others in order to hold onto rhetorical purity within the abortion debate. In their attempts to parse the ideal abortion seeker, conservative legislators create legal ambiguities with serious consequences for healthcare.

Keywords: abortion; state policy; advocacy; Louisiana; reproductive rights; reproductive justice; policy formation; problem definition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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