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"Nelson presents the tip of the iceberg of the history of the involvement of women of color, specifically, African-American women and Latinas in the movements for rights."--"Conscience"

"This book is an important contribution to the growing reexamination of the women's health movement. This is a useful book, an interesting book, a book that tells our history."--"Politics, Social Movements, and The State"

While most people believe that the movement to secure voluntary reproductive control for women centered solely on abortion rights, for many women abortion was not the only, or even primary, focus.

"A valuable contribution."
--"Feminist Collections"

Jennifer Nelson tells the story of the feminist struggle for legal abortion and reproductive rights in the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s through the particular contributions of women of color. She explores the relationship between second-wave feminists, who were concerned with a woman's right to choose, Black and Puerto Rican Nationalists, who were concerned that Black and Puerto Rican women have as many children as possible "for the revolution," and women of color themselves, who negotiated between them. Contrary to popular belief, Nelson shows that women of color were able to successfully remake the mainstream women's liberation and abortion rights movements by appropriating select aspects of Black Nationalist politics--including addressing sterilization abuse, access to affordable childcare and healthcare, and ways to raise children out of poverty--for feminist discourse.

Once backed primarily by anti-abortion activists, fetal rights claims are now promoted by a wide range of interest groups in American society. Government and corporate policies to define and enforce fetal rights have become commonplace. These developments affect all women pregnant or not because women are considered "potentially pregnant" for much of their lives. In her powerful and important book, Rachel Roth brings a new perspective to the debate over fetal rights. She clearly delineates the threat to women's equality posed by the new concept of "maternal-fetal conflict," an idea central to the fetal rights movement in which women and fetuses are seen as having interests that are diametrically opposed. Roth begins by placing fetal rights politics in historical and comparative context and by tracing the emergence of the notion of fetal rights. Against a backdrop of gripping stories about actual women, she reviews the difficulties fetal rights claims create for women in the areas of employment, health care, and drug and alcohol regulation. She looks at court cases and state legislation over a period of two decades beginning in 1973, the year of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Her exhaustive research shows how judicial decisions and public policies that grant fetuses rights tend to displace women as claimants, as recipients of needed services, and ultimately as citizens. When a corporation, medical authority, or the state asserts or accepts rights claims on behalf of a fetus, the usual justification involves improving the chance of a healthy birth. This strategy, Roth persuasively argues, is not necessary to achieve the goal of a healthy birth, is often counterproductive to it, and always undermines women's equal standing."

The landmark case Roe v. Wade redefined family: it is now commonplace for Americans to treat having children as a choice. But the historic decision also coincided with widening inequality, an ongoing trend that continues to make choice more myth than reality. In this new and timely history, Matthiesen shows how the effects of incarceration, for-profit healthcare, disease, and poverty have been worsened by state neglect, forcing most to work harder to maintain a family.

How can those who seek to protect the "right to life" defend assassination in the name of saving lives? Carol Mason investigates this seeming paradox by examining pro-life literature both archival material and writings from the front lines of the conflict. Her analysis reveals the apocalyptic thread that is the ideological link between established anti-abortion organizations and the more shadowy pro-life terrorists who subject clinic workers to anthrax scares, bombs, and bullets.The portrayal of abortion as "America's Armageddon" began in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Mason says, Christian politics and the post-Vietnam paramilitary culture popularized the idea that legal abortion is a harbinger of apocalypse. By the 1990s, Mason asserts, even the movement's mainstream had taken up the call, narrating abortion as an apocalyptic battle between so-called Christian and anti-Christian forces. "Pro-life violence of the 1990s signaled a move away from protest and toward retribution," she writes. "Pro-life retribution is seen as a way to restore the order of God. In this light, the phenomenon of killing for 'life' is revealed not as an oxymoron, but as a logical consistency and a political manifestation of religious retribution."Mason's scrutiny of primary sources (direct mail, internal memoranda, personal letters, underground manuals, and pro-life films, magazines, and novels) draws attention to elements of pro-life millennialism. Killing for Life is a powerful indictment of pro-life ideology as a coherent, mass-produced narrative that does not merely condone violence, but anticipates it as part of "God's plan."

