(RE)INSTALLING THE PATRIARCHAL SOCIETAL STRUCTURE A discourse analysis of the current attempts of prohibiting abortion in the state of Ohio

Abstract

Abortion is a highly debated topic, it has created a polarization between the ideologies of prochoice, the right to freely make your own choices, and pro-life, that all life has the right to be preserved. In the United States this debate is especially prominent, even though abortion is a right due to the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade. Currently, efforts to overturn this decision, and prohibit abortion, has increased significantly. The state of Ohio has been particularly vigorous, attempting to almost completely prohibit, and heavily criminalize, abortion without nearly any exceptions. This study emanates from the claim that today’s society is patriarchal, whereas women are subordinated. This hierarchical division generates advantages for men, which recurringly are threatened by women’s emancipatory efforts. To counter these efforts and maintain the current order, a backlash is unleashed, often targeted at women’s reproductive rights. This study aims to both map the construction of the discourse of abortion in the state of Ohio. And also, to understand the underlying motivation of this current backlash, by analyzing three bills aiming to prohibit abortion, with discourse theory. The results show that the discourse throughout these three bills evolves from appealing to a person’s feelings of right and wrong, to explicitly prohibit abortion and threaten with the death penalty. A discursive change has occurred, which is perceived as a hegemonic intervention – an attempt to re)install the patriarchal societal order.