IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jcmkts/v60y2022i6p1797-1814.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

United in Crisis: Abortion Politics in the European Parliament and Political Groups' Disputes over EU Values

Author

Listed:
  • Valentine Berthet

Abstract

Safe and legal access to abortion is precondition for gender equality. Yet, in many EU Member States they remain controversial, endangered or absent. Recently, the European Parliament passed a resolution articulating a defence for a right to abortion in the EU: the Matić resolution. Via an analysis of debates and parliamentary processes around the resolution, this article analyses the different discursive constructions of a right to abortion within the EP by political groups, the different meanings attributed to EU values during abortion debates, and the impact of these constructions on gender equality policymaking in the EP. It found that internal attacks on abortion were increasingly constructed as alien to EU values despite efforts by opponents to reframe such values. Although EU values are undefined, attempts to renegotiate a common EU identity around shared values, even symbolically, are possible because they are dynamic and prone to facilitating unity during crises.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentine Berthet, 2022. "United in Crisis: Abortion Politics in the European Parliament and Political Groups' Disputes over EU Values," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(6), pages 1797-1814, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:60:y:2022:i:6:p:1797-1814
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13378
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13378
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jcms.13378?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Emanuela Lombardo & Johanna Kantola, 2019. "European Integration and Disintegration: Feminist Perspectives on Inequalities and Social Justice," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(S1), pages 62-76, September.
    2. Heather Macrae, 2010. "The EU as a Gender Equal Polity: Myths and Realities," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48, pages 155-174, January.
    3. Andrea Krizsan & Conny Roggeband, 2018. "Towards a Conceptual Framework for Struggles over Democracy in Backsliding States: Gender Equality Policy in Central Eastern Europe," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(3), pages 90-100.
    4. Heather Macrae, 2010. "The EU as a Gender Equal Polity: Myths and Realities," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 155-174, January.
    5. Mieke Verloo & David Paternotte, 2018. "The Feminist Project under Threat in Europe," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(3), pages 1-5.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Heather MacRae & Roberta Guerrina & Annick Masselot, 2021. "A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste: Feminist Reflections on the EU’s Crisis Responses," International Studies, , vol. 58(2), pages 184-200, April.
    2. Annica Kronsell, 2016. "The Power of EU Masculinities: A Feminist Contribution to European Integration Theory," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 104-120, January.
    3. Matthijs Bogaards & Andrea Pető, 2022. "Gendering De‐Democratization: Gender and Illiberalism in Post‐Communist Europe," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(4), pages 1-5.
    4. Mieke Verloo & Anna van der Vleuten, 2020. "Trans* Politics: Current Challenges and Contestations Regarding Bodies, Recognition, and Trans* Organising," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(3), pages 223-230.
    5. Nicole Doerr, 2021. "The Visual Politics of the Alternative for Germany (AfD): Anti-Islam, Ethno-Nationalism, and Gendered Images," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, January.
    6. Mieke Verloo & David Paternotte, 2018. "The Feminist Project under Threat in Europe," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(3), pages 1-5.
    7. Judit Takács & Katherine Fobear & Szilvia Schmitsek, 2022. "Resisting Genderphobia in Hungary," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(4), pages 38-48.
    8. Cupać, Jelena & Ebetürk, Irem, 2022. "Competitive mimicry: The socialization of antifeminist NGOs into the United Nations," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 11(3), pages 379-400.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:60:y:2022:i:6:p:1797-1814. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0021-9886 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.