Doctoral Dissertation Research: Coming to Terms: Negotiating a New Abortion Law in Unified Germany

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9520276 Comaroff A major issue in the reunification of Germany has been the conflict between the relatively liberal abortion law of the former East Germany and the relatively conservative abortion law and jurisprudence of the former West Germany. The conflict is complicated by the need to "come to terms with" the Nazi past and its disregard for human life. This research uses ethnographic methods to examine how this legal conflict over abortion is being worked out and mediated in practice. The co-P.I. will attend political meetings and judicial hearings concerned with shaping the law and conduct interviews with people directly involved in the law's formation. In addition, she will investigate--through interviews, document analysis, and participant observation--how the revised law's mandate of pre-abortion pregnancy counseling advising women of the illegal, though unpunishable, status of abortion is being implemented at pregnancy counseling clinics. This research should enhance our understanding of how law and practice are shaping an important issue in the democratic development of unified Germany. %%%% A major issue in the reunification of Germany has been the conflict between the relatively liberal abortion law of the former East Germany and the relatively conservative abortion law and jurisprudence of the former West Germany. This research uses ethnographic methods to examine how this legal conflict over abortion is being worked out and mediated in practice. The co-P.I. will attend political meetings and judicial hearings concerned with shaping the law and conduct interviews with people directly involved in the law's formation. In addition, she will investigate--through interviews, document analysis, and participant observation--how the revised law's mandate of pre-abortion pregnancy counseling advising women of the illegal, though unpunishable, status of abortion is being implemented at pregnancy counseling clinics. This research should enhance our understanding of how law and prac tice are shaping an important issue in the democratic development of unified Germany. ****