The production of ignorance about medication abortion in Tunisia: Between state policies, medical opposition, patriarchal logics and Islamic revival

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_ACC65027726B
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
The production of ignorance about medication abortion in Tunisia: Between state policies, medical opposition, patriarchal logics and Islamic revival
Journal
Reproductive Biomedicine and Society Online
Author(s)
Maffi Irene
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2022
Volume
14
Pages
111-120
Language
english
Abstract
In Tunisia, medication abortion has been available in government reproductive and sexual health clinics since the early 2000s. After its introduction it has rapidly replaced the surgical method and in 2016, between 75 and 80 % of abortions in the public sector were performed using the pharmacological protocol. In this article, I intend to unpack the various forms of ignorance about medication abortion existing in Tunisia among several categories of actors in relation to the legal, medical and religious domains. I explore how the existing ‘varieties of ignorance’ are related to the specific political, social and economic positions of the involved actors, the dominant gender regime, specific institutional policies and economic interests. I also investigate how some forms of ignorance are wilfully produced by institutions and individuals, whereas others are the result of positionality or organisational features. I first describe when and how medication abortion was introduced in Tunisia and the forms of resistance it elicited; later, I examine the production of ignorance about this technology after the revolution of 2011. I mainly consider practices and discourses of health professionals but also of women seeking abortion care in the public sector as well as those of the activists of a Tunisian NGO operating in the domain of women’s health and rights.
Keywords
Healthcare providers, Ignorance, Law, Medication abortion, Opposition, Tunisia
Open Access
Yes
Create date
23/08/2021 17:57
Last modification date
04/08/2022 6:37
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