Evaluating Care and Risk: Abortion in the Context of Obstetric Violence
In Chile, abortion is decriminalized in extremely limited cases. In response, feminist networks of abortion accompaniment activists provide informational, physical, and emotional support for people pursuing a self-managed medication abortion, regardless of the legal context. These activists often frame the type of care they aim to provide in contrast to the high rates of obstetric violence women experience within Chile’s medical institutions. In this talk, Matteson examines how obstetric violence informs the way activists conceive of risk, violence, and medicalization within their project of abortion care. By viewing the health system as a historical and current site of risk for women, these activists challenge dominant feminist narratives that place abortion safety within the medical system.
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