On abortion, Malta, and the collective-symbolic: re-imagining reproductive justice in legally restrictive contexts

The state of abortion laws worldwide is in flux, oscillating between progress and regress, dependent on the people in power. Whilst abolishing restrictive legislation is necessary, this is insufficient in order to achieve reproductive justice. Tangible reform also requires socio-cultural change. This presentation draws on Macleod, Beynon-Jones and Toerien’s (2017) reparative reproductive justice framework (RRJF), which is based on Verdeja’s (2008) critical theory of reparative justice consisting of four dimensions: individual-material, collective-material, individual-symbolic, collective-symbolic. In response to Macleod, Beynon-Jones and Toerien’s (2017) claim that the initial step required in restrictive contexts is to liberalise abortion legislation, I argue that this is a limiting viewpoint. Using Malta as a case study of a restrictive legal regime and my empirical PhD research on abortion stigma in Malta (in which I used creative methods and focus group discussions), I focus on the collective-symbolic dimension of the RRJF to illustrate how and why we can and should focus on the socio-cultural aspect even when there is politico-legal stagnation. Imagining a just future for reproductive health, rights, and justice requires not relegating the bottom-up approach of changing people’s hearts and minds as secondary to legal change.