This dissertation explores the regulation of abortion in Canada following the landmark R v Morgentaler decision (1988), which struck down Canada’s existing abortion law, causing the procedure’s subsequent reclassification as a healthcare issue. The resulting fragility of abortion rights is still evident in the varying provincial regulations governing the nature of access to the procedure. While access has been accepted as the new terrain of abortion rights, research into this area to date has taken a largely national focus, surveying provincial barriers and compiling lists of potential motivations for differences in service. This dissertation builds on this work through the use of specific case studies of provinces representative of a spectrum of access in Canada – New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec. Through the use of original interview data, these cases are compared and contrasted on previously enumerated grounds believed to have an influence on the treatment of abortion. By isolating the impact of specific processes responsible for the regulation of abortion, through research into its treatment in politics, law, medicine, and public discourse, this study endeavours to offer a more nuanced explanation for varying levels of provincial access to abortion services. Ultimately it finds that a province’s social climate, characterized by attitudes towards the ongoing rights versus morality debate championed by pro- and anti-choice social movements, has had the greatest impact in shaping public perceptions of the procedure. These attitudes in turn have a profound effect on the nature of provincial access. Using a citizenship framework grounded in social reproduction, which understands anti-abortion politics as elements of backlash against progressive advances in women’s citizenship, this dissertation argues for the need to understand abortion as a right of women’s citizenship to address the precarious treatment of abortion services. Recognition of women’s unique reproductive abilities through a citizenship paradigm is necessary before women can hope to achieve equality. Only when abortion is entrenched as a right of citizenship and this understanding of the procedure is embedded in social perceptions, can women not only be treated as equal citizens, but also understand themselves to be equal citizens. / Thesis (Ph.D, Political Studies) -- Queen's University, 2012-11-22 11:41:49.524

This essay advances a libertarian theory of moral rights, which responds effectively to some serious objections that have been raised against libertarianism. I show how libertarianism can explain children’s rights to certain physical integrity and aid. I defend strong moral rights of human, pre-natal organisms, infants and children against all agents to certain non-interference with their physical integrity. I also argue that parents’ moral obligation to aid their offspring follows from a moral principle that prohibits agents to actively harm rights-bearers. Since this is the core principle of all versions of libertarianism, we gain simplicity and coherence. In chapter two, I explain my theory’s similarities and differences to a libertarian theory of moral rights advanced by Robert Nozick in his 1974 book Anarchy, State, and Utopia. I explain the structure and coherence of negative moral rights as advanced by Nozick. Then, I discuss what these negative rights are rights to, and the criteria for being a rights-bearer. In chapter three, I formulate a clear distinction between active and passive behaviour, and discuss the moral importance of foreseeing consequences of one’s active interventions. In chapter four, I claim that some pre-natal human organisms, human infants, and children, are rights-bearers. I formulate a morally relevant characterization of potentiality, and argue that possession of such potentiality is sufficient to have negative rights against all agents. In chapter five, I discuss whether potential moral subjects, in addition, have positive moral rights against all agents to means sufficient to develop into actual moral subjects. I argue that this suggestion brings some difficulties when applied to rights-conflicts. In chapter six, I argue that potential moral subjects’ rights to means necessary to develop into actual moral subjects can be defended in terms of merely negative rights. By adopting the view advanced in this chapter, we get a simple, coherent theory. It avoids the difficulties in the view advanced in chapter five, while keeping its intuitively plausible features. In chapter seven, I discuss whether the entitlement theory is contradictory and morally repugnant. I argue that my version of the entitlement theory is not.

Today we live in a world of heightened religious awareness and sensitivity. The events of September 11, 2001 sent a shock wave throughout American society and in some cases ignited a religious spark in those shocked by the attacks. The result has been a distinct and clearly visible fragmentation of the United States along religious and ideological boundaries. The United States Military is not immune to stress caused by these divides. There have been claims of anti-Muslim sentiment within select units of the U.S. Army; accusations that some leaders at the U.S. Air Force Academy were using their positions to promote their faith and discriminate against minority faiths, and allegations that the U.S. Navy is prohibiting chaplains from practicing their faith. In this thesis, I examine these and other cases along with the religious diversity trends since 2001 to demonstrate that the potential for continued and increased religious conflict in the military is high. I will further argue that the solution to avoiding these conflicts is through training and education provided at the initial stages of enlisted training and at the commissioning source for officers.

