(Un)Restricted self-Determination? regulating body, knowledge and emotions in discourses on reproduction

Self-determination, as evident in contemporary societal discourses, can serve as a crucial guide for political decisions in the realm of reproductive health. This article argues for an expanded understanding of self-determination in two ways. First, it proposes self-determination as a category of meaning discursively constructed through interconnections with body, knowledge, and emotions. Second, it advocates for an intersectional approach through the concept of Reproductive Justice (Ross 1993), demonstrating how class, race, and gender relations shape reproductive discourses. The focus is on Austrian 'Pro Life' and 'Pro Choice' debates regarding abortion, analyzed using the Intersectional Multilevel Approach (Winker und Degele 2009). This analysis thus makes a significant contribution to the systematic examination of discourses surrounding self-determined reproduction using the example of abortion.