Abortion in Asia

<p> The issue of abortion forces a confrontation with the effects of poverty and economic inequalities local moral worlds and the cultural and social perceptions of the female body gender and reproduction. Based on extensive original field research this provocative collection presents case studies from Thailand Cambodia Burma Vietnam Bangladesh Indonesia and India. It includes powerful insight into the conditions and hard choices faced by women and the circumstances surrounding unplanned pregnancies. It explores the connections among poverty violence barriers to access and the politics and strategies involved in abortion law reform. The contributors analyze these issues within the broader conflicts surrounding women's status gender roles religion nationalism and modernity as well as the global politics of reproductive health.</p>