Health Policy in a Time of Crisis: Abortion, Austerity, and Access

by Bayla Ostrach

Health Policy in a Time of Crisis is a vivid ethnographic account of women and providers navigating the Catalan health system to obtain and provide publicly funded abortion care. Grounded in critical medical anthropology, the book situates access to publicly funded abortion care in the context of austerity and ongoing threats to recently liberalized laws, examining the actual levels of access in the region. In so doing, it examines the disparities experienced by immigrant and other women, documenting the diverse approaches adopted to overcome obstacles to care. Using accounts from both providers and women seeking care, Ostrach’s richly grounded analysis illuminates a healthcare system during a period of economic crisis and disagreement over reproductive governance. Researched against a backdrop of growing movements against austerity and for Catalan independence, the result is at once a study of true access to public health care in times of crisis and a compelling account of some women’s determination to go to any length to get the health care they need. Engagingly written, it will make interesting reading for scholars and students of anthropology and public health, as well as policymakers and the general reader concerned with the politics of abortion and public health.

202 pages, Hardcover

Published January 23, 2017

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a study about abortion in Catlunya, Spain. The author uses a lot of academic language, which made the book a chore to read at times. But the information is interesting. I learned about the system in Catlunya for women to have abortions funded by the government. They have to go to a local health center to get a voucher, which is then presented at the abortion clinic so that their abortion will be paid for. The book talks about the problems with the way this works. Some of the stories of the individual women were interesting. The author worked in the clinic while doing her research, and she writes about different women she interviewed. She also interviewed some abortion clinic staff. I wish she had interviewed the staff more, because I found this interesting – but it was outside the purview of the research. I'm not sure this is really a book that a person would read for enjoyment, but if someone is curious about how abortions are acquired in different parts of the world, it's interesting information. At her study is very thorough, I feel like I learned a lot