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      From women's 'irresponsibility' to foetal 'patienthood': Obstetricians-gynaecologists' perspectives on abortion and its stigmatisation in Italy and Cataluña.

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      Global public health
      Informa UK Limited
      Abortion, Italy, Spain, conscientious objection, stigma

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          Abstract

          This article explores obstetricians-gynaecologists' experiences and attitudes towards abortion, based on two mixed-methods studies respectively undertaken in Italy in 2011-2012, and in Spain (Cataluña) in 2013-2015. Short questionnaires and in-depth interviews were conducted with 54 obstetricians-gynaecologists at 4 hospitals providing abortion care in Rome and Milan, and with 23 obstetricians-gynaecologists at 2 hospitals and one clinic providing abortion care in Barcelona. A medical/moral classification of abortions, from those considered 'more acceptable', both medically and morally - for severe foetal malformations - to the 'least acceptable' ones - repeated 'voluntary abortions', emerged in the discourse of most obstetricians-gynaecologists working in public hospitals, regardless of their religiosity. I argue that this is the result of the increasing medicalisation of contraception as well as of reproduction, which has reinforced the stigmatisation of 'voluntary abortion' (in case of unintended pregnancy) in a context of declining fertility rates. This contributes to explain why obstetricians-gynaecologists working in Catalan hospitals, which provide terminations only for medical reasons, unlike Italian hospitals, do not experience abortion stigma and do not object to abortion care as much as their Italian colleagues do.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Glob Public Health
          Global public health
          Informa UK Limited
          1744-1706
          1744-1692
          June 2018
          : 13
          : 6
          Affiliations
          [1 ] a Department of Anthropology , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain.
          Article
          10.1080/17441692.2017.1293707
          28278744
          b53efd7f-95ef-422a-bc79-3ba2ea318b6e
          History

          conscientious objection,Spain,stigma,Abortion,Italy
          conscientious objection, Spain, stigma, Abortion, Italy

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