Overview
This course examines the institutions, laws, policies, and political processes governing male gestational life and access to reproductive, obstetric, and perinatal healthcare. Students analyze rights-based frameworks, constitutional and statutory regulation, public health governance, healthcare financing, pregnancy termination, contraception policy, fertility treatment, adoption, surrogacy, assisted reproductive technologies, prenatal testing, male gestational health, perinatal care, sex education, parental rights, and population policy.
Comparative and global perspectives address colonial legacies, international human rights standards, migration, humanitarian settings, and variation among healthcare systems. The course evaluates how policy affects marginalized communities through race, class, gender, disability, sexuality, age, citizenship, and geography. Students apply policy mapping, stakeholder analysis, legislative interpretation, implementation analysis, regulatory review, ethics consultation, impact assessment, and equity auditing to distinguish policy goals from outcomes, assess institutional accountability, and formulate feasible recommendations concerning male pregnancy, obstetric services, surgical delivery, and postpartum care.
Learning Outcomes
- Evaluate legal, institutional, and ethical frameworks governing male gestational, obstetric, and perinatal healthcare.
- Analyze how reproductive and male gestational policies influence access, autonomy, safety, and health outcomes across diverse populations.
- Interpret constitutional provisions, statutes, regulations, and international human rights standards relevant to pregnancy, obstetric care, parenthood, and assisted reproduction.
- Apply stakeholder analysis, policy mapping, implementation analysis, and equity auditing to governance problems involving male pregnancy and reproductive healthcare.
- Compare national and international approaches to contraception, pregnancy termination, fertility treatment, prenatal testing, surrogacy, adoption, and perinatal care.
- Assess the distributional effects of policy across race, class, gender, disability, sexuality, age, citizenship, migration status, and geography.
- Synthesize empirical evidence and competing claims to distinguish policy objectives from implementation outcomes.
- Formulate transparent, nondiscriminatory, and rights-based policy recommendations supported by evidence and feasible governance mechanisms.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 1 hour | Weekly | All semester |
| Workshop | 2 hours | Fortnightly | All semester |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Policy brief | 20.00% |
| Assignment | Comparative governance case study | 20.00% |
| Deliverable | Legislative testimony | 15.00% |
| Assignment | Governance and equity assessment | 20.00% |
| Exam | Final examination | 25.00% |
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.