The political role of healthcare professionals in accessing quality abortion care: a comparative study between Brazil and Poland

The overarching aim of the proposed research is to analyse the role of healthcare professionals in the development of abortion laws and access to abortion care in states with restrictive abortion regimes. In particular, the research aims to investigate if and how medical professional organisations have influenced the legal framework of abortion in Brazil and Poland. Despite a large number of studies on abortion and reproductive rights, the specific area of scholarly inquiry focusing on the political role of medical institutions, remains underdeveloped. Existing studies tend to focus on the impact of religion and the anti-feminist alliances on abortion policy-making and practice. However, in order to understand and improve the access to quality abortion care across the world, studies need to include the political relationships between the state and medical professional organisations, like medical councils or associations. This is because medical doctors and their organisations traditionally have power and influence in political and legal decisions about ethical and moral issues involving reproduction, life, care and the role of family in society. A political and legal comparative study between Brazil and Poland offers important insights into the role of healthcare professions in the development of reproductive rights in countries experiencing challenges to their constitutional and democratic systems. Brazil and Poland have been experiencing recognized political similarities. In both countries, there have recently been elections and political changes towards restoring the rule of law and democratic processes. This does not necessarily mean a change in abortion law. In Brazil, for example, despite the Supreme Court has been initiating the judgment of an important case regarding decriminalization of abortion, the current Chief Justice announced that there isn’t sufficient public debate around the abortion issue. So It is interesting to see how political changes affect the behaviour of the medical profession. Where necessary, the project will make references to the UK, where despite liberal abortion regulation, healthcare professionals retain important decision-making power with regard to reproductive health. At the same time, the UK is currently developing new methods of providing medical abortion, the knowledge of which will help inform innovative strategies for abortion provision in Brazil and Poland. The paper has a main element: a review of legal and sociological literature on the role of professional organisations in the development of abortion laws in states with restrictive abortion regimes and UK literature on the provision of medical abortion; b) the production of a draft paper focused on comparative analysis of the impact of professional organisations on the development of abortion law in Poland and Brazil.