Why have we never heard these stories? And why, on the same day, were the press seats empty at the trial of abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, who killed one woman and three born-alive babies? A brave source confessed that reporting on this case would damage the pro-choice cause-proof of a deliberate conspiracy against the public's right to know. 2013 ended a year of 87 abortion clinic closings. Kermit Gosnell was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence. Other abortionists working in filthy, squalid conditions were exposed. Many tragic botched abortions injured, maimed, or killed women.* Some judges let the perpetrators go free but on rare occasions, abortionists lost licenses or were prosecuted. John Q. Public is uninformed. (*Documented by Operation Rescue.) Stories From the Front Lines tells true stories of abortion as seen through the eyes of Christians who labor in the field of blood to save preborn babies. They fight against this terrible scourge day after day. Volunteers man clean, attractive pregnancy centers. Others offer help and safe alternatives on the front lines, the abortion mills themselves. Brave saints conduct undercover stings inside Planned Parenthood. Many remarkable testimonies expose the callous, unfeeling contempt for babies and mothers by those in the abortion industry. Doing the Church's work often brings scorn, derision, or loss of friends. Misconceptions, misunderstandings sometime set Christians at odds over this issue. People flee from controversy lest it rouse their conscience and rob their comfort. Day after day, preborn and newborn babies who survive abortion still die savage, painful, unnecessary deaths. Only the Church can accelerate the end of abortion. Will the silent Christians take their stand when confronted with Stories From the Front Lines? What will be their response? Some German Christians sang their hymns a little louder to cover the cry of Jews in WW II railroad cars heading for the death camps. Jews or preborn babies-are they not the same in God's eyes? Are American Christians outraged, ignorant, or comfortable? "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me" Matthew 25:40, (KJV). Stories From the Front Lines is the history from abortion's legal beginning in 1973. It records victories and setbacks by the Pro-Life Movement, uncommon bravery and innovation, and the Church's response then and now. No other book on the subject approaches abortion on this level. It also looks ahead to what the Church should do as it answers the call with unparalleled commitment and urgency

When journalists, academics, and politicians describe the North American anti-abortion movement, they often describe a campaign that is male-dominated, aggressive, and even violent in its tactics, religious in motivation, anti-women in tone, and fetal-centric in arguments and rhetoric. Are they correct? In The Changing Voice of the Anti-Abortion Movement, Paul Saurette and Kelly Gordon suggest that the reality is far more complicated, particularly in Canada. Today, anti-abortion activism increasingly presents itself as "pro-women": using female spokespersons, adopting medical and scientific language to claim that abortion harms women, and employing a wide range of more subtle framing and narrative rhetorical tactics that use traditionally progressive themes to present the anti-abortion position as more feminist than pro-choice feminism. Following a succinct but comprehensive overview of the two-hundred year history of North American debate and legislation on abortion, Saurette and Gordon present the results of their systematic, five-year quantitative and qualitative discourse analysis, supplemented by extensive first-person observations, and outline the implications that flow from these findings. Their discoveries are a challenge to our current assumptions about the abortion debate today, and their conclusions will be compelling for both scholars and activists alike.

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 Fight for Life is one woman's journey from abortion to fighter for life. In this book, noted activist Catherine Davis, explores aspects of abortion that few have been willing to touch until now: women's rights, civil rights, or ending poverty. She exposes the racial roots of abortion and eugenics, and how this has been sold to the black community. The Fight for Life is also a challenge to fight aggressively including personal action steps. This book will challenge what you think you know about abortion, and show you a new way forward.

