Moving Forward, Looking Back: Taking Canadian Feminist Histories Online

Canadian feminist histories have long been bound to the printed page, potentially eluding audiences online. This article investigates how feminist histories can be expanded beyond traditional paper-bound venues by adopting a form of scholarly production that we call the “networked model.” Drawing on digital humanities methods, we argue that this model enables greater alignment with feminist epistemologies and an improved capacity to reach new audiences.RésuméLes récits féministes canadiens ont longtemps été confinés à la page imprimée, éludant potentiellement les publics en ligne. Cet article étudie comment les récits féministes peuvent être étendus au-delà des supports papier traditionnels en adoptant une forme de production que nous appelons le « modèle en réseau ». En s’appuyant sur les méthodes numériques des sciences humaines, nous défendons l’idée que ce modèle améliore l’harmonisation avec les épistémologies féministes et la capacité à atteindre de nouveaux publics

Notions of Reproductive Harm in Canadian Law: Addressing Exposures to Household Chemicals as Reproductive Torts

Mounting scientific evidence is suggesting that various synthetic chemicals are ubiquitous in the household and natural environment, and are affecting reproductive health in humans. Yet litigation in response to exposure to harmful chemicals has had limited success. This is in large part because causation is often difficult to prove, as exposure often occurs over long periods of time, and the sources of suspected chemical agents are ubiquitous and/or diffuse. In light of these challenges, there is a need to consider new legal strategies to confront these harms. This article examines the potential for prenatal exposure to harmful chemicals to be approached as reproductive torts as opposed to toxic torts. Focusing on two groups of household chemicals – brominated flame retardants and phthalates – this article identifies the ways in which prenatal injury claims and birth torts (i.e. wrongful pregnancy, wrongful birth, and wrongful life cases) can inform future litigation regarding prenatal exposures to risky household chemicals. In particular, reproductive tort jurisprudence offers a variety of ways of conceptualizing causation, injury and fault in cases where individuals are exposed to synthetic household chemicals before birth

Notions of Reproductive Harm in Canadian Law: Addressing Exposures to Household Chemicals as Reproductive Torts

Mounting scientific evidence is suggesting that various synthetic chemicals are ubiquitous in the household and natural environment, and are affecting reproductive health in humans. Yet litigation in response to exposure to harmful chemicals has had limited success. This is in large part because causation is often difficult to prove, as exposure often occurs over long periods of time, and the sources of suspected chemical agents are ubiquitous and/or diffuse. In light of these challenges, there is a need to consider new legal strategies to confront these harms. This article examines the potential for prenatal exposure to harmful chemicals to be approached as reproductive torts as opposed to toxic torts. Focusing on two groups of household chemicals – brominated flame retardants and phthalates – this article identifies the ways in which prenatal injury claims and birth torts (i.e. wrongful pregnancy, wrongful birth, and wrongful life cases) can inform future litigation regarding prenatal exposures to risky household chemicals. In particular, reproductive tort jurisprudence offers a variety of ways of conceptualizing causation, injury and fault in cases where individuals are exposed to synthetic household chemicals before birth

Reimagining Policy Spaces: Toward Accessible and Inclusive Public Engagement

This study interrogates the potentialities of policy spaces with the aim of bringing marginalized groups more concertedly into the centre of public policy engagement. By taking a feminist intersectional approach to examining the limits of classical public policy and conventional modes of public engagement, we propose  a more fluid and generative understanding of policy space that encompasses both physical and social aspects and their interrelations. We then apply this understanding to our experimentation with two public engagement exercises held  in Nova Scotia,  a workshop and panel for disabled and Deaf women, and a podcast for rural women, that were part of a larger project aimed at acquiring in-depth, nuanced policy feedback from several, historically marginalized groups. Through our experience with these exercises—their successes and failures—we propose an approach to theorizing policy spaces informed by the contributions and interests of the groups in question, and with an awareness of intersectional power dynamics, positionality and place.Cette étude explore le potentiel des espaces politiques dans le but d’amener les groupes marginalisés de manière plus concertée au centre de la participation aux politiques publiques. En adoptant une approche intersectionnelle féministe pour examiner les limites des politiques publiques classiques et des modes conventionnels de mobilisation du public, nous proposons une définition plus fluide et fonctionnelle de l’espace politique qui englobe à la fois les aspects physiques et sociaux ainsi que leurs interrelations. Nous appliquons ensuite cette définition à notre recherche avec deux exercices de mobilisation du public tenus en Nouvelle-Écosse, soit un atelier et un groupe pour les femmes handicapées et sourdes, ainsi qu’un balado pour les femmes en milieu rural. Ces deux exercices faisaient partie d’un projet plus vaste visant à obtenir des commentaires politiques approfondis et nuancés de la part de plusieurs groupes historiquement marginalisés. Grâce à nos observations de ces exercices (y compris d’important succès et échecs), nous proposons une approche théorique des espaces politiques éclairée par les contributions et les intérêts des groupes en question, tout en considérant les dynamiques de pouvoir intersectionnelles, la positionnalité et le lieu

On Bioethics and the Commodified Body: An Interview with Donna Dickenson (Dispatch)

N/

Frozen in perpetuity: ‘abandoned embryos’ in Canada

AbstractThe matter of ‘abandoned embryos’ arises when surplus IVF embryos are frozen and stored for later use. If the fertility clinic or storage facility in question does not have clear direction about what to do with these embryos, and/or payment for storage ceases, and/or the embryo providers cannot be reached, the embryos raise an ethical and practical challenge. On the one hand, there is a commitment to respect the autonomy of embryo providers to determine what should happen to their frozen embryos. On the other hand, there are weighty reasons why fertility clinics and storage facilities do not want responsibility, potentially in perpetuity, for other people’s frozen embryos. This article examines the matter of ‘abandoned embryos’ – the emergence of the term, its use in policy and law, and its implications in the Canadian case. We demonstrate that despite an intricate legislative framework, there are important gaps that leave fertility clinics and storage facilities in the tenuous position of discarding ‘abandoned embryos’ without clear authorization, or storing them indefinitely. We argue that clarity in consent procedures coupled with flexible time limits on embryo storage provide an approach that can best serve the interests of all involved

Toxic Conceptions: The Assessment and Regulation of Male-Mediated Transgenerational Effects of Chemical Exposures

Scientific research increasingly confirms the potential for health effects to be transmitted from men to their offspring as a result of men’s exposures, prior to conception, to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. This article examines how “male-mediated transgenerational effects” are addressed by the discretionary, risk-based approach to chemical assessment enabled under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. Informed by Cynthia Daniels’ theory of reproductive masculinity, the authors critically examine recent assessments of two classes of everyday toxics ubiquitous in Canadian households—phthalates and brominated flame retardants.** In failing to give weight to emerging evidence of male-mediated transgenerational effects, these assessments arguably reproduce gendered assumptions, situating men as secondary to reproduction and reinforcing the idea that responsibility for toxic exposures is a maternal matter. The authors argue that Canadian governance of endocrine-disrupting chemicals would be improved by greater attention to how men’s exposures to toxic chemicals may contribute to male-mediated transgenerational effects. Further, the article identifies deficiencies in the legislative scheme that contribute to ongoing failures to meaningfully assess or regulate endocrine-disrupting chemicals