This book is one of the most cogent and dynamic books written on this polarizing subject. Ms. Silver methodically and carefully presents the reader with her analysis. It is a tight and useful consideration of both sides of the issue.

Jeremy Cander has designed a home that cures depression. Jack Nesteby (A Canadian reporter wants the story. In a New Ulm, Minnesota bar called The Broken Gate, they meet. A flood, and an accident change both men forever.

This call to rethink major religious traditions on key topics of family planning provides a fresh, underreported side of these traditions. Written in a lively, engaging, and skilled style by a leading ethicist, this guide brings expert insights of major scholars in a manageable format.

Over the last thirty years, abortion has touched literally every extended family. The resulting trauma has resulted in broken relationships, substance abuse, self-destructive behavior, eating disorders, patenting problems, alienation from God, and more. Most of the 50 million American women and men who have had abortions are haunted by their experience. But there is no socially acceptable outlet for expressing this "forbidden grief." So they bottle up their feelings -- or explode.

Forbidden Grief lifts the veil of secrecy shrouding abortion's devastating impact on the emotional and spiritual health of women, men, and their families. Through first-hand accounts and insightful analysis it reveals the many ways in which memories of a past abortion intrude into women's daily lives. Readers will also learn the inside story of the "post-abortion syndrome" cover-up and the related political controversy. This gripping, unforgettable book reveals the secrets that post-abortive women only tell their therapists -- but want everyone to understand.

Forbidden Grief addresses the need of tens of millions of women, family members, and friends who want to know how abortion has affected them or their loved ones. And most importantly, it describes, in a Christian context, the path to healing and peace.

This is a reprint of the bestselling 1922 classic on birth-control and women's rights with new chapters by George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, and articles culled from the "New York Times."

Without a doubt, the sharpest public debates over the value of fetal life have revolved around the conditions, if any, under which abortion should be legal. Yet the question of whether the fetus is or is not a person is central in two other policy domains: substance abuse by pregnant women and assaults on pregnant women, especially assaults that cause the death of a fetus.At first glance, all three issues seem similar all ask the question of how the state should respond to actions that threaten or destroy fetal life. But the response of state and society to each has been very different: while the highly charged debate over abortion rights rages unabated, the other two issues engender no such social or political divisions. And while drug use and third-party fetal killings are universally condemned, "fetal abuse" is a term used only to describe harm that a pregnant woman brings to her own fetus, and not harm brought to it by a third party. Similarly, a great deal of media attention has been paid to such "fetal abuse," while the question of third-party harm has been all but ignored.Is the Fetus a Person? analyzes fetal personhood by examining all of the major areas of the law that could implicitly or explicitly award the fetus such status. Jean Reith Schroedel presents a comprehensive history of fetal protection ideas and policies in America, considering the moral and legal underpinnings of existing laws while paying particular attention to the influence of gender and power relations on their formation. As much a model for future research as a study of the status of the fetus, this book offers an extraordinary examination of one of the most divisive and complex issues of late-twentieth-century American life."

Once backed primarily by anti-abortion activists, fetal fights claims are now promoted by a wide range of interest groups in American society. Government and corporate policies to define and enforce fetal rights have become commonplace. Not only pregnant women are affected by these developments, as all women are considered "potentially pregnant" for much of their lives.

In her powerful and important book, Rachel Roth brings a new perspective to the debate over fetal rights. She clearly delineates the threat to women's equality posed by the new concept of "maternal-fetal conflict, " an idea central to the fetal rights movement in which women and fetuses are seen as having interests that are diametrically opposed.