Bakgrund: Av alla graviditeter slutar 10-20% med ett missfall, vilket betyder att det är vanligt förekommande och drabbar många kvinnor. Ett missfall kan innebära en väldigt traumatisk upplevelse för den drabbade och är både psykiskt och fysiskt påfrestande.   Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien är att beskriva kvinnors upplevelser av missfall.   Metod: Litteraturstudie där resultatet baseras på 10 vetenskapliga artiklar baserade på en kvalitativ ansats.   Resultat: Vid ett missfall upplevde kvinnorna i studierna ofta att vårdpersonal gav för lite information och hade bristande förståelse. Mer psykosocialt stöd var en återkommande önskan, då de sällan blev erbjudna det. Missfallet innebar mer än att förlora ett framtida barn. Det var en komplex situation, där kvinnan drabbades av både fysisk och psykisk smärta. Känslor såsom att förlora kontrollen, att skuldbelägga sig själv, oro och rädsla inför framtiden var ofta förekommande. Sorgen över vad de kunde haft var något som kunde vara i flera år efter missfallet. Att få bearbeta sorgen visade sig vara en väldigt viktig del för de flesta kvinnorna.   Slutsats: Sorg är något som de flesta kvinnor upplever efter ett missfall och många av dem efterfrågar mer stöd och hjälp i hanteringen av sorgearbetet. Att drabbas av psykisk ohälsa, såsom depression och ångest är vanligt förekommande efter ett missfall. Genom att erbjuda alla drabbade kvinnor psykosocialt stöd i anslutning till missfallet kan psykisk ohälsa och onödigt lidande förebyggas. Det finns ett behov av ett bättre bemötande samt mer information från vårdpersonal. Eftersom brist på information kan leda till att kvinnan skuldbelägger sig själv bör detta prioriteras. Sjukvårdspersonal behöver mer kunskap gällande upplevelser av missfall för att kunna ge en tillfredsställande omvårdnad där kvinnan känner sig trygg och väl bemött. Det bör dock tas hänsyn till att allas upplevelser av ett missfall är individuellt och vården bör därför anpassas därefter. / Background: Of all pregnancies, 10-20% end with miscarriage, which means that it is a common matter and affects many. It can be a very traumatic experience and the effects it has on women can be both mental and physical.   Purpose: The purpose of this literary study is to describe women's experiences of miscarriage.   Method: The method of the research is a literary study, which is based on 10 original articles, with a qualitative approach.   Results: When a miscarriage occurred, women often felt that the care staff offered limited information and had a lack of understanding. More psychosocial support was a recurring desire as the women seldom felt that they were provided with it. The miscarriage meant more to them than losing a future child. It was a complex situation where the woman was in both physical and mental pain. Emotions such as lack of control, self-blame, anxiety, fearing for the future and sorrow were frequent. Grieving over what they could have had was something that could be experienced over several years after the miscarriage. Processing the grief was a very important part for most women.    Conclusion: Grief is something that most women experience after a miscarriage and many of them are asking for more support and help in dealing with grief. To suffer from mental illness, such as depression and anxiety are common after a miscarriage. By offering all affected women psychosocial support after the miscarriage, mental illness and unnecessary suffering can be prevented. There is a need for a better refutation as well as more information from health professionals. Because of the lack of information woman sometimes blames themselves, therefore this should be a priority. Healthcare professionals need more knowledge regarding experiences of miscarriage in order to provide adequate care where the woman can feel safe and be treated well. However, it should be taken into account that everyone's experience of a miscarriage are individually and care should therefore be adjusted accordingly.

