Florida State University Law Review Volume 44 Issue 4 Summer 2017 Article 1 Summer 2017 The Polarization of Reproductive and Parental Decision-Making Jamie R. Abrams University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.law.fsu.edu/lr Part of the Family Law Commons, Law and Gender Commons, Law and Society Commons, and the Sexuality and the Law Commons Recommended Citation Jamie R. Abrams, The Polarization of Reproductive and Parental Decision-Making, 44 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 1281 (2018) . https://ir.law.fsu.edu/lr/vol44/iss4/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Florida State University Law Review by an authorized editor of Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE POLARIZATION OF REPRODUCTIVE AND PARENTAL DECISION-MAKING JAMIE R. ABRAMS∗ ABSTRACT Women’s abortion and parental decision-making in child rearing are constructed as polar- ized methods of decision-making in law, politics, and society. Women’s abortion decision-making is understood as myopic and individualistic. Parental decision-making is understood as sacrifi- cial and selfless. This polarization leaves reproductive decision-making isolated, marginalized, and vulnerable while parental decision-making is essentialized, protected, and revered. Both framings are inaccurate and problematic. A unified family decision-making framework that aligns abortion decision-making and parental decision-making reveals that both forms of deci- sion-making are more multi-dimensional, relational, and family-centered than currently under- stood. This Article exposes the ground to be gained by crossing longstanding boundaries in fami- ly law and reproductive rights to more accurately and inclusively frame decision-making.