Roth begins by placing fetal rights politics in historical and comparative context and by tracing the emergence of the notion of fetal rights. Against a backdrop of gripping stories about actual women, she reviews the difficulties fetal rights claims create for women in the areas of employment, health care, and drug and alcohol regulation. She looks at court cases and state legislation over a period of two decades beginning in 1973, the year of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Her exhaustive research shows how judicial decisions and public policies that grant fetuses rights tend to displace women as claimants, as recipients of needed services, and ultimately as citizens.

When a corporation, medical authority', or the state asserts or accepts rights claims on behalf of a fetus, the usual justification involves improving the chance of a healthy birth. This strategy, Roth persuasively argues, is not necessary to achieve the goal of a healthy birth, is oftencounterproductive to it, and always undermines women's equal standing.

*Winner of the James S. Donnelly, Sr. Prize 2022* In Ireland, 2018, a constitutional ban that equated the life of a woman to the life of a fertilised embryo was overturned and abortion was finally legalised. This victory for the Irish Repeal movement set the country alight with euphoria. But, for some, the celebrations were short-lived - the new legislation turned out to be one of the most conservative in Europe. People still travel overseas for abortions and services are not yet fully commissioned in Northern Ireland. This book traces the history of the origins of the Eighth Amendment, which was drawn up in fear of a tide of liberal reforms across Europe. It draws out the lessons learned from the groundbreaking campaign in 2018, which was the culmination of a 35-year-long reproductive rights movement and an inspiring example of modern grassroots activism. It tells the story of the 'Repeal' campaign through the lens of the activists who are still fighting in a movement that is only just beginning.

Abortion has been at the emotional center of America's culture wars for a generation. Ever since the Supreme Court's landmark "Roe v. Wade" decision, abortion has in many ways defined American politics, creating an ideological demilitarized zone between liberals and conservatives. Above all, the twenty-five-year war over abortion has been responsible for the most significant social phenomenon of our times--the political and cultural mobilization of Evangelical America. Furthermore, it has served as the lightning rod for the most intense and prolonged debate on the issue of separation of church and state since the founding of the nation.Now for the first time, in a compelling and very human narrative, "Wrath of Angels" traces the rise and fall of the American anti-abortion movement and reveals its critical role in the creation of the Religious Right. The book explores why the passionate battle to end abortion failed to achieve its goal and yet in the process became one of the most important--and least understood--social protest movements of the twentieth century. The anti-abortion movement was the catalyst that convinced Protestant fundamentalists to end their long cultural isolation, leaving their church pews for the streets. And, while they failed to change the law, they were transformed themselves, emerging as one for the most potent political forces in America at the end of the century.James Risen, an investigative reporter for the "Los Angeles Times," and Judy L. Thomas, a reporter for the "Kansas City Star," are widely acknowledged as the leading journalistic experts on the anti-abortion movement. Their narrative history captures all the drama of the abortion battles of the pasttwenty-five years and reveals how a movement with its roots in the Catholic left's antiwar protests of the 1960s was gradually transformed into a rallying point for the newly muscular Religious Right. "Wrath of Angels" documents the origins of the use of civil disobedience in the anti-abortion movement and offers the definitive explanation of why the movement ultimately descended into violence--and collapsed as a political force. It tells the compelling story of the shootings of abortion doctors in the 1990s and draws upon exclusive interviews with the anti-abortion extremists who have been convicted of these crimes.Anti-abortion activism represents the largest social protest movement since the 1960s. With clarity and objectivity, Risen and Thomas unleash the stormy wrath of angels, the volatile eruption of fundamentalist fury into American politics.

Feminism's emphasis on birth control is challenged in a study which reveals the masculine and mechanistic assumptions underlying arguments for birth control and abortion, and the belief that women's freedom comes from control of their bodies and their fertility. Writing as an ecofeminist, not as an anti-abortionist, she argues that the control of fertility denigrates women's bodies and exploitation of the earth, and that the West's preoccupation with population control in the Third World is both racist and imperialist.