L’abandon de l’enfant se présente sous deux jours contraires : récurrent dans la mythologie et la littérature, il n’est quasiment pas mentionné en tant que fait social dans les textes grecs d’époques archaïque et classique. L’historien possède fort peu de sources pour déterminer les circonstances et l’ampleur de l’exposition des nouveau-nés dans la civilisation grecque. Les ouvrages modernes la présentent souvent comme un acte anodin et fréquent, au point que les philosophes la préconiseraient à des fins eugénistes. Pourtant, une analyse rigoureuse des textes permet de dresser un bilan plus nuancé. Le jugement des chercheurs paraît influencé à tort par l’omniprésence des enfants abandonnés dans la littérature. Depuis les mythes fondateurs jusqu’à la Comédie nouvelle, des héros sont exposés à la naissance après un viol, un oracle ou un revers de fortune. Une étude littéraire de ce thème consistera alors à repérer des constantes transgénériques et des jeux d’intertextualité, mais aussi à mettre en lumière les spécificités de chaque genre. L’abandon se révèle ainsi être un motif polymorphe et non propre à la tragédie, malgré la célébrité actuelle d’Œdipe. / The abandonment of children is paradoxically twofold : though recurrent in mythology and literature, it is almost not mentioned as a social fact in Greek texts from the Archaic and Classical periods. Historians have very few sources at their disposal to determine the circumstances and the extent of newborn exposure in Greek civilization. Modern works often present it as a widespread act, to such a point that philosophers would advocate it for eugenic purposes. However, a rigorous analysis of the texts leads to more moderate conclusions. In their assessments, the scholars seem to be wrongly influenced by the omnipresence of abandoned children in literature. From the founding myths to the New comedy, heroes are exposed at birth after a rape, an oracle or a reversal of fortune. A literary study of that theme will then consist in spotting transgeneric constants and intertextual hints, but also in bringing to light the particularities of each genre. So abandonment appears to be a polymorphic pattern, not a distinctive feature of tragedy, in spite of the current celebrity of Oedipus.

Background: Over one half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended. Nurses are on the frontlines of the health care work force and often encounter women with unintended pregnancies in the clinical setting. They may find themselves responsible for options counseling and helping these women to explore their options of pregnancy, adoption and abortion. Discussing these three options in a non-judgmental, well-informed manner allows the woman to consider all possibilities. Leading this type of conversation requires specific skills and knowledge as well as the ability to deliver this information in a therapeutic, nonbiased manner. Purpose: The intent of this study was to analyze data regarding the inclusion of options counseling and abortion education in undergraduate nursing programs in New England. Identification of gaps can provide opportunities for curriculum reform. Due to the enormous impact that nurses have with patients, institutions have a responsibility to provide their students with accurate, honest, factual, current knowledge about options counseling including abortion. Doing so is a public health issue with the incentive of not only providing women with optimal health care and better maternal-fetal outcomes, but also to reduce spending nationwide. This study can support efforts to accomplish these goals. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was sent out via email to the faculty members of accredited undergraduate nursing programs throughout New England. It was active for approximately three months between June 2015 and September 2015 with intermittent reminders sent during that time frame. The survey inquired about personal attitudes, inclusion/exclusion of options counseling and abortion education as well as methods used to include this material in the curricula. Results: All states in New England were included in this study. Fifty percent of responding institutions reported that they include options counseling and abortion education in the curricula, while the remaining 50% reportedly do not. When asked to identify reasons that this content is not included in the current curricula, 80% of respondents indicated that it is not a curriculum priority due to time constraints. The main identified methods that support inclusion of options counseling and abortion in the curricula include classroom sessions focused on technical/evidence-based instruction, classroom sessions focused on ethical issues and assigned readings. Conclusions: Options counseling and abortion education is not adequately covered in undergraduate nursing curricula across New England. This data set is remarkably similar to a study done in 1997, showing that in the course of nearly 20 years, there has been little advance in the inclusion of options counseling and abortion education. In many instances, this material is given equal or more attention in ethical discussions rather than focusing on technical evidence-based instruction. Personal attitudes about abortion have been correlated with the inclusions of options counseling and abortion education and likely affect the content that is incorporated in the curricula.

Objective: Induced abortions occur in every country in the world. However sixty percent of the world's women live in countries where abortion is illegal. 19 million pregnancies end in unsafe and/or illegal abortions. Annually, 68,000 women die from unsafe abortions. Legal or not, unsafe abortion is one of the great neglected problems of health care in developing countries like Haiti and is a serious concern to women during their reproductive lives. Methods: The data for this study was collected from youth centers (ages 15-24) and used to estimate percentage distributions of abortion ratios by selected characteristics of women, particularly age at first pregnancy, education levels, relationship status with partner and history of contraception use. Results: 23.9 abortions were reported for every 100 pregnancies. Females with higher education andlor currently students were 3 times more likely to have had an abortion than less educated or non-student females. Decreases in relationship stability, specifically single females, increased the risk for abortion. Increased number of pregnancies significantly increased the risk of ever having had an abortion (three or more pregnancies increases risk 10 fold). Only 12.7% reported use of modern contraception prior to last pregnancy with 71.4% stating that their last pregnancy was not wanted. Conclusion: Prevalence of induced abortion is relatively high in this population specifically occurring among women who are single, more educated, and students. Increased number of pregnancies dramatically increases the risk for abortions. This implies that these females are using abortion as a way to control fertility.

Název diplomové práce v anglickém jazyce: Legal aspects of abortion, sterilization and assisted reproduction Summary: The thesis deals with the three topics from the field of medical law, particularly abortion, sterilization and assisted reproduction. The issue of giving birth is the key here. The new Special Medical Services Act regulating, inter alia, some aspects of sterilization and assisted reproduction came into effect in April 2012. The previous regulation of these matters was outdated and some legal issues were not tackled at all. The first part of the thesis focuses on legal regulation of abortion, which is contained in the act from 1986 and in the implementing legislation. Especially the conditions of intervention itself, payments and intervention on juveniles (under 18) and foreigners in the Czech Republic are tackled. The regulation of other countries is mentioned and compared as well. The second part of the thesis deals with the legal regulation of sterilization, conditions of sterilization and contraindication as well. The specific problem of illegal sterilizations of gypsy women in the second half of the twentieth century is pointed out. These disputes were present even before the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg. The methods of assisted reproduction, as a modern way of resolving...

Background: Abortion continues to be stigmatized in Ghana even though Ghana has one of the most liberal abortion laws in West Africa. This stigmatization discourages women from having safe abortion and discourages the health care professionals to provide services for abortion. The recruitment of healthcare providers is therefore marginalized, isolated and difficult. Aim: The aim of the study is to describe the healthcare professionals’ experiences of working with the abortion care in Ghana. Method: Five qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals working at two different governmentally owned hospitals in Ghana. The findings were analysed with qualitative content analysis. Results: Four main themes emerged in this study describing healthcare professionals’ experiences of working with abortion care in Ghana; Context, Nursing care, Challenges and Saving lives. The healthcare professionals work is stigmatized and challenging but the best part of their profession was helping adolescents, families and saving lives. Conclusion: To save lives, enhance the working situation for the healthcare professionals and to reduce stigma, education and better working environment is necessary. / Bakgrund: Abort fortsätter att vara stigmatiserat i Ghana trots att Ghana har en av de mest liberala abortlagarna i Väst Afrika. Stigman avskräcker kvinnor från säker abort och hindrar hälso- sjukvårdspersonalen att tillhandahålla tjänsten för abort. Anställingen av hälso-sjukvårdspersonalen är därför marginaliserad, begränsad och svår. Syfte: Att beskriva hälso-sjukvårdspersonalens erfarenheter av att arbeta med abortvården i Ghana. Metod: Fem kvalitativa, semi-strukturerade intervjuer utfördes med hälso-sjukvårdspersonal från två olika sjukhus i Ghana. Kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes för att analysera insamlad data. Resultat: Hälso-sjukvårdspersonalens erfarenheter och åsikter om att arbeta med abortvård beskrevs med fem huvudteman: Kontext, Omvårdnad, Utmaningar och Rädda liv. Hälso-sjukvårdspersonalens arbete är stigmatiserat och utmanande men den bästa delen av deras profession var att hjälpa ungdomar, familjer och att rädda liv. Slutsats: För att kunna rädda liv, förbättra arbetssituationen för hälsosjukvårdspersonalen och för att minska stigman är utbildning och bättre arbetsmiljö nödvändigt.

LL.M. / Please refer to full text to view abstract