After forty years of protest and debate, we all know one thing for certain about abortion: it's a women's issue, right?
Wrong, says Brian Fisher in his groundbreaking book "Abortion: The Ultimate Exploitation of Women." In it he reveals long-forgotten or never-known facts to show that abortion is very much a man's concern--and it's part of a long and tragic pattern of men oppressing women. Which is why the original author of the Equal Rights Amendment, feminist Alice Paul, called abortion the "ultimate exploitation of women."
Fisher shows that a select group of compassionate men led the way in the nineteenth century to pass laws strengthening the criminalization of abortion--and worked with feminists of that era to do so. But it was men, not women, who drove the campaign that led to the 1973 Supreme Court ruling giving women an unqualified right to end the lives of their unborn children.
So what's in it for men? As feminist legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon observes, abortion "does not liberate women; it frees male sexual aggression." Abortion is the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card for men with non-committal sex lives. Another agenda is at work as well. Men use abortion to advance their racist, eugenic, and population control dreams and schemes, as Fisher shows, citing their own words.
If men gave us abortion, men can end it as well. Fisher outlines why and how, and he urges men to take up the task with courageous women. He lays out a five-point plan for men to "with humility, faithfulness, and relentless perseverance, commit our time, resources, energy, heart, and testimony to ending abortion in America for the sake of women, men, and the family."

-A lively accessible entry into the complex and controversial debates around reproductive rights -Not only focusses on the right not to reproduce but also the rights to reproduce, to parent the children that one has in safe and healthy environments, to determine the conditions of childbirth, to create families, and to engage in adult consensual sexual activities and relationships - Takes an activist standpoint to answer the question 'why do feminists care about reproduction?'

1.1 Goals 1.1.1 I have two main goals in this book. The first is to give an account of the moral significance of merely possible persons - persons who, relative to a particular 1 circumstance, or possible future or world, could but in fact never do exist. I call that account Variabilism. My second goal is to use Variabilism to begin to address the problem of abortion. 1.1.2 We ought to do the best we can for people. And we consider this obligation to extend to people who are, relative to a world, existing or future. But does it extend to merely possible people as well? And, if it does, then does it extend to making things better for them by way of bringing them into existence? If we say that surely it doesn't, does that then mean that our obligation to do the best we can for people does not, after all, extend to the merely possible - that the merely p- sible do not matter morally? But if the merely possible do not matter morally, then doesn't that mean that it would be permissible for us to bring them into miserable existences - and even obligatory to do just that - in the case where bringing the merely possible into miserable existences creates additional wellbeing for existing 1 References to merely possible persons and, later on, to persons who do exist - existing persons

Freedom and Dialogue in a Polarized World argues that our most cherished ideas about freedom-being left alone to do as we please, or uncovering the truth-have failed us. They promote the polarized thinking that blights our world. Rooted in literature, political theory and Mikhail Bakhtin's theories of language, this book introduces a new concept: dialogic freedom. This concept combats polarization by inspiring us to feel freer the better able we are to see from the perspectives of others. To say that freedom is dialogic is to apply to it an idea about language. If you and I are talking, I anticipate from you a response that could be friendly, hostile, or indifferent, and this awareness helps determine what I say. If you look bored or give me a blank stare, I might not say anything at all. In this sense language is dialogic. The same can be said of freedom. Our decisions take into account the voices of others to which we feel answerable, and these voices coauthor our choices. In today's polarized world, prevailing concepts of freedom as autonomy and enlightenment have encouraged us to take refuge in echo chambers among the like-minded. Whether the subject is abortion, terrorism, or gun control, these concepts encourage us to shut out the voices of those who dare to disagree. We need a new way to think about freedom. Freedom and Dialogue in a Polarized World presents riveting moments of choice from Homer's Iliad, Dante's Inferno, Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, Milton's Paradise Lost, Melville's "Benito Cereno," Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Kafka's "In the Penal Colony," and Morrison's Beloved, in order to advocate reading for and with dialogic freedom. It ends with a practical application to the debate about abortion and an invitation to rethink other polarizing issues. For more information, please visit: http://dialogicfreedom.weebly.com/.