Bowers argues that, when correctly interpreted and applied, the Constitution and the theory of liberty on which it is based require government to reject the conventional pro-choice and anti-abortion perspectives as too extreme and incomplete. Instead, this book sets forth a position that government is constitutionally obligated to approach abortion policy from a middle perspective. Relying on a jurisprudence of original theory, "Pro-Choice and Anti-Abortion" forcefully asserts that government is constitutionally constrained to formulate abortion policy that is at once pro-choice and anti-abortion. In so arguing, this book walks readers through this constitutionally mandated middle position by introducing them to the liberal teachings of John Locke that were so influential to the framers of the Constitution and by applying this political theory to the major issues of the abortion controversy--including the individual liberty interest in the abortion decision, minors and abortions, the liberty interest of the fetal-being, and the Freedom of Choice Act.

Everything you need to know about:

• Informed consent and parental consent laws, including a state-by-state listing
• Taking care of yourself during an unplanned pregnancy
• Finding a prochoice clinic and avoiding phony clinics
• Emergency birth control and the new abortion pills

When, God willing, the abortion controversy is behind us, partisans of the pro-life and pro-choice positions are going to have to live together in this society. That is why, sloganeering and passionate polemics are inevitable, civil conversation is essential. And that is why "The Silent Subject" is such a gift to all of us at this point in the controversy. (From the foreword by Richard John Neuhaus) The essays in this work constitute a sensitive, public argument for a reconstruction of the confused--yet dominant--popular attitudes toward nascent human life and its value. Unlike most pro-life arguments, it offers no strictly religious or exclusively sectarian warrants for its assertions - instead bearing a more secular cast, speaking to a generalized and pluralistic audience. As a whole, "The Silent Subject" embraces no specific, particular political ideology. Its contributors have a broad spectrum of professional interests, political perspectives and social philosophies - all of which indicates the fundamentally humanistic and apolitical nature of concern for the unborn and the degree to which they are esteemed. This unusual book is a refreshingly candid and morally compelling analysis of the social forces that superintend our cultural outlook toward unborn human life.

The battle for legal abortion in the United States may have been won, but access to safe medical abortions is rapidly narrowing. Some 84 percent of all U.S. counties are now without abortion facilities, and the situation is growing worse. How are we to explain the crisis of abortion access? In Doctors of Conscience, Carole Joffe argues that in addition to the violence and disruption of the anti-abortion movement, the medical community itself must share the blame. Joffe traces the ways mainstream medicine has marginalized abortion even after Roe vs. Wade, by failing to establish needed training and services and by stigmatizing and penalizing doctors who perform abortions. The costs have been high - not only for women with unwanted pregnancies, but also for doctors committed to providing safe medical abortions. Based on in-depth interviews with forty-five physicians who have provided or facilitated abortions, Doctors of Conscience recalls the days before Roe, when emergency rooms were filled with women maimed and infected by botched abortions. Witnessing the desperation of women seeking illegal abortions was a turning point in the careers of many of the doctors interviewed. After Roe, they continued to be haunted by their experiences.

"An important work on a monumental subject." —Anna Quindlen, New York Times Book Review

On profound questions of birth, death, and human choice that are raised by abortion—where opposing sides see no common ground—how can the conflict be managed? The abortion debate in the United States today involves all Americans in complex questions of sex and power, historical change, politics, advances in medicine, and competing social values. In this best-selling book, an eminent constitutional authority shows how the nation has struggled with these questions and then sets forth new approaches that reflect both sides' passionately held convictions. The paperback edition includes discussion of the latest court decisions and excerpts from the major cases, including the Supreme Court's landmark June 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

"A wide-ranging book about the controversy by a brilliant scholar and teacher of constitutional law. . . . Tribe offers a dazzling array of arguments and approaches. . . . Tribe's final approach to abortion, an informative discussion of new contraceptive and procreative technologies, holds out the hope of transcending the conflict rather than finding the common ground among its current parties." —Amy Gutmann, The New Republic

