Abortion & Reproductive Rights: Home

This guide strives to use inclusive terminology except when quoting a source such as a court opinion or a publisher's blurb for a book. As with the issue of abortion itself, there are a wide range of opinions on the terms that should be used to describe people who have abortions, the advocates on both sides of the abortion debate, and even the legal field that covers abortion and other reproductive healthcare services. Regardless of your own feelings, as a researcher, you should be aware of these different terms so that you can incorporate them into your searches to retrieve more complete results.

Gender-Inclusive Language

Gender-inclusive language, such as referring to a pregnant person rather than a pregnant woman, recognizes that persons who are assigned female at birth (AFAB) but identify as transgender men or non-binary can also be pregnant.

The Abortion Debate

The terminology used to describe the opposing sides of the abortion debate can vary from one source to another. Advocates of abortion rights often describe themselves as pro-choice. Those who advocate against abortion generally use the term pro-life to describe their position, but may be described by others as anti-abortion or anti-choice. These terms have become quite politically loaded, so some media sources, such as NPR, use more neutral terminology, such as abortion rights supporters or abortion rights opponents. Note that Drexel's library catalog uses the terms pro-choice and pro-life to describe the respective movements.

Reproductive Rights vs. Reproductive Justice

This guide uses the term reproductive rights to describe the area of law that includes abortion, contraception, assisted reproductive technologies, and other reproductive healthcare. Our library catalog also uses the term reproductive rights. Some advocates prefer a reproductive justice framework, which "is a positive approach that links sexuality, health, and human rights to social justice movements by placing abortion and reproductive health issues in the larger context of the well-being and health of women, families and communities," as distinguished from reproductive rights messaging that tends to focus on individual rights to privacy and liberty.

These reports from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) contain nonpartisan analysis of legal issues related to abortion and can provide a starting point for further research.

These recent additions to the LRC catalog include books on the future of abortion law in the United States following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, as well as other reproductive rights issues such as assisted reproductive technology. Book descriptions have been obtained from the publishers and lightly edited for length.

You can use the following subject headings to search the combined catalog of the LRC and Drexel University Libraries for additional books.

You can use HeinOnline (Law Journal Library), Westlaw (Secondary Sources), or Lexis (Secondary Materials) to find law review articles related to reproductive rights.