Disability and the meaning of reproductive liberty

Abstract

This article brings together three literatures: political theories of liberty, feminist theories on reproductive rights, and the disability studies literature on ableism. I engage with these debates to consider the meaning of a core political concept – liberty – by examining women with disabilities’ reproductive experiences and interests. In light of the dynamics of gender inequality and ableism, I seek to problematize the notion that reproductive freedom is synonymous with the negative right to privacy. Although governmental noninterference has allowed many women to gain control of their bodies and reproductive fates, the narrow focus on privacy – and the attendant issues of contraception and abortion – overlooks important dimensions of reproduction that are more likely to affect women with disabilities, including the structural factors that discourage disabled women from having children at all. The article concludes that feminist theorists should embrace a conception of positive liberty committed to actively dismantling ableist barriers to motherhood, including: inadequate access to assisted reproductive technologies; a lack of financial support for social welfare programs; and discriminatory attitudes that assume that disabled women are not “mother material.” Until these structural obstacles to “choice” are eradicated, genuine reproductive liberty will remain an elusive goal for many women with disabilities.

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