The Politics of Reproduction in Ceaușescu's Romania: A Case Study in Political Culture
The Politics of Reproduction in Ceaușescu's Romania: A Case Study in Political Culture
Author(s): Author Not SpecifiedSubject(s): Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Political history, Government/Political systems, Politics and society, Family and social welfare, Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Sociology of Politics
Published by: SAGE Publications Ltd
Keywords: Romania; Ceaușescu era; politics of reproduction; social welfare; pronatalist policies; anti-abortion law; reproductive rights;
Summary/Abstract: The politics of reproduction writ large is variously on the global political agenda. By politics of reproduction, I refer broadly to the complex relations between individual, local, and global interests that influence reproductive practices, public policy, and the exercise of power. More succinctly, the politics of reproduction centers attention on the intersection between politics and the life cycle, whether we are talking about abortion, biogenetic technologies, international family planning programs, eugenics, or welfare. This brief excursus into the politics of reproduction in Romania enables us to comprehend better the lived process of social atomization and dehumanization that is a legacy of the Ceaușescu era. Since the fall of the Ceaușescu regime, the world's media has been filled with dramatic news about the tragic consequences of the pronatalist policies. The legislative centerpiece of these policies was the strict anti-abortion law that was originally passed in 1966. [...]
Journal: East European Politics and Societies
- Issue Year: 06/1992
- Issue No: 03
- Page Range: 364-418
- Page Count: 55
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF