From the Right to Choose to the Virtuous Victims? Advocating for Reproductive Justice in the United States After Dobbs

Since Dobbs, advocacy for reproductive justice in the United States has increasingly focused on the “virtuous victims” of state abortion bans—women who wanted to give birth but suddenly required emergency abortion care to preserve their lives or health. These cases now play a prominent role in strategic litigation but may inadvertently promote stereotypical views of women’s role in society. The political fallout may also lead Republicans to propose compromise legislation, with a wider range of compassionate exceptions but increased restrictions on abortion pills. This could have devastating impacts on women who are currently obtaining abortion pills for self-managed abortions.

The article demonstrates this point by analyzing the United Kingdom’s 1967 Abortion Act, which authorizes abortion only if two doctors certify that the pregnant person falls within one of the statutory exceptions. The article closes with thoughts on how we can strengthen the moral and legal arguments for reproductive autonomy.