The Right Language? Reproduction, Wellbeing and Global Social Policy Discourse

The international commitments to reproductive rights are part of an increasingly globalised discourse on social policy. The globalisation of social policy discourse generally is evident both in the growing universalism of social policy agendas, including both the adoption of rights-based approaches and in social sector reform, and in attempts to discover and utilise a global language for social policy analysis, notably including concepts of social inclusion/exclusion, social integration and social capital. This paper examines contemporary understandings of reproductive behaviour and wellbeing and explores linkages to the agendas and analysis being advanced by globalised social policy perspectives. In doing so, the paper will trace the implications for global social policy for reproductive wellbeing and illuminate opportunities and constraints for meaningful contributions to elaborating this discourse. It is argued that despite conceptual difficulties there is considerable political merit in influencing the meaning and context of the rights language in policy-making for reproductive well-being.