Social movements to support choices for unintended pregnancy: A choices network case study

Abstract

This study examines strategies and factors that enabled Thailand's Choices Network to increase access to quality services for women with unintended pregnancies, addressing how social movements can navigate cultural resistance around sensitive reproductive health issues. A qualitative case study was conducted using participatory observation and in-depth interviews with twenty-one key informants. Data were analyzed through social movement theoretical frameworks combining new social movement theory, resource mobilization theory, and political process theory. Six key strategies emerged: undercurrent tactics working within conventional systems, meaning deconstruction and identity reconstruction, knowledge-based advocacy, strategic partnerships, targeted public communication, and legal rights mobilization. Critical success factors included establishing a strong, diverse organization, partnering with government agencies, combining all pregnancy options under a "pro-voice" framework, evidence-based approaches, strategic adaptation to political contexts, and leveraging adolescent pregnancy concerns as policy windows. The movement succeeded by reframing abortion from a moral to a health issue and working collaboratively within existing systems rather than through confrontation. Reproductive rights movements can enhance effectiveness through diverse partnerships, innovative digital communication, and collaborative governance arrangements linking civil society with government stakeholders.