ERC Abortion Figurations Project

At the end of July, Marta Bucholc participated in the workshop “The Transregional Histories of Sociological Thought in/on Law” at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory.

Her presentation, titled “Socio-Legal Thought between Socialism and Europeanization,” explored the development of socio-legal thought at the intersection of socialism and Europeanization.
Curious about the event? For more info see: https://www.lhlt.mpg.de/events/45514/2373

📚 Another 2024 publication from the project!

This time, Carolina offers a review of 'Mobilizing for Abortion Rights in Latin America,' by Mariela Daby and Mason W. Moseley.

In this contribution, Carolina highlights that while the book offers valuable lessons for feminist movements globally (particularly in the United States following the overturning of Roe v. Wade), it could benefit from a more critical analysis of the role of mass mobilization. She draws on the case of Colombia, where abortion was decriminalized up to 24 weeks following an unconstitutionality lawsuit filed by the Causa Justa movement, without relying on massive street protests. But also the case of Poland, where large-scale mobilizations have nevertheless failed to achieve comparable legal change. Together, these cases reveal the complexities and limitations of relying exclusively on popular mobilization to advance abortion rights.

🔗 Read the review here: https://periodicos.uff.br/confluencias/article/view/64899/38704

Another week, another article!

This week, we invite you to read an article by Marta Bucholc, Iskra de Vries, and Bartek Cyran on the legal doctrine known as the margin of appreciation. Curious about how the European Court of Human Rights balances state sovereignty with human rights, and how this shapes its abortion-related jurisprudence? Check out the article via the link below!

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10691-025-09596-x

📢 Abstract submission for the ISA World Congress of Sociology in Gwangju is now open!

Carolina and Iskra have submitted a panel proposal exploring the politics of knowledge production in highly polarized environments shaped by legal uncertainty, moral conflict, and political surveillance. The panel is titled "Beyond Objectivity: Reflexivity and Positionality in Reproductive Politics."

If your research engages with reproductive politics, we would love to hear from you. The panel invites contributions that explore the challenges, dilemmas, and possibilities of navigating the role of the researcher amid politically contested environments. We particularly welcome papers that reflect on questions of reflexivity, positionality, ethics, and knowledge production in the study of reproductive politics.

Please consider submitting an abstract, and feel free to share this call with colleagues who might be interested. We hope to see you in Gwangju!

Link to the panel: https://isaconf.confex.com/isaconf/wc2027/webprogrampreliminary/Session27799.html

Another Abortion Figuration article is in the spotlight this week!

This time, we're featuring the article by Lourdes Peroni and Marta Bucholc. Examining a recent series of European Parliament resolutions on abortion, the authors show how abortion has moved from the margins to the centre of EU political debate, driven by an increasing number of developments and pressures both within and beyond the EU.

Read the article and join the conversation on the evolving politics of abortion in Europe: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/eulj.70005

Greetings from Frankfurt! 👋 Our project's Principal Investigator, Marta Bucholc, stopping by Adorno's desk. Some academic landmarks deserve a visit.

For this year's summer break, we'd like to take the opportunity to highlight some of the publications produced by our project team. Over the coming weeks, we'll be sharing a selection of articles written by our members.

To kick off the series, we feature an early article by Marta Bucholc, which explores the human rights paradigm through the lens of civilising and decivilising processes, offering a thought-provoking perspective on the evolving role of human rights in contemporary societies.

📖 Read the open-access article here: https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/94136?locale-attribute=en #

In some research contexts, asking the question is already a political act.

A gentle reminder to read Marta Bucholc's interview in the European Research Council Magazine. A rare and honest account of what it means to conduct research on a political battleground.

https://link.europa.eu/Wxdfnt

📢 The new issue of the ERC Magazine is out, European Research Council!

How can we build international research collaborations that are not only excellent, but also genuinely fair?

The latest edition of the ERC magazine explores this question at the heart of frontier research today. It also features an interview with Marta Bucholc, "When Equity Becomes Politically Contested," which reflects on the role of research integrity within the Abortion Figurations project.

Read the interview here: https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/magazine-article/when-equity-becomes-politically-contested

Watch the teaser and read the full issue 👉 https://link.europa.eu/JFFYYH

When equity becomes politically contested Some projects confront questions of equity not because they cross borders, but because th

Another academic year is coming to an end, which means our project has just one more year to go before we wrap up our work!

This week, we're sharing an article by Karolina Kocemba: "Right-wing Legal Mobilisation Against Reproductive Rights."

We hope you enjoy reading it!

Find the open access article here:

Right-wing legal mobilisation against reproductive rights - Karolina Kocemba, 2026 This article explores right-wing legal mobilisation conducted by conservative and religious actors against reproductive rights, analysing their legal strategies...