"A marvelously thoughtful guide to all facets of the current abortion controversy. . . . Makes constructive suggestions for bridging the gulf that separates the sides in the too-polarized abortion debate. . . . Professor Tribe's thoughtful analysis will deepen your understanding both of your own position and that of others." —Nadine Strossen, president, American Civil Liberties Union

"Wise and powerful. . . . Intelligent people will not only learn something helpful from [this] book, they will also be able to read it. . . . The book is more than lucid: it is vibrant with ethical passion." —Nelson W. Aldrich, Jr., New England Monthly

"Important. . . . Tackles the conflicts of the abortion issue in a rational and humane manner. . . . Tribe explains in a clear, conversational style the many changes in abortion law—and the pressures that continue to build behind the scenes on each side of the 'life vs. liberty' controversy." —San Francisco Chronicle

Most people, scholars and laypeople alike, view the judiciary as the ultimate authority in constitutional questions. Political scientist Susan Burgess sees things differently.

In "Contest for Constitutional Authority," Burgess shows how such single-branch supremacy diminishes public understanding of and participation in constitutional democracy.

Instead, Burgess argues that each branch of government has the right to interpret the Constitution, and that no branch has the final authority theory known as "departmental review." In a system based on departmental review, constitutional interpretation is not solely a judicial function, but rather a shared dialogue among all the branches of government as they articulate their positions on important constitutional issues and respond to opposing arguments. Through close study of the war powers and abortion debates, Burgess demonstrates that the practice of departmental review improves the quality of constitutional debate, deepens "constitutional consciousness," and enhances respect for the rule of law.

Burgess could hardly have chosen two more dramatic case studies for this exploration. First, she investigates the constitutional issues relating to the debates over Roe v. Wade and, in its wake, the 1981 Human Life Bill, 1985 Abortion Funding Restriction Act, and contemporaneous court cases. She follows with a comparative analysis of the constitutional debates that focused on the infamous 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the Persian Gulf crisis of the late 1980sone prior to and the other after the passage of the 1973 War Powers Act, which requires congressional authorization before waging war.

In Contest for Constitutional Authority Brugess demonstrates the considerable potential (and possible drawbacks) of departmental review for creating a common constitutional language that transcends the polemical impasses characterizing much current debate, for recapturing active and thoughtful citizen participation, and for renewing our faith in the authority of the constitutional text.

"The author has made a significant contribution to our understanding of constitutional law.--"Robert Lowry Clinton, author of "Marbury v. Madison and Judicial Review."

"Focuses the profession's attention on the need to foster continuing, substantive constitutional debate, which is essential to a constitutional democracy. This book is free of the 'polemic' that characterizes much of the abortion and war-powers controversies. In fact, Burgess's approach to the substantive issues is very balanced. Her presentation of the war-powers controversy during the Vietnam era is both interesting and incisive.--"Edward Keynes, author of "Undeclared War: Twilight Zone of Constitutional Power and The Court vs. Congress: Prayer, Busing, and Abortion."

"The issues she takes on are crucial not solely the subject areas of reproductive rights and law, or public policy lenses and judicial impact in women s and children s lives, but also the more difficult and fundamental questions of how these hot topics can be approached so as to make the most of the good will of all and the force of free discussion for social learning.... she brings a strong, evolving and distinctive perspective to the discussion." Emily Fowler Hartigan

In Abortion and Dialogue, Ruth Colker argues that the state falsely views the woman and the fetus as having conflicting needs when it intervenes in decisions regarding preganancies. Colker's feminist-theological perspective on reproductive health issues encourages both pro-choice and pro-life advocates to consider how the value of life is implicated in discussions of reproduction.

Colker argues that theology can contribute to our understanding if we apply the concepts of love, compassion, and wisdom to problems identified by feminist theory and to actual concrete situations: the impact of abortion regulations on poor female adolescents; the judicial treatment of abortion regulations; state intervention into women s decision-making during pregnancies carried to term. Colker concludes by examining effective and respectful family-planning strategies that truly help women in making reproductive choices."