Abortion Reviews

Bearing Right: How Conservatives Won the Abortion War

Published in Paperback by University of California Press (2004-10-20)

Author: William Saletan

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More than one type of conservative

Helpful Votes: 20 out of 22 total.
Review Date: 2004-10-29

Reviewer Humbug obviously doesn't see more than one facet to conservatives. For the sake of a manageable title, Saletan didn't say "anti-government" or "libertarian" conservatives, but once you start reading the book it's clear. It's the best analysis I've seen of abortion politics; I've long felt that both sides were framing the issue wrong. In my view it should be about helping women with the resources to carry their children to term, the pro-life feminist position. Saletan captures that dynamic pretty well - pro-choice feminists reluctantly using the libertarian stick to win, in effect giving power over the issue to people (and legislators) who think abortion should be legal but constrained by sensible restrictions through democratic institutions, not the courts.

Eye-opening

Helpful Votes: 31 out of 35 total.
Review Date: 2003-10-26

This was completely different from everything I've read about this issue before. The details about what goes on behind the scenes are amazing, the polls and focus groups and how every word you hear from the politicians is gone over with a fine tooth comb to spin the public. I highly recommend for anyone interested on either side or in politics generally.

Unfortunate Title, but Valuable Analysis

Helpful Votes: 37 out of 37 total.
Review Date: 2005-02-09

This unfortunately titled volume is sure to attract many puzzled and curious readers