Part III - The International Sphere

Summary

The CEDAW, the SDGs, and the ICPD PoA are all but a few salient examples of how the international sphere attempts to influence abortion policymaking. In the international sphere, we focus on intergovernmental organizations and examine how they impact reproductive policy. Our theory distinguishes regional from international intergovernmental bodies and goes into detail about the rationale for this distinction. The first significant finding here is a heretofore-overlooked relationship between international entities and reproductive health. Additionally, we compare the influence of international organizations with domestic government measures meant to increase women’s substantive representation, such as quotas. This chapter, thus, also incorporates discussions from Chapters 4 and 5. Our findings reveal the influence of intergovernmental organizations in determining international norms of women’s rights and gender equality. That said, not all types of action are equal, and who attempts to influence national reproductive policies from within the international sphere and how they do so is of great importance.