Anti-abortion activism in Poland and the Republic of Ireland c.1970s-1990s

Kuźma-Markowska, Sylwia and Kelly, Laura (2022) Anti-abortion activism in Poland and the Republic of Ireland c.1970s-1990s. Journal of Religious History, 46 (3). pp. 526-551. ISSN 0022-4227 (https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9809.12870)

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Abstract

This comparative article explores anti-abortion activism in Poland and Ireland from the period of the 1970s to the early 1990s. Drawing on a range of archival and printed sources, it sheds light on the Polish and Irish anti-abortion movements as a part of transnational anti-abortion efforts and underscores the importance of studying such phenomena transnationally, in a comparative perspective. We argue that despite political, social, and legislative differences that characterised both countries during this period, several pertinent parallels existed between Polish and Irish anti-abortion activism. As we show, both movements relied on transnational anti-abortion networks and discourses, employed medical knowledge to legitimise their efforts, and represented women undergoing abortion as victims.

ORCID iDs

Kuźma-Markowska, Sylwia and Kelly, Laura ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7996-6021;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)