The 2014 Supreme Court ruling on McCullen v. Coakley striking down a Massachusetts law regulating anti-abortion activism marked the reengagement of the Supreme Court in abortion politics. A throwback to the days of clinic-front protests, the decision seemed a means to reinvigorate the old street politics of abortion. The Court's ruling also highlights the success of a decades' long effort by anti-abortion activists to transform the very politics of abortion. The New States of Abortion Politics, written by leading scholar Joshua C. Wilson, tells the story of this movement, from streets to legislative halls to courtrooms. With the end of clinic-front activism, lawyers and politicians took on the fight. Anti-abortion activists moved away from a doomed frontal assault on Roe v. Wade and adopted an incremental strategy-putting anti-abortion causes on the offensive in friendly state forums and placing reproductive rights advocates on the defense in the courts. The Supreme Court ruling on Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt in 2016 makes the stakes for abortion politics higher than ever. This book elucidates how-and why.

This provocative book takes a critical look at what is increasingly viewed as the central political issue for Catholics_abortion. From pro-choice politicians being denied communion to Democrats being called 'the party of death,' for some of the most vocal Catholic leaders, the abortion issue often trumps all others. The author, a practicing Catholic who is against abortion in principle, believes the Church is on the wrong course with this issue, with grievous results for the Church and American society more broadly. He gives a brief history of abortion legislation, then explores the issue from legal, moral, and Christian perspectives, presenting compelling reasons why Church leaders and Catholics should stop trying to overturn Roe v. Wade and reconsider the issue.

In today's contentious political environment surrounding abortion, clinicians, counselors and social workers need a clear framework for providing skilled, compassionate decision counseling. They need help working with the hard stuff: "What do I do when my patient asks me if God will forgive her?" or "What do I say when a woman says that she feels like she's killing her baby?" These are the questions asked by clinicians and mental health professionals everywhere; these are also the questions for which this book offers answers. The fields of healthcare and counseling psychology have long-awaited a manual for conducting pregnancy decision counseling across the spectrum of patient issues, employee skill levels, and clinic resources. Using case examples, individual and group exercises, guided self-reflection, and values clarification, the reader will develop the necessary skills to provide compassionate and informed pregnancy decision counseling. This book will define the gold standard for decision assessment and counseling for all pregnancy options and will be cited as the definitive guide for learning, teaching, and providing high-quality, compassionate counseling in abortion and family planning clinics nationwide.

Although they share similar socio-economic and cultural characteristics as well as their recent political histories, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay differ radically in their abortion policies. In this book, Cora Fernandez Anderson examines the role social movements play in abortion reform to show how different interaction patterns with state actors have led to three different policy outcomes: comprehensive abortion reform in Uruguay; moderate abortion reform in Chile; and no legal abortion reform in Argentina. Synthesizing a broad range of literature and drawing on in-depth field and archival research, she analyzes the strength of the campaigns for abortion reform, their relationships with leftist parties in power and the context of Church-state relations to explain this diverging trajectory in policy reform. A masterly analysis of how social movements, the power of institutions and Executive preferences have strong explanatory power, Fighting for Abortion Rights in Latin America is a perfect supplement for classes on gender and global politics.

Although they share similar socio-economic and cultural characteristics as well as their recent political histories, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay differ radically in their abortion policies. In this book, Cora Fernandez Anderson examines the role social movements play in abortion reform to show how different interaction patterns with state actors have led to three different policy outcomes: comprehensive abortion reform in Uruguay; moderate abortion reform in Chile; and no legal abortion reform in Argentina. Synthesizing a broad range of literature and drawing on in-depth field and archival research, she analyzes the strength of the campaigns for abortion reform, their relationships with leftist parties in power and the context of Church-state relations to explain this diverging trajectory in policy reform. A masterly analysis of how social movements, the power of institutions and Executive preferences have strong explanatory power, Fighting for Abortion Rights in Latin America is a perfect supplement for classes on gender and global politics.

