Beyond the State : Abortion Care Activism in Peru

Duffy, Deirdre and Freeman, Cordelia and Rodriguez, Sandra (2023) Beyond the State : Abortion Care Activism in Peru. Signs, 48 (3). pp. 609-634. ISSN 0097-9740

Text (Duffy, Freeman & Rodriguez Infrastructures of abortion care Accepted)
Duffy_Freeman_Rodriguez_Infrastructures_of_abortion_care_Accepted.pdf - Accepted Version
Download (422kB)

Abstract

For abortion seekers, Peru is an uncaring state where legal and policy interventions have resulted in violence, persecution, and neglect. This state of abortion uncare is set within historic and ongoing denials of reproductive autonomy, coercive reproductive care, and the marginalization of abortion. Abortion is not supported, even where legally permissible. Here we explore abortion care activism within the Peruvian context, foregrounding a key mobilization that has emerged against a state of uncare—acompañante care work. Through interviews with people involved in abortion access and activism in Peru, we argue that acompañantes have constructed an infrastructure of abortion care by bringing together actors, technologies, and strategies. This infrastructure is shaped by a feminist ethic of care that differs from minority-world assumptions regarding high-quality abortion care in three key ways: first, care is provided beyond the state; second, care is holistic; and, finally, care is collective. We argue that US feminist debates relating to the emerging hyperrestrictive state of abortion uncare, as well as broader research on feminist care, can learn from acompañante activism strategically and conceptually.