Constellations/Cacophonies
Berro Pizzarossa L., & Nandagiri R. (2021). Self-managed abortion: a constellation of actors, a cacophony of laws? Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters. 1;29(1):1899764. https://doi.org/10.1080/26410397.2021.1899764
Lucía and I have been talking about versions of this paper since at least July 2019, trying to carve out time in between submitting and defending our theses, finding new jobs, writing all the other things we need to write…
This was my first “joint first authorship” article— and writing this together was a lesson in feminist writing practices- supportive, generative, and heaps of fun. The first of many articles together, I hope! Inspired by the great Faye Ginsburg and Rayna Rapp - “Fayna Rappburg”, we call our partnership “Lucíta Nandarossa”.
What we were trying to do in this paper was to expand how SMA is understood. Too often, SMA is framed as an individual act—something someone does alone, outside formal healthcare systems. Conceptually, we argue that SMA is not an individualised practice at all, but a collective and distributed one. It is made possible through a constellation of actors (activists, feminist networks, NGOs, digital platforms, and informal systems of care and information that work together to support abortion outside clinical settings).
At the same time, these practices exist within what we describe as acacophony of laws. Rather than a single, coherent legal framework, people navigate multiple, overlapping, and often contradictory legal regimes. Law is not simply followed or broken; it is engaged with, worked around, and lived through in complex ways.
Taken together, this shifts how we think about abortion. SMA is not marginal or exceptional—it reveals abortion as something networked, collective, and embedded in uneven legal and political contexts. While our focus is on SMA, the argument extends to abortion more broadly.
I think this article is so precious to us because it centres our feminist commitments & grounding in abortion and reproductive justice. We deliberately chose SRHM for this piece- not just because it’s our key audience and it’s open access, but because we know abortion activists and advocates read it.
I am also particularly proud of the alliteration in the title - I text Lucía at some strange hour with “I figured out the other C! CACOPHONY!”
We wrote this as a love letter to our feminist friends, colleagues, and movements; so inspired by their uncompromising and essential work to provide quality abortion care irrespective of the barriers imposed. To see this article resonate with them, and to hear that it made them and their work feel “seen” and acknowledged- it makes me so proud to have done them justice.
This piece feels particularly special to us because it centres our feminist commitments to abortion and reproductive justice. We deliberately chose Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters for this article—not just because it’s open access and reaches a wide audience, but because we know abortion activists and advocates read it.