Gender, nation and reproduction in the afterward of repeal and decriminalisation

Until 2019, abortion was illegal, with little exception, on both parts of the island of Ireland with the laws dating from the Offences Against the Person Act (1861), a vestige of British colonial law. However, in each country, very different approaches changed the law. In the Republic of Ireland, the process involved a Citizens Assembly, a government committee and a referendum of all citizens. In Northern Ireland, as the Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended, the UK government, based in Westminster, introduced new legislation. This study explores how these different processes impacted on how abortion seekers feel about their capacity to access abortion care; being a citizen and how this relates to their sense of belonging in each country, what we are calling reproductive citizenship. We are interested in how legalising abortion on the island of Ireland matters for people’s sense of citizenship. Specifically, we are asking how the local availability of abortion matters to abortion seekers sense of belonging and how this shapes their understanding of citizenship. This article sketches out our conceptual framework for Reproductive Citizenship, expanding upon Bryan Turner’s initial formulation of reproductive citizenship to encompass abortion.