The politics of reproductive security: A cross -national analysis of maternal mortality, contraceptive use and unintended pregnancy

The concept of national security has changed in recent years from a military model to one that is more human centered. This new definition focuses on the security that individuals have related to economics, employment, citizenship, and human rights, but the unique needs of women have been ignored. In my dissertation I have developed a new dimension of national security: reproductive security. The object of my research is to show how politics mold and shape how a nation's women experience reproduction and autonomy related to fertility decisions. In addition to standard arguments about economic development and the demographic transition, I show that democracy, the organizational strength of the women's movement, gender stratification and the politicization of Islam influence reproductive security. I examine three indicators of reproductive security: (1) maternal mortality; (2) contraceptive use, and (3) unintended pregnancy.;My results show that level of democracy and strong women's movements in democratic contexts consistently improves all three dimensions of reproductive security. Spending on maternal health is not associated with improved reproductive security but liberal abortion policy reduces maternal mortality. Gender stratification and the politicization of Islam create higher maternal mortality. These effects show net of controls for the development level and fertility rate, indicating that politics plays a decisive role in creating the context in which women make reproductive decisions. Democracies encourage contraceptive use, and facilitate low maternal mortality rates and unintended pregnancies as well as creating a context in which the women's movement enhances women's control over reproduction. I offer some explanations for why these relationships exist and how to mitigate circumstances that are associated with poor reproductive security. Finally, I offer the beginnings of a theory of political demography which blends politics with traditional economic and demographic theories of women's reproductive health and security.