Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

Why Baby Markets Aren’T Free, Dorothy E. Roberts

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Creating families in the twenty-first century increasingly happens in markets where the buying and selling of reproductive goods and services are facilitated by advanced technologies, the internet, contracts, and state laws and policies. Thus, the title of this international congress—“Baby Markets”—aptly captures a key aspect of modern reproduction. The ability of potential parents to engage in market transactions involving children enhances parents’ autonomy over their family lives. The free market seems to liberate us from the constraints of biology and state control.

This Essay argues, however, that baby markets aren’t free. Three aspects of the way reproductive goods and services …

Mandatory Waiting Periods For Abortions And Female Mental Health, Jonathan Klick

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Proponents of laws requiring a waiting period before a woman can receive an abortion argue that these cooling off periods protect against rash decisions on the part of women in the event of unplanned pregnancies. Opponents claim, at best, waiting periods have no effect on decision-making and, at worst, they subject women to additional mental anguish and stress. In this article, I examine these competing claims using adult female suicide rates at the state level as a proxy for mental health. Panel data analyses suggest that the adoption of mandatory waiting periods reduce suicide rates by about 10 percent, and …

Econometric Analyses Of U.S. Abortion Policy: A Critical Review, Jonathan Klick

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No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Abortion Legalization On Sexual Behavior: Evidence From Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Jonathan Klick, Thomas Stratmann

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Unwanted pregnancy represents a major cost of sexual activity. When abortion was legalized in a number of states in 1969 and 1970 (and nationally in 1973), this cost was reduced. We predict that abortion legalization generated incentives leading to an increase in sexual activity, accompanied by an increase in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Using Centers for Disease Control data on the incidence of gonorrhea and syphilis by state, we test the hypothesis that abortion legalization led to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases. We find that gonorrhea and syphilis incidences are significantly and positively correlated with abortion legalization. Further, we …

The Challenge Of Substance Abuse For Family Preservation Policy, Dorothy E. Roberts

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No abstract provided.

Unshackling Black Motherhood, Dorothy E. Roberts

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Feminist Social Justice Approach To Reproduction-Assisting Technologies: A Case Study On The Limits Of Liberal Theory, Joan C. Callahan, Dorothy E. Roberts

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No abstract provided.

Race And The New Reproduction, Dorothy E. Roberts

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Is Equal Access The Prescription For Equity?, Victor Sidel, Dorothy E. Roberts, Jennifer Dohrn, Kathy Anastos, Nitza Milagros Escalera, Peter Holland, Sylvia Kleinman, Sylvia Law, Jack O'Sullivan, Robert Padgug, Dennis Rivera, Beth Weitzman

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Black Surrogate Mother, Anita L. Allen

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Privacy, Surrogacy, And The Baby M Case, Anita L. Allen

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.