UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Constructing
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Constructing Abortion’s Second Victim: Science and Politics in the Contemporary Antiabortion Movement A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (Science Studies) by April Nicole Huff Committee in charge: Professor Jeffrey Haydu, Chair Professor Steven Epstein, Co-Chair Professor Lisa Cartwright Professor David Serlin Professor Charles Thorpe 2014 Copyright April Nicole Huff, 2014 All Rights Reserved The Dissertation of April Nicole Huff is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Co-Chair Chair University of California, San Diego 2014 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page ............................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................ vii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... viii Vita ................................................................................................................................. x Abstract of the Dissertation ........................................................................................... xi Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Scientific Controversies ...................................................................................... 5 Expertise and Credibility .................................................................................... 7 Identity, Narrative, and Experience .................................................................. 10 Science, Law, and Social Movement Impact ................................................... 12 Abortion and Stigma ......................................................................................... 15 Methods ............................................................................................................ 17 History of Abortion in the United States .......................................................... 22 Contemporary Practice of Abortion in the United States ................................. 29 Plan of the Dissertation .................................................................................... 34 Chapter One: Shifting Ground ...................................................................................... 39 The Abortion Debate within Conservative Politics .......................................... 41 The Prolife Movement, 1970-1990 .................................................................. 43 The 1990s: Times of Change ............................................................................ 48 Axes of Change ................................................................................................ 51 Federal to State ..................................................................................... 53 Purist to Incrementalist ......................................................................... 55 Women-centered Strategies .................................................................. 57 Science of Abortion’s Harm to Women ............................................... 60 Streams of the Prolife Movement ..................................................................... 63 Policy and Lobby Organizations .......................................................... 67 Direct Action at Clinics ........................................................................ 69 Public Outreach .................................................................................... 73 Crisis Pregnancy Centers ...................................................................... 74 Post Abortion Organizations ................................................................ 75 Professional and Health Policy Organizations ..................................... 77 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 79 iv Part One: Scientific Controversies ............................................................................... 81 Chapter Two: The Abortion/Breast Cancer Debate ..................................................... 88 Research on Reproductive Events and Breast Cancer ...................................... 89 Early Reviews of the Research and Debates Over Uncertainty ........... 92 Emergence of Standards of Evidence ............................................................... 99 The Denmark Study: Definitive or Politically Correct104 Early Reproductive Events and Breast Cancer Workshop ............................. 109 After the Workshop ........................................................................................ 120 Heretical Science ............................................................................................ 123 Containing Conflict ............................................................................ 130 Continuing Controversy ..................................................................... 132 Chapter Three: Abortion and Mental Health .............................................................. 138 Psychiatry and the Legalization of Abortion .................................................. 139 The Emergence of “Post-Abortion Syndrome” .............................................. 143 The Koop Review and its Fallout ...................................................... 144 Mental Health Organizations Confront Post-Abortion Syndrome ................. 150 Defining the Problem ......................................................................... 151 Mental Illness or Normal Reaction to Stress? .................................... 152 Prevalence ........................................................................................... 158 Further Research ................................................................................. 160 New Directions in Abortion and Mental Health Research, 1993-2000 .......... 162 The APA Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion ................................... 169 Additional Reviews and the Fight over Retractions ....................................... 181 “Feelings aren’t diseases, but they are important” ........................................ 188 Building Consensus? ...................................................................................... 190 Containing Debate .............................................................................. 193 Continuing Controversy ..................................................................... 195 The Cases in Comparison ............................................................................... 198 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 207 Part Two: The Politics of Abortion Regret ................................................................. 209 Chapter Four: Broken Women? ................................................................................. 215 Identity, Expertise, and Narrative in Social Movements ................................ 219 Methods .......................................................................................................... 224 The Emergence of the Victim Identity (1980 to mid-1990s) ......................... 227 Victims of Abortion Speak ................................................................. 234 Building the Post Abortion Syndrome Diagnosis .............................. 241 A Place in the Movement ................................................................... 247 Integration into the Prolife Movement (mid-1990s to present day) ............... 253 The New Shape of Post Abortion Research and Treatment ............... 256 Reemergence of Post Abortion Organizations ................................... 263 v Silent No More ................................................................................... 268 Women’s Understandings of PAS ...................................................... 273 From Victims to Victors? ................................................................... 277 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 279 Chapter Five: (Mis)Informed Consent ....................................................................... 286 Social Movement Impact and Framing .......................................................... 289 Science, Law, and Policy ................................................................................ 294 Informed Consent ........................................................................................... 298 Why South Dakota ......................................................................................... 305 South Dakota Legislation ............................................................................... 307 South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion ................................................. 314 Composition and Format of the Task Force ....................................... 314 Task Force Proceedings ...................................................................... 321 Report of the South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion