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Controlling the Means of Reproduction

DAILY WOMEN'S HEALTH POLICY REPORT
ON THE BLOGS
March 24, 2009

In "Controlling the Means of Reproduction: An Interview with Michelle Goldberg," Mandy Van Deven, RH Reality Check: The blog entry includes excerpts from an interview with Michelle Goldberg, "long-time critic" of reproductive health policies under the administration of former President George W. Bush and author of a new book titled "The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power and the Future of the World."

In the book, Goldberg "illustrates how U.S. policies act as a catalyst for or an impediment to women's rights worldwide and puts forth a convincing argument that women's liberation worldwide is key to solving some of our most daunting problems," Van Deven writes. According to Goldberg, women's "intimate lives have become inextricably tied to global forces," and when writing the book, she found how U.S. movements were "branching out into global issues."

"In a way, the American antiabortion movement has had more of an impact abroad than at home."

She said, "In a way, the American antiabortion movement has had more of an impact abroad than at home. The Supreme Court has limited the movement's scope for action here, so Republican presidents have rewarded their base by giving them tremendous influence over international policy on women's health -- an area few Americans pay attention to." She continues that her "book is about the realm of reproductive and women's rights. ... Giving women more control over their bodies and their lives is one of the most important things you can do to fight poverty. One of the things I hope this book does is show how that works." Van Deven concludes the interview by asking Goldberg to explain how issues like female circumcision, abortion and sex education and their "societal context" affect "a woman's ability to freely make her own choice." Goldberg responds, "The problem is not that women are having too many children; it's that, in many places, they lack access to contraception and are having more children than they say they want ... One of the dilemmas I tried to bring forward in the book is that sometimes the ideal of choice, venerated by Western feminists like me, conflicts with the goals of women's rights advocates on the ground" (Van Deven, RH Reality Check, 3/23).

This page last updated April 8, 2009 11:24 .