In this autobiography by Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade," you have the opportunity to read the behind-the-scenes report of one of this century's most surprising and public confessions of faith.

In this provocative and accessible book, the author defends a pro-choice perspective but also takes seriously pro-life concerns about the moral value of the human fetus, questioning whether a fetus is nothing more than "mere tissue." She examines the legal status of the fetus in the recent Personhood Amendments in state legislatures and in Supreme Court decisions and asks whether "Roe v. Wade" should have focused on the viability of the fetus or on the bodily integrity of the woman.

Manninen approaches the abortion controversy through a variety of perspectives and ethical frameworks. She addresses the social circumstances that influence many women's decision to abort and considers whether we believe that there are good and bad reasons to abort. Manninen also looks at the call for post-abortion fetal grieving rituals for women who desire them and the attempt to make room in the pro-choice position for the views of prospective fathers.

The author spells out how the two sides demonize each other and proposes ways to find degrees of convergence between the seemingly intractable positions.

The Research Handbook on International Abortion Law provides an in-depth, multidisciplinary study of abortion law around the world, presenting a snapshot of global policies during a time of radical change. With leading scholars from every continent, Mary Ziegler illuminates key forces that shaped the past and will influence an unpredictable future. In addition to basic, fundamental concepts, this Research Handbook offers valuable insight into new developments in law and medical practice, from medication abortion to the rise of illiberal democracy, and explores the evolution of social movements for and against illegal abortion in a wide variety of national contexts. This is a crucial reference for students, scholars, professors, and policymakers interested in the complexities of abortion law and politics, and the influences that are crossing borders and shaping the present moment.

Abortion is the most divisive issue in America's culture wars, seemingly creating a clear division between conservative members of the Religious Right and people who align themselves with socially and politically liberal causes. In Defenders of the Unborn, historian Daniel K. Williams complicates this perspective by offering a detailed, engagingly written narrative of the pro-life movement's mid-twentieth-century origins. He explains that the movement began long before Roe v. Wade, and traces its fifty-year history to explain how and why abortion politics have continued to polarize the nation up to the present day. As this book shows, the pro-life movement developed not because of a backlash against women's rights, the sexual revolution, or the power of the Supreme Court, but because of an anxiety that devout Catholics-as well as Orthodox Jews, liberal Protestants, and others not commonly associated with the movement-had about living in a society in which the "inalienable" right to life was no longer protected in public law. As members of a movement grounded in the liberal human rights tradition of the 1960s, pro-lifers were winning the political debate on abortion policy up until the decision in Roe v.Wade deprived them of victory and forced them to ally with political conservatives, a move that eventually required a compromise of some of their core values. Defenders of the Unborn draws from a wide range of previously unexamined archival sources to offer a new portrayal of the pro-life movement that will surprise people on both sides of the abortion debate.

The ethics of creating-or declining to create-human beings has been addressed in several contexts: debates over abortion and embryo research; literature on "self-creation"; and discussions of procreative rights and responsibilities, genetic engineering, and future generations. Here, for the first time, is a sustained, scholarly analysis of all of these issues-a discussion combining breadth of topics with philosophical depth, imagination with current scientific understanding, argumentative rigor with accessibility. The overarching aim of Creation Ethics is to illuminate a broad array of issues connected with reproduction and genetics, through the lens of moral philosophy. With novel frameworks for understanding prenatal moral status and human identity, and exceptional fairness to those holding different views, David DeGrazia sheds new light on the ethics of abortion and embryo research, genetic enhancement and prenatal genetic interventions, procreation and parenting, and decisions that affect the quality of life of future generations. Along the way, he helpfully introduces personal identity theory and value theory as well as such complex topics as moral status, wrongful life, and the "nonidentity problem." The results include a subjective account of human well-being, a standard for responsible procreation and parenting, and a theoretical bridge between consequentialist and nonconsequentialist ethical theories. The upshot is a synoptic, mostly liberal vision of the ethics of creating human beings. "This is a valuable book on a fascinating topic, written by a major figure in the field. The topic of the ethics of creating people is both practically urgent, as new technologies develop for shaping human offspring, and also of great theoretical importance for ethics and meta-ethics because it engages the deepest issues, including those of moral status, the nature of justice, and identity. DeGrazia has already proved to be an important force in shaping the debate regarding these issues. Anyone writing on this topic will have to address this book head-on. The style is remarkably lucid and almost jargon-free. Given that the book is filled with complex, sustained argumentation, this is quite an accomplishment. This book will be of interest to legal scholars, philosophers working in normative ethics, meta-ethics, and bioethics, and public policy scholars." - Allen Buchanan, James B. Duke Professor of Philosophy, Duke University

