Women's Reproductive Rights under Scrutiny: A Contentious Topic Amidst Political Debate
In a groundbreaking lecture delivered at Sciences Po's Gender Studies Programme in 2024-25, French philosopher Geneviève Fraisse explored the evolution and challenges of women's reproductive rights. Her talk, titled "L'Habeas corpus des femmes : une double révolution?", first published in 1999, shed light on the historical and political aspects of this crucial issue.
Fraisse traced the genealogy of reproductive rights, identifying two significant historical ruptures: a democratic rupture and a scientific rupture. The democratic rupture was due to the baby boom following World War II, which led to a new perspective on reproductive health and fertility control. The scientific rupture, on the other hand, was due to advancements in science that enabled birth control and family planning, such as the invention of the vaginal diaphragm, the contraceptive pill, the abortion pill, and the freezing of eggs.
The concept of these advancements is tied to the concept of biopower, developed by Michel Foucault and Giorgio Agamben. Biopower refers to the control over human life and its processes at the level of the body and population. In the context of reproductive rights, this control extends to decisions about contraception, abortion, and family planning.
Fraisse emphasised that access to abortion is a matter of life, and she referred to a "Copernican revolution" in her reflections, stating that the subject now moves to the centre in reproductive decisions. This shift, she argued, represents a reversal in the representation of the world, with the subject moving from the periphery to the centre - a concept known as the double revolution.
In recent years, countries such as Germany and Austria have experienced legal developments regarding abortion and contraception. Germany is considering legalizing abortion by decriminalizing it and strengthening reproductive rights, with debates about lifting the existing 12-week limit and counseling requirements. In contrast, in Austria, especially in Vorarlberg, abortion remains restricted to private practice outside hospitals, without public health insurance coverage, and activists advocate for decriminalization, access in public hospitals, and state funding.
The right to bodily integrity facilitates women's emancipation and economic autonomy. This right was enshrined in article 34 of the French Constitution in March 2024, guaranteeing women the freedom to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy. However, Fraisse identified two barriers to emancipation that can prevent women from "practising equality".
Philosopher Simone de Beauvoir referred to fertility as "absurd", while anthropologist Françoise Héritier described childbearing and procreation as an "exorbitant privilege". These perspectives underscore the importance of reproductive rights as a political issue at the heart of history.
Fraisse's text is available online in French, and a version of it was included in her book À côté du genre in 2010 and later expanded in a version titled "From habeas corpus to the temporality of procreation". Her work continues to be a valuable resource for understanding the complexities and nuances of reproductive rights and women's empowerment.