Much has been made recently of the War on Women taking place in our nation's Congress and in the governments of many states. Battles are being waged to wrest control of reproduction away from women, fights women thought had been won with the advent of the Pill and the ruling in Roe v. Wade in 1973. They were wrong. Fear is at the heart of it all, just as it was back in the mid-nineteenth century and early twentieth century when immigrants poured into the United States. At that time, the West was open to settlement, and Yankees were determined that it not be settled by the Irish, Poles, Scandinavians, Slavs, and such like; these people would get too much political clout. White men were in a panic, but what could they do about it? They'd enlist the women by passing laws against birth control and abortion; thereby, literally forcing women into maternity in an effort to outnumber less desirable, in their eyes, the people flooding onto our shores. Information about contraception was considered obscene and prohibited by the Comstock Act of 1873, an act against distribution of any obscene material through the mail. Many states passed similar laws, referred to collectively as the Comstock Laws. Sometimes the states' laws outlawed both the use and also the distribution of contraceptives. The earliest laws against abortion were laws against the commercialization of abortion producing plants. But the push was on, and by 1880 every state had criminalized abortion, with the exception of therapeutic abortion to save a woman's life. Today, white men are again in a panic for fear of becoming outnumbered in the United States by Hispanics, blacks, Asians, and Native Americans, who will by 2050 make up about 54% of our country's population (US census). With minority status comes loss of political power-my G-d we've already got a black President What to do? They decide, consciously or subconsciously, to enlist the aid of white women. Women, however, fight the proposed strictures on contraception and abortion. They've tasted the freedom that comes with control of reproduction, of having a life beyond diapers and parent-teacher meetings. They're becoming doctors, and lawyers, and such: Forced Maternity? No way. Fear of the "invasion of the immigrants" has again raised its ugly head, this time; women will refuse to passively knuckle under.

This text addresses the following two questions: "What kinds of problems can the law solve?" and "What kinds of problems does the law create?" Using these questions as starting points, Meier and Geis evenhandedly explore the role and function of law relating to six major issues that often divide Americans today: prostitution, drug use, homosexuality, abortion, pornography, and gambling. Statutes and public opinion have shifted dramatically over recent decades in regard to these behaviors. The book details these developments and offers explanations of why they have occurred. Some people view all or some of these behaviors as acts that ought to be permitted, as part of individual freedom. Others find one, some, or all of them to be genuine threats to the country's social and moral fiber and believe that they ought to be criminalized. Still others maintain that action ought to be taken to limit some of the behaviors, but that using the criminal justice system is not the best way to proceed. Meier and Geis' provocative book offers sophisticated, in-depth discussions of these issues, then reviews the conflicting opinions about the proper role of criminal law in dealing with them. It is written in straightforward, jargon-free language, providing an ideal background for exploring the facts and views regarding what are often contentious concerns. Criminal Justice and Moral Issues increases student understanding through the abundant use of relevant illustrations, examples, and case studies.

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 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.

Elizabeth could not put out the flame that was suddenly ignited upon completing a project for her Freshman year health class. "Over the weekend, I took care of my "baby" when it cried. I had been instructed to insert a key into its back to calm it down. This baby simulator put ideas into my head that caring for a baby would be as simple as turning a key. I quickly started to enjoy carrying the baby around with me and pretending that I was a mommy. I wanted to practice, and I wanted my doll to be real." Elizabeth had an emptiness in her life and could not understand her feelings, and why they were so powerful. Once Elizabeth was successful with her plot, she was reprimanded by her family and the community. Her nineteen-year-old boyfriend, and father of her soon-to-be baby, stayed by her side, but failed to further mature as a support system and father. Law officials did not consider that he was an adult, and having underage sex with a fourteen-year-old girl at the time of her pregnancy. This may have just saved Elizabeth from the suffering and shame that she would further encounter as a young adult. As a former teen parent, Elizabeth is boldly confessing the truth. She believes that hiding the secret of her pregnancy being intentional will only encourage this matter, which is commonly avoided by society and the media. Elizabeth hopes to encourage other former teen parents to also break their silence in an effort to re-evaluate the statics. Statistics state that out of 100 teenage pregnancies, 20 are planned. In the teenage brain, the reward system is mainly influenced by friends and peers when it comes to risk-taking. What would you do if your teens' best friend became pregnant? How would you feel if you discovered that your teen was actually trying to get pregnant? What if your teen was dating a person who was encouraging this? What if it was too late? Mental disorder in teens is also a common problem that goes unnoticed. In an effort to feel better, teens typically self-destruct with reckless behavior and abusing substances such as alcohol and drugs. What are the signs to look for? By re-living her true experience as a confused teenager wanting to quickly grow up, Elizabeth takes you into her world, and her thoughts which uncover a shocking but real question. Do we really know what is going on in the lives of our children? And what can we do to ensure their emotional and social health? I encourage you to read on. This book will capture the attention of anyone who is interested or has had experience with the following; Adoption, Fostering, teens, parents of troubled teens, troubled teenagers, foster care workers, children in the foster system, substance abuse, alcoholism, domestic abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, social workers, public defenders, teachers, educators, public health workers, community volunteers, books on teenage pregnancy, books on adoption, books on foster care, ambiguous loss, south lake tahoe, Lake Tahoe CA

