Imposing Values and Enforcing Gender through Knowledge

Epistemic Oppression with the Morning-after Pill's Drug Label

Bibliographic Data

ID12147995
AuthorsChristopher ChoGlueck (0000-0002-6095-2105, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume37
Issue2
Pages315-342
Publication date2022-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHypatia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0887-5367 • E-ISSN: 1527-2001
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/hyp.2022.11
OpenAlexW4229442610
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited79

Among feminist philosophers, there are two lines of argument that sexist values are illegitimate in science, focusing on epistemic or ethical problems. This article supports a third framework, elucidating how value-laden science can enable epistemic oppression. My analysis demonstrates how purported knowledge laden with sexist values can compromise epistemic autonomy and contribute to paternalism and misogyny. I exemplify these epistemic wrongs with a case study of the morning-after pill (emergency contraception) during its 2006 switch to over-the-counter availability and its new drug label from the US Food and Drug Administration that it “may prevent implantation.” Antiabortion science advisers created this label to protect zygotes based on debated value judgments that were later concealed. This zygote-centric knowledge enabled them to shape potential users by instructing “good mothers” that they ought to protect zygotes and punishing “bad mothers” by refusing their requests for the drug. Therefore, I argue that the sexist values and gender norms of antiabortionists that prioritize zygotic health are illegitimate in this context because they cause epistemic injustices and perpetuate epistemic oppression. Furthermore, I advocate against blanket protections for the “right to conscience” and “religious freedom” of healthcare providers because they reinforce the epistemic oppression of women, especially those on the margins. Content Warning : This article discusses sexual assault and refusals to provide contraception to patients, including survivors

Abortion · Autonomy · Epistemology · Oppression · Paternalism · Political science · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics · Feminist Epistemology and Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Contraception · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOI