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Revisiting Relational Pandemic Ethics in Light of the COVID-19 Abortion Bans in the United States
- IJFAB: International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics
- University of Toronto Press
- Volume 14, Number 1, Spring 2021
- pp. 141-156
- Article
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Abstract:
The experiences of working-class people and those from communities of color seeking abortions in the United States before and during COVID-19 call for feminist, relational pandemic ethics. Françoise Baylis and colleagues argue for public health ethics that emphasize relational personhood, relational autonomy, social justice, and solidarity. COVID-19 abortion bans in the United States require vigilance against powerful actors who abuse these values—particularly that of solidarity—to further their political, religious, and/or economic agendas in harmful ways. Thus, efforts to promote solidarity during a pandemic must attend to social injustice and systemic oppression and provide resources to vulnerable people.