Women’s Reproductive Rights, Modernization and Family Planning Programs in Developing Countries: A Causal Model
Author(s)
Pillai, Vijayan K.; Wang, Guang-Zhen
Abstract
Women’s reproductive rights is a current issue of major concern internationally. International discussions on women’s rights closely examine the association between strategies of family planning programs in developing countries and reproductive rights. The rhetoric of reproductive rights is, however, contingent on the political and legal domains. Empirical studies on the effects of family planning programs and socioeconomic development on women’s reproductive rights are few. Sjoberg and Vaughan (1993) state that American sociologists have ignored a fundamental empirical issue of “rights” which has a far-reaching cross-national or cross-cultural significance, and to which they are capable of making a substantial theoretical and empirical contribution. It is still not clear whether family planning programs and/or socioeconomic development play a part in the attainment of women’s reproductive rights in developing countries. The purpose of this article is to develop a social structural model of reproductive rights using data from 101 developing countries.
