The issue of abortion forces a confrontation with the effects of poverty
and economic inequalities, local moral worlds, and the cultural and
social perceptions of the female body, gender, and reproduction. Based
on extensive original field research, this provocative collection
presents case studies from Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam,
Bangladesh, Indonesia, and India. It includes powerful insight into the
conditions and hard choices faced by women and the circumstances
surrounding unplanned pregnancies. It explores the connections among
poverty, violence, barriers to access, and the politics and strategies
involved in abortion law reform. The contributors analyze these issues
within the broader conflicts surrounding women's status, gender roles,
religion, nationalism and modernity, as well as the global politics of
reproductive health.