This book traces issues surrounding abortion and abortion practices in the United States through the lens of multiple disciplines, including sociology, anthropology, philosophy, community health, theology, and political science. In so doing, it parallels the interdisciplinary nature of feminist and women's studies, situating the issue of abortion within a wider understanding of the impact of reproduction on women's lives and their health. The contributing authors provide an accessible summary of the issues surrounding the topic of abortion, and the essays reflect both original research and scholarly discourse on existing research and literature. The first three essays set forth theoretical issues from sociological, medical, and political points of view, discussing the evolution of the abortion debate in the United States along with a summary of various abortion methods from a health and medical perspective. The next essay, an anthropological case study of women's views on abortion and family planning in rural Illinois, serves as a bridge to the remaining essays - providing a turn from theory to academic practices. The remaining essays examine a number of topics, including a study of the popular novel and film ""The Cider House Rules"" as a litmus for social opinion and normative beliefs on modern abortion; the biological and theological concerns related to abortion within the context of the mind/body dualism of Western thought; a case study of an abortion that was psychologically problematic for one woman and the role of counseling in healing such problems; and, the plausibility of a feminist Kantian perspective in addressing quality of life issues and other moral considerations of abortion.

New York and New Jersey maintain almost identical laws dealing with abortion, but the process for developing those laws differed in each state. Courts were heavily involved in New Jersey, whereas most policy decisions came from elected officials in New York. In this book, Parent argues that these differences in the location of policy development in the two states are attributable to early changes that took place either in the courts or the state houses. These early changes set the narrative frame for how abortion was conceptualized in New York and New Jersey respectively, helping to lock in a legal or political outlook that kept development of abortion law and policy within its originating institution. Using the words of judges and justices from state and federal courts as well as lawmakers in the two states over a forty-year period, Parent demonstrates that how policy makers thought and wrote about abortion had a critically important impact on the extent to which courts or elected officials would ultimately create the laws that limited or expanded access to reproductive rights.

Freedom and Dialogue in a Polarized World argues that our most cherished ideas about freedom-being left alone to do as we please, or uncovering the truth-have failed us. They promote the polarized thinking that blights our world. Rooted in literature, political theory and Mikhail Bakhtin's theories of language, this book introduces a new concept: dialogic freedom. This concept combats polarization by inspiring us to feel freer the better able we are to see from the perspectives of others. To say that freedom is dialogic is to apply to it an idea about language. If you and I are talking, I anticipate from you a response that could be friendly, hostile, or indifferent, and this awareness helps determine what I say. If you look bored or give me a blank stare, I might not say anything at all. In this sense language is dialogic. The same can be said of freedom. Our decisions take into account the voices of others to which we feel answerable, and these voices coauthor our choices. In today's polarized world, prevailing concepts of freedom as autonomy and enlightenment have encouraged us to take refuge in echo chambers among the like-minded. Whether the subject is abortion, terrorism, or gun control, these concepts encourage us to shut out the voices of those who dare to disagree. We need a new way to think about freedom. Freedom and Dialogue in a Polarized World presents riveting moments of choice from Homer's Iliad, Dante's Inferno, Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, Milton's Paradise Lost, Melville's "Benito Cereno," Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Kafka's "In the Penal Colony," and Morrison's Beloved, in order to advocate reading for and with dialogic freedom. It ends with a practical application to the debate about abortion and an invitation to rethink other polarizing issues. For more information, please visit: http://dialogicfreedom.weebly.com/.

View the Table of Contents. Read Chapter One.

aDoes a terrific job of laying out how the courts have conspired to limit the abortion access of teenaged girls. The results are clear, convincing, and enraging. How we- and the lawmakers who represent us- respond will indicate whether the pro-choice community has the wherewithal to fight back and defend Roe. Helena Silverstein has broken the silence on judicial bypass. It is now up to the rest of us to take action.a
--"Z Magazine"

aSilverstein implements a tremendous research design that yields a very well-written book, and the resulting evidence backs up a powerful indictment of street level justice at work.a--"Law and Politics Book Review"

aDoes a terrific job of laying out how the courts have conspired to limit the abortion access of teenage girls. The results are clear, convincing and enraging. . . . Silverstein has broken the silence on judicial bypass. It is now up to the rest of us to take action.a
--"New York Law Journal"

aSilversteinas book is a welcome addition because, rather than focusing on normative debates about abortion that almost anyone interested in the question is already familiar with, she focuses on how parental notification laws actually work on the ground. The book is judicious and moderate in tone. . . . A first-rate work of social science.a
--"American Prospect Online"

aThatas the law; whatas the practice? Helena Silverstein, a political scientist, surveyed the courts charged with implementing the parental bypass in Alabama, Tennessee and Pennsylvaniaa]Silversteinas findings, which range from disturbing to appalling, are set out in Girls on the Stand: How Courts Fail Pregnant Minors.a
--"San Francisco Chronicle"