Eugenics, Marriage and Birth Control By William J. Robinson

Traditionally, the history of the birth control movement has been told through the accounts of the leaders, organizations, and legislation that shaped the campaign. Recently, historians have begun examining the cultural work of printed media, including newspapers, magazines, and even novels in fostering support for the cause." Broadcasting Birth Control "builds on this new scholarship to explore the films and radio and television broadcasts developed by twentieth-century birth control advocates to promote family planning at home in the United States, and in the expanding international arena of population control.
Mass media, Manon Parry contends, was critical to the birth control movement's attempts to build support and later to publicize the idea of fertility control and the availability of contraceptive services in the United States and around the world. Though these public efforts in advertising and education were undertaken initially by leading advocates, including Margaret Sanger, increasingly a growing class of public communications experts took on the role, mimicking the efforts of commercial advertisers to promote health and contraception in short plays, cartoons, films, and soap operas. In this way, they made a private subject--fertility control--appropriate for public discussion.
Parry examines these trends to shed light on the contested nature of the motivations of birth control advocates. Acknowledging that supporters of contraception were not always motivated by the best interests of individual women, Parry concludes that family planning advocates were nonetheless convinced of women's desire for contraception and highly aware of the ethical issues involved in the use of the media to inform and persuade.

"Perilous Times: An Inside Look at Abortion Before-and After-Roe v. Wade" gives a unique perspective on the days of back-alley abortions-one of which the author experienced in 1956 following what would today be known as workplace rape-and includes contemporary stories that indicate those grim days are returning. It is written for lay readers, making a strong case for reproductive choice and a plea for informed dialog. Author Fran Moreland Johns' comments on abortion rights have appeared recently in "The New York Times" and "New Yorker" magazine. "Perilous Times" expands on the issue through true stories of women and men whose lives have been impacted by unplanned pregnancies, and comments from leaders in the field of reproductive rights.
Fran Moreland Johns is no stranger to difficult topics, having written extensively on end-of-life issues; her last book was "Dying Unafraid, " a storyteller's book about people who did just that. Johns grew up in Ashland, Virginia in the 1940s, a place and time that comes alive in many of her short stories and nonfiction works. She is a graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman's College (BA, Art), holds an MFA in Short Fiction from the University of San Francisco and is a lifelong freelance writer. The mother of three and grandmother of five, she lives with her husband, writer/editor Bud Johns, in San Francisco where she is active in arts, literary, and interfaith causes.

Containing both medical and legal perspectives, Criminal Abortion is an important document from the early decades of the anti-abortion crusade. Dr. Storer led the medical campaign against abortion during the second half of the nineteenth century. His efforts were supported by Heard, a notable jurist and legal scholar. The motivations for both men were primarily racist, xenophobic and sexist. They were horrified by declining birthrates among Americans of Anglo-Saxon ancestry and the influx of immigrants, many of them non-white, Catholic and Jewish. In their minds abortion in the non-immigrant community, which they attributed to modern fashion and feminism, was leading to "race suicide" and a country overtaken by "inferior races." "The legal portion of the work will probably be of the greatest practical use. This seems to be a very full and thorough collection of all the statutes and cases of value relating to the subject." --3 American Law Review 149 1868 HORATIO R. STORER 1830-1922] received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1853. He specialized in gynecology in his Boston medical practice. Well-known as an anti-abortion advocate, he published widely in medical journals and wrote several popular pamphlets against abortion, including Why Not? A Book for Every Woman (1866) and Is it I? A Book for Every Man (1867). From 1865-1867 he was professor of obstetrics and medical jurisprudence at Berkshire Medical Institution and received his LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1868. FRANKLIN FISKE HEARD 1825-1889] was a Boston lawyer and coauthor, with John William Wallace of the fourth edition of The Reporters (1882). He was the author of The Principles of Criminal Pleading (1879), Shakespeare as a Lawyer (1883) and other titles.

