Women’s reproductive rights and social equality in developing countries

Pillai, Vijayan K.; Wang, Guang Zhen

doi:10.1016/s0362-3319(99)00017-8

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The economic modernization of society extends both democratic contestation and democratic inclusion (Doorenspleet 2004;Huntington 1991;Lipset 1960;Przeworski and Limongi 1997;Ramirez, Soysal, and Shanahan 1997), and several researchers have found a relationship between modernization and a change in values supporting women's inclusion in general (Inglehart and Norris 2003b;Steel 1992). At the same time, cross-national studies of abortion rights worldwide (Ramirez and McEneaney 1997) and in developing countries (Pillai and Wang 1999) have not found a relationship between economic development and abortion rights. Some argue that since the liberalization of abortion laws is not affected by the level of economic development or political democracy, there is little support for standard modernization arguments (Pillai and Wang 1999;Ramirez and McEneaney 1997).…”

Section: Economic Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the visible presence of a large number of Roman Catholics causes a pro-choice countermobilization among non-Catholics. Indeed, much of the cross-national research has shown that individuals' religious denominations and the strength of religious beliefs have a strong impact on their stance on abortion (Banaszak 1998;Jelen, O'Donnell, and Wilcox 1993;Legge 1983a;Legge 1983b;Pillai and Wang 1999).…”

Section: Cultural Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the normative importance of the issue for both supporters and opponents and the level of contention related to the issue in many states, as well as the fact that data are readily available, it is surprising that while there are quite a number of single-country (Abramowitz 1995;Adams 1997;Alvarez and Brehm 1995;Banaszak 1998), comparative-country (Htun 2003;Yishai 1993), and regional studies (Boland 1993;David and Skilogianis 1999;Miller 2001;Pillai and Wang 1999;Sirokova and Buresova 1993;), there are very few global studies (two exceptions are Pillai andWang 1999 andMcEneaney 1997) that look at the factors that impact the legalization and liberalization of a woman's right to abortion. This is surprising for two central reasons.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Structure, Empowerment and the Liberalization of Cross-National Abortion Rights

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Economic, cultural, and political opportunity structures have been separately shown to facilitate and constrain abortion rights. We examine two central and related questions: First, which factors explain liberalization of different types of abortion laws? Second, which factor or set of factors is the most important in explaining abortion laws? The cross-national literature suggests a three-pronged explanation for the existence of abortion rights, including politics, economics, and culture. We parse these out into the structural and empowerment components of each, and posit a theory of rights in which empowerment factors are at least as important, if not more important, for explaining change than structural factors. To test this, we examine the impact of these components on the liberalization of abortion rights globally utilizing a distributed lag model. We find that an empowerment approach explains the liberalization of abortion laws better than a structural approach in terms of politics, but that a structural approach is a better predictor in terms of culture, and that both empowerment and structural factors are important predictors when economic factors are taken into account. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings for understanding policy change and human rights on a global scale.

show abstract

Section: Economic Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cultural Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Structure, Empowerment and the Liberalization of Cross-National Abortion Rights

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Health in general is socially produced and rights advocates strongly believe that maternal mortality in developing countries may not be reduced without addressing issues of reproductive rights [58][59][60]. Reproductive rights are of two types: rights to make choices with regard to all aspects of reproduction and the right to have access to quality reproductive health care [61][62][63]. However, the number of reproductive choices available is predicated on women's capacity to acquire and utilize information necessary to promote reproductive health [64][65][66].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Mortality and Female Literacy Rates in Developing Countries during 1970–2000: A Latent Growth Curve Analysis

Pillai

Maleku

Wei

2013

International Journal of Population Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background. The gross longitudinal relationship between female literacy and maternal mortality ratios has not been adequately investigated even though the knowledge of the relationship is crucial for designing maternal mortality reduction programs through female literacy campaigns and improvements. The objective of the study was to examine the dynamic relationship between female literacy and mortality ratios. A longitudinal study design spanning three decades, 1970-2000, was used. Country level data on 143 nations belonging to six geographical regions for the duration 1970-2000 were secured from websites hosted by global agencies such as World Bank and the United Nations were utilized. Maternal mortality ratios ranged from 147 to 271 across the six regions. The longitudinal relationship between female literacy rates and maternal mortality ratios was examined using a latent growth curve approach. The study found that rates of change in female literacy and maternal mortality ratios are negatively related. Steady rates of increase in female literacy were associated with declining maternal mortality ratios as well. We find that female literacy programs are of immense value in reducing maternal mortality ratios given their ability to yield sustained reductions in mortality levels in developing countries.

show abstract

“…Abortion law has attracted attention among scholars, focusing on comparative case studies (Blofield, ; Blofield, ; Yishai, ) and comparative analyses of western industrialized countries (Minkenberg, ; Gindulis, ). During the past 40 years, regular overviews of the development of abortion laws have determined a trend towards liberalization, albeit with some notable exceptions (Cook and Dickens, , ; Rahman et al., ; Cook et al., ; Boland and Katzive, ); in the last two decades, four large‐N quantitative studies analyzed the correlates of this liberalization or of the factors standing in its way (Asal et al., ; Pillai and Wang, , ; Ramirez and McEneaney, ). While Pillai and Wang analyze 101 developing nations, Asal et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

What Shapes Abortion Law? – A Global Perspective

Hildebrandt

2015

Global Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article analyses a correlate of abortion law that has not been addressed in previous research: the effects of past or present communist rule. As communists reject any moral standards that were based on religious beliefs, they liberalized abortion law after they gained power. A quantitative analysis of 170 nations shows that countries with a communist past or present have more liberal abortion laws. Moreover, abortion law tends to be more liberal, the more modern and globalized a country is and the more women are represented in the workforce and in parliament. A larger percentage of Catholics in the population, in contrast, correlates with more restrictive legislation. Some countries do not fit this general pattern and the article discusses the reasons. Based on the empirical results it goes on to present the implications of the findings for public policy: in many countries strong and persistent socioeconomic and cultural forces stand in the way of further abortion law liberalization. Under these conditions, proponents of liberalization have greater chances of success if they take a moderate stance and focus on women's health instead of women's rights.

show abstract

Women’s reproductive rights and social equality in developing countries

Cited by 6 publications

References 4 publications

Structure, Empowerment and the Liberalization of Cross-National Abortion Rights

Structure, Empowerment and the Liberalization of Cross-National Abortion Rights

Maternal Mortality and Female Literacy Rates in Developing Countries during 1970–2000: A Latent Growth Curve Analysis

What Shapes Abortion Law? – A Global Perspective

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About