Abortion is a legal, common, and safe medical procedure that one in three American women will undergo. Yet ever since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, anti-abortion forces have tried nearly every tactic to eliminate it. Legislative and judicial developments dominate the news, but a troubling and all-too-common phenomenon-targeted vigilante action against individual abortion providers-is missing from the national discussion, only cropping up when a dramatic story like the murder of an abortion provider pushes it to the forefront. Every day, men and women who are associated with abortion care are harassed, threatened, stalked, picketed, sent hate mail, and otherwise terrorized. Those who seek help from the law are sometimes successful, but not always, either because there are insufficient protections built into the law, or because law enforcement officials fail to respond. In Living in the Crosshairs, the voices of these providers are heard for the first time, through extensive interviews that David S. Cohen and Krysten Connon conducted across the country. Abortion providers are targeted at home, at work, or in community spaces; they can be harassed in person or online. Abortion opponents target not only the providers themselves but also may go after their families, neighbors, and others close to them. This kind of targeting happens anywhere in the country, not just in more conservative areas, and can victimize all providers, not just high-profile doctors. For some, being the victim of targeted harassment inspires significant fear and leads to changes in behavior; for others, it has become a normal part of life; and for yet others, it actively strengthens their resolve. The response of law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels is spotty-though there are some strong laws on the books, especially at the federal level, abortion providers have had mixed experiences when it comes to legal recourse, and effectiveness varies. Drawing on ideas from the interviews, the authors propose several legal and societal reforms that could improve the lives of providers, foremost among them redefining targeted harassment as terrorism rather than protest. Living in the Crosshairs is a rich and humane portrait of women's health professionals who persist in their work despite harassment because they believe in what they are doing. These providers' voices have not been heard in recent debates, leaving the public with a deficient understanding of exactly how abortion is limited in this country, yet their experiences illuminate the truth of the issue and offer us a path to a better policy.

Within an interdisciplinary context of public health, reproductive health, and women's rights, this book chronicles the interaction of public policies and private reproductive behavior in the 28 formerly socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the USSR successor states from 1917 to the present. Focusing on the interaction of public policies and private behaviors, special emphasis is placed on the status of women--from producers of labor to reproducers of families. Consideration is given to societal values and traditions, Marxist theory, socialist and patriarchal perceptions of gender roles, status of women, changes in legislation facilitating or constraining access to modern contraceptives and abortion, pronatalist influences on demographic trends, attitudes of public health service providers, views on sex education, adolescent sexual behavior, and emerging roles of public services and nongovernmental organizations.

Included are notes on key developments in the USSR successor states in Europe and in Asia, a discussion of the societal effects of post-socialist transitions from central planning to market economies, and commentaries on the changing emphasis from demographic aspects to reproductive and sexual health, postabortion psychological responses, and the activities of antiabortion-oriented religious organizations. To the extent available, statistical data tabulated include live birth, legally induced abortions, birth rates, legal abortion rates, legal abortion ratios, and total fertility rates. Over 1250 references are listed.

In this analysis of federal court cases relying upon the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, the author finds that the pro-life movement in the United States has suffered repeated losses in abortion litigation. Additionally, her research indicates that, despite claims to the contrary, the pro-life movement is a loose collection of underfunded and understaffed public interest organizations. The pro-choice forces are vastly more powerful in abortion litigation, have superior organization and financing, and include not only public interest groups but also private interests such as clinics and professional medical organizations. Divided into three parts, the study begins with a public law analysis of the progeny of Roe cases, examining those variables which appear to impact court decisions. Next the work examines political factors and litigation resources as variables in explaining court decisions. And finally, the work offers a descriptive analysis of abortion litigants which divides the groups into major categories and evaluates them in terms of their resources, longevity, and other such factors. This book will be of interest to those seriously interested in the political and legal ramifications of the abortion controversy.

Intended as a reference tool for college students, this book examines the origins of and controversies associated with birth control in the United States. Issues regarding access to, education about, and practice of birth control have played a pivotal role in religious, social, and political conflicts throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 21st century, controversies surrounding birth control remain at the forefront of current political debates over topics as varied as women's rights, social welfare initiatives, federal healthcare funding, consumer protection and physician liability, and informed consent. Birth Control provides a historical background of premodern practices, describes birth control in the 19th-20th centuries, and discusses all currently available types of contraceptive systems, including both artificial and natural methods. The treatment of contemporary public debates on birth control addresses questions posed on practical, ethical, religious, and moral grounds, presented respectfully and in a balanced fashion. Contains 20 primary document excerpts divided into 8 thematic categories, including early birth-control manuals, essays by Margaret Sanger, papal encyclicals, federal statutes, Supreme Court cases, and executive orders from 4 presidents on the subject of birth control Provides a bibliography of sources for additional research Includes a glossary and index for quick access to information about specific topics and terms

This book provides a detailed and comprehensive look at the primary players, acts, motivations, and methods of the Army of God in their quest to make abortion illegal in the United States. The Army of God may not be widely known, but they are well established as an extremist Christian organization united in their belief that abortion must be stopped at all costs, including the use of violence or force. Who are the primary players in this underground terrorist group, what acts are they responsible for, and what are the motivations behind their quest to make abortion illegal in the United States? Armed for Life: The Army of God and Anti-Abortion Terror in the United States addresses these questions and more, drawing upon never-before-published interviews with members of the Army of God and their own writings to reveal the details of this grossly understudied organization-and to document what its existence and expansion says about our society. Includes interviews, selections from the Army of God manual, essays and books by members, web postings, and written correspondence Provides a chronology of attacks claimed by or attributed to the Army of God against abortion providers Examines the response by the political and law enforcement community to the Army of God

In light of new biomedical technologies, such as artificial reproduction, stem cell research, genetic selection and design, the question of what we owe to future persons-and unborn life more generally-is as contested as ever. In A Theory of Unborn Life: From Abortion to Genetic Manipulation, author Anja J. Karnein provides a novel theory that shows how our commitments to persons can help us make sense of our obligations to unborn life. We should treat embryos that will develop into persons in anticipation of these persons. But how viable is this theory? Moreover, what does it mean to treat embryos in anticipation of the future persons they will develop into? Exploring the attractiveness of this approach for Germany and the U.S. - two countries with very different legal approaches to valuing unborn life-Karnein comes to startling conclusions to some of today's greatest ethical and legal debates. Under Karnein's theory, abortion and stem cell research are legitimate, since embryos that do not have mothers willing to continue to assist their growth have no way of developing into persons. However, Karnein also contends that where the health of embryos is threatened by third parties or even by the women carrying them, embryos need to be treated with the same care due to the children that emerge from them. In the case of genetic manipulation, it is important to respect future persons like our contemporaries, respecting their independence as individuals as well as the way they enter this world without modification. Genetic interventions are therefore only legitimate for insuring that future persons have the necessary physical and mental endowment to lead independent lives so as to be protected from being dominated by their contemporaries. Evincing polarization and dogma, Karnein's clean, philosophically-driven analysis provides a sound ethical foundation for the interpretation of any variety of legal dilemmas surrounding unborn life.