From the "Introduction" European Emperors, Kings, Kaisers and Tsars, and their Churches, forbade contraception, women's equality and divorce. Baptismal Certificates and class barriers dictated who could legally marry, attend school or the university, advance socially, and who could not. World War I finally swept them from power, but their dictates frequently remained as law, in a turbulent era of struggle for freedom and democracy, versus resurgent fascism and slavery. Hodann's History contains a clear discussion of these historical developments within the sexual reform and women's rights movements of Weimar Germany and Europe generally, in the early decades of the 1900s. The parallel advance of scientific knowledge on human sexuality is also detailed. Unlike many contemporary works on these subjects, History of Modern Morals is authored by a physician who lived the struggle, was a leader in it, got arrested by the Nazis for it, and intimately worked with other professionals who also had personally suffered for their work in the same social-sexual reform movement. His writings are therefore filled with a strong passion and vitality, and with many personal observations, anecdotes, and clarifying information not found elsewhere. Hodann's History is also unique in that he frequently and positively discusses the work of his contemporary and associate, Wilhelm Reich. This is especially important given their life-positive emphasis upon love and emotion in sexuality, and their distinction between natural-healthy heterosexual genitality versus neurotic and unhealthy sexual expressions. In the modern era of "politically correct" moral equivalence, this essential consideration has been diminished or erased from public discussion.

Choice, Death, and the Aftermath

Fearfully and desperately wanting to hide my mistakes and deny the unwanted, but not totally unexpected ramifications of my earlier choices, I chose what seemed to be the easiest answer. I chose death, and then I moved into the aftermath of my choice. I, for a lifetime and beyond, will live in the aftermath of my choice. Although there is recovery, through forgiveness, there are lasting ramifications. No one told me that the ramifications of my choice would last forever. No one told me what my choice would do to my heart. No one told me that my choice was, in fact, a death sentence for my baby.

Are you, or someone you know, facing an unwanted pregnancy? Are you wondering if "choice" is the answer, the easiest solution?

After the "choice" comes the aftermath. A living choice not only gives life to a baby, but results in an aftermath of life. Abortion results in an aftermath forever shrouded in death, death of a baby, perhaps death of your own baby. For those struggling with the aftermath of abortion, you and your loved ones can find forgiveness.

This book is for:

Teenage moms wrestling with choice and an unplanned pregnancy

Loved ones who are seeking resolution after abortion

Anyone who needs hope and healing after abortion

This book is a great tool for teen pregnancy educators, pregnancy center advisors, and those seeking to learn more about the emotional struggles, post abortion. It is written out of love and understanding by a woman who thought her choice was the best answer. Whether or not you are a Christian, you will be inspired by the author's incredible faith, without which it would have been impossible to write this book.

Through my story, I pray that you will know that a living choice is the only real choice.

Join me in my story of running from my mistakes, hiding my choice, and slogging through the aftermath. Come with me as I discover a new truth about an old choice. Join me as I struggle with guilt and heartfelt shame, knowing the new truth. Observe the aftermath.

What choice would you have made? What choice would you recommend?

About the author

Sheila and her husband Wayne have been blessed with two beautiful daughters. She is currently on the Board of Directors of Elizabeth Ministry International and Wisconsin Right to Life. In 2010, Sheila received a certificate in equipping from The Masters Institute.

Sheila began her career following college working as an engineer for IBM. After three years, she resigned to attend law school at Marquette University Law School, graduating in 1985. In 2003, after nearly twenty years of being employed full-time as an attorney, Sheila retired and accepted God's call to begin writing Christian books and speaking for a variety of Christian organizations and schools. Sheila's current books include three Bible studies:

The Challenge of Change: Careers, Callings and Work-Life Crossroads

My Secret Loss: Finding Life after Abortion

Grapple with Guilt, Shed the Shame