In the wake of the Supreme Court's 1973 "Roe v. Wade" decision, many states tested "Roe" by placing restrictions on abortion rights. Most states now have parental consent laws for women under age eighteen. For minors who have reason to avoid parental involvement, the Supreme Court has instituted a generally welcomed compromise that allows minors to seek authorization by a third party, usually a judge. In this groundbreaking study, Silverstein demonstrates that this compromise is fatally flawed. . . . Silverstein does an excellent job of explicating the serious problems with this compromise, concluding that it is rooted in the myth that judges can be relied on to be unbiased. . . . Silverstein has produced an important contribution to women's studies and legal practice and theory.a
--"Publishers Weekly"

aHelena Silverstein's important research reveals a court system that all too often fails the most vulnerable teenagers.a
--Louise Melling, Director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project

aTaking on the emotionally charged issue of mandatory parental involvement in the abortion decisions of minors and judicial bypass provisions in three states, Silverstein carefully lays out and skillfully dismantles myths that sustain support for these policies. Her prose is lucid and engaging, her argument powerful and persuasive. This book is one of the best examples of a new generation of scholarship on law and legal processes.a
--Austin Sarat, co-editor of "From Lynch Mobs to the Killing State: Race and the Death Penalty in America"

aSilverstein develops an incisive, empirically rich, and tightly reasoned case about how the beguiling amyth ofrightsa props up a fatally flawed public policy for pregnant minors. This is a veryoriginal, powerful, and important book that deserves to be read by a wide audience.a
--Michael McCann, co-author of "Distorting the Law: Politics, Media, and the Litigation Crisis"

aSilverstein's research on the by-pass protections written into parental notification legislation reveals how and why these protections provided for pregnant minors are subverted by clumsy bureaucratic procedures and by politically driven judicial decisions. In so doing, she brings empirical evidence, conceptual sophistication and extraordinary good sense to divisive controversies over reproductive rights, legality and democracy.a
--Stuart Scheingold, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Washington

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that states may require parental involvement in the abortion decisions of pregnant minors as long as minors have the opportunity to petition for a "bypass" of parental involvement. To date, virtually all of the 34 states that mandate parental involvement have put judges in charge of the bypass process. Individual judges are thereby responsible for deciding whether or not the minor has a legitimate basis to seek an abortion absent parental participation. In this revealing and disturbing book, Helena Silverstein presents a detailed picture of how the bypass process actually functions.

Silverstein led a team of researchers who surveyed more than 200 courts designated to handle bypass cases in three states. Her research shows indisputably that laws are being routinely ignored and, when enforced, interpreted by judges in widely divergent ways. In fact, she finds audaciousacts of judicial discretion, in which judges structure bypass proceedings in a shameless and calculated effort to communicate their religious and political views and to persuade minors to carry their pregnancies to term. Her investigations uncover judicial mandates that minors receive pro-life counseling from evangelical Christian ministries, as well as the practice of appointing attorneys to represent the interests of unborn children at bypass hearings.

Girls on the Stand convincingly demonstrates that safeguards promised by parental involvement laws do not exist in practice and that a legal process designed to help young women make informed decisions instead victimizes them. In making this case, the book casts doubt not only on the structure of parental involvement mandates but also on the naAve faith in law that sustains them. It consciously contributes to a growing body of books aimed at debunking the popular myth that, in the land of the free, there is equal justice for all.

Conflict resolution and promotion of regional cooperation in South Asia has assumed a new urgency in the aftermath of the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in 1998, and underlined by the outbreak of fighting in Kargil in 1999, full mobilization on the border during most of 2002, and continued low-intensity warfare and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The stability of nuclear deterrence between the two countries is therefore a matter of great urgency and has found a place on the scholarly agenda of security studies in South Asia. Several books have been written on India's nuclear programme, but these have been mostly analytical histories. This book is a new departure in that this is the first time that a group of scholars from the South Asian subcontinent have collectively tried to apply deterrence theory and international relations theory to South Asia.

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

Since World War II, abortion policies have remained remarkably varied across European nations, with struggles over abortion rights at the forefront of national politics. This volume analyses European abortion governance and explores how social movements, political groups, and individuals use protests and resistance to influence abortion policy. Drawing on case studies from Italy, Spain, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Union, it analyses the strategies and discourses of groups seeking to liberalise or restrict reproductive rights. It also illuminates the ways that reproductive rights politics intersect with demographic anxieties, as well as the rising nationalisms and xenophobia related to austerity policies, mass migration and the recent terrorist attacks in Europe.

Recent years have revealed the different experiences of abortion in the UK and the USA. The United States has a higher abortion rate accompanied by a higher political profile for the issue. In fact, one of George W. Bush's first acts in 2001 was to ban American funding for overseas organizations carrying out abortions. The USA has also experienced a higher degree of abortion-related violence, with several people linked to abortion services being targeted and even killed. Compelling and enlightening in its approach, this invigorating volume compares the two countries' abortion laws and outlines the distinctions. The usually conservative American society has a much more liberal abortion law than the United Kingdom, whose female citizens can obtain an abortion relatively easily although in fact they do not have the right to choose. This stimulating volume examines the comparative positions taken by each country and makes important suggestions for the future.

Originally published in 1986, Abortion and the Private Practice of Medicine was the first book to look at abortion from the perspective of physicians in private practice. Jonathan B. Imber spent two years observing and interviewing all twenty-six of the obstetrician-gynecologists in "Daleton," a city that did not have an abortion clinic. The decision as to whether, when, and how to perform abortions was therefore essentially up to the individual doctor. Imber begins the volume with a historical survey of medical views on abortion and the medical profession's response to the legalization of abortion in the United States. Quoting extensively from his interviews, he looks at various characteristics of doctors that may affect their professional opinion on abortion: their age, gender, religious background, and length of residence in the community; the nature of their training and prior experience; and the setting of the practice (whether group or solo). Imber found that the physicians' reasons for agreeing or refusing to perform abortions revealed considerable differences of opinion about how they construe their responsibilities.

Throughout its history the Catholic Church has taken positions on many subjects that are in one sense political, but in another sense are primarily moral, such as contraception, homosexuality, and divorce. One such issue, abortion, has split not only the United States, but Catholics as well. Catholics had to confront these issues within the framework of a democratic society that had no official religion. Abortion, Religious Freedom, and Catholic Politics is a study of opposing American Catholic approaches to abortion, especially in terms of laws and government policies. After the ruling of Roe vs. Wade, many pro-life advocates no longer felt their sentiments and moral code aligned with Democrats. For the first time, Catholics, as an entire group, became involved in U.S. politics. Abortion became one of the principal points of division in American Catholicism: a widening split between liberal Catholic Democrats who sought to minimize the issue and other Catholics, many of them politically liberal, whose pro-life commitments caused them to support Republicans. James Hitchcock discusses the 2016 presidential campaign and how it altered an already changed political landscape. He also examines the Affordable Care Act, LGBT rights, and the questions they raise about religious liberty.

This comprehensive volume analyzes Chinese birth policies and population developments from the founding of the People's Republic to the 2000 census. The main emphasis is on China's 'Hardship Number One Under Heaven': the highly controversial one-child campaign, and the violent clash between family strategies and government policies it entails. Birth Control in China 1949-2000 documents an agonizing search for a way out of predicament and a protracted inner Party struggle, a massive effort for social engineering and grinding problems of implementation. It reveals how birth control in China is shaped by political, economic and social interests, bureaucratic structures and financial concerns. Based on own interviews and a wealth of new statistics, surveys and documents, Thomas Scharping also analyzes how the demographics of China have changed due to birth control policies, and what the future is likely to hold. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of modern China, Asian studies and the social sciences.

Ethical dilemmas and heated arguments on abortion very similar to our own, exercised Greek and Roman doctors, philosophers, historians, theologians, dramatists, novelists and poets. In this study, Professor Kapparis extrapolates the views of ancient physicians on abortion from a detailed investigation of the medical facts, medical and philosophical theories concerning the human status of the unborn in antiquity, the Hippocratic Oath, and other important documents on Greek medical ethics. He explores the reasons why women in antiquity sought abortions, male concerns and attitudes towards abortion, and religious, social, cultural and demographic trends influencing the legal status of abortion in antiquity. "Abortion in the Ancient World" thus presents the ancient debate on abortion and its ethics against its historical, legal, economic, social and cultural background, and links it to the modern debate.

Throughout its history the Catholic Church has taken positions on many subjects that are in one sense political, but in another sense are primarily moral, such as contraception, homosexuality, and divorce. One such issue, abortion, has split not only the United States, but Catholics as well. Catholics had to confront these issues within the framework of a democratic society that had no official religion. Abortion, Religious Freedom, and Catholic Politics is a study of opposing American Catholic approaches to abortion, especially in terms of laws and government policies. After the ruling of Roe vs. Wade, many pro-life advocates no longer felt their sentiments and moral code aligned with Democrats. For the first time, Catholics, as an entire group, became involved in U.S. politics. Abortion became one of the principal points of division in American Catholicism: a widening split between liberal Catholic Democrats who sought to minimize the issue and other Catholics, many of them politically liberal, whose pro-life commitments caused them to support Republicans. James Hitchcock discusses the 2016 presidential campaign and how it altered an already changed political landscape. He also examines the Affordable Care Act, LGBT rights, and the questions they raise about religious liberty.

'Patricia Lockwood is the voice of a generation' Namita Gokhale 'A masterpiece' Guardian 'I really admire and love this book' Sally Rooney 'An intellectual and emotional rollercoaster' Daily Mail 'I can't remember the last time I laughed so much reading a book' David Sedaris 'A rare wonder . . . I was left in bits' Douglas Stuart * WINNER OF THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2022 * * SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2021 * * SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021 * * A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK * ______________________________________________ This is a story about a life lived in two halves. It's about what happens when real life collides with the increasing absurdity of a world accessed through a screen. It's about living in world that contains both an abundance of proof that there is goodness, empathy, and justice in the universe, and a deluge of evidence to the contrary. It's a meditation on love, language and human connection from one of the most original voices of our time. ______________________________________________ 'An utterly distinctive mixture of depth, dazzling linguistic richness, anarchic wit and raw emotional candour' Rowan Williams A 2021 Book of the Year: Sunday Times, Guardian, Daily Mail, Telegraph, Evening Standard, The Times, New Statesman, Red, Observer, Independent, Daily Telegraph

This book is the first work to look at the full range of three centuries of the early modern period in regards to infanticide and abortion, a period in which both practices were regarded equally as criminal acts. Faced with dire consequences if they were found pregnant or if they bore illegitimate children, many unmarried women were left with little choice. Some of these unfortunate women turned to infanticide and abortion as the way out of their difficult situation. This book explores the legal, social, cultural, and religious causes of infanticide and abortion in the early modern period, as well as the societal reactions to them. It examines how perceptions of these actions taken by desperate women changed over three hundred years and as early modern society became obsessed with a supposed plague of murderous mothers, resulting in heated debates, elaborate public executions, and a media frenzy. Finally, this book explores how the prosecution of infanticide and abortion eventually helped lead to major social and legal reformations during the age of the Enlightenment.

The Law and Ethics of Medicine: Essays on the Inviolability of Human Life explains the principle of the inviolability of human life and its continuing relevance to English law governing aspects of medical practice at the beginning and end of life. The book shows that the principle, though widely recognized as an historic and foundational principle of the common law, has been misunderstood in the legal academy, at the Bar and on the Bench. Part I of the book identifies the confusion and clarifies the principle, distinguishing it from 'vitalism' on the one hand and a 'qualitative' evaluation of human life on the other. Part II addresses legal aspects of the beginning of life, including the history of the law against abortion and its relevance to the ongoing abortion debate in the US; the law relating to the 'morning after' pill; and the legal status of the human embryo in vitro. Part III addresses legal aspects of the end of life, including the euthanasia debate; the withdrawal of tube-feeding from patients in a 'persistent vegetative state'; and the duty to provide palliative treatment. This unique collection of essays offers a much-needed clarification of a cardinal legal and ethical principle and should be of interest to lawyers, bioethicists, and healthcare professionals (whether they subscribe to the principle or not) in all common law jurisdictions and beyond.