Prof. Goodwin Writes on Tough Choices in Reproduction in Chronicle of Higher Education

Professor Michele Goodwin wrote an article entitled "A Tale of Two Birth Wards" for the Chronicle of Higher Education's Brainstorm blog. According to Goodwin, "Ideally, the maternity ward should be off limits to the state. Compulsory sterilizations during the first half of the last century are a chilling reminder about too much state interference." However, she argues, "there is a persistent question that arises from the juxtaposition" of cases where poor women stand the risk of significant state intervention in their pregnancies, particularly if there is a miscarriage, which in some states could lead to criminal prosecution, and those cases that involve high-risk, multiple order pregnancies due to a rigorous regimen of fertility treatments. Goodwin suggests that the question relates to power, privilege, race, and class. "If what states care about is ensuring the health of fetuses and promoting their development to birth, then policy should reflect that." She concludes by noting, "there should be a strong presumption against using the state to veto personal choice during pregnancy. But there are limits, especially when the lives of others are so deeply affected. Criminal law is not the answer, but neither are selective ignorance and worse glorifying pregnancies that pose serious risks to the developing fetuses and making celebrities out of their parents."