Regulating Abortion: Dissensus and the Politics of Rights

This article forms the introduction to a special issue on comparative perspectives on the regulation of abortion and on the sociopolitical contexts within which proposals to expand access to abortion for women are won and lost. This introduction frames the collection of articles in the special issue and highlights key themes that reappear throughout the articles, such as the risks associated with the turn to law to secure the vindication of rights. Many of the articles contained in the special issue are concerned with the ‘after-rights’ moments associated with the implementation of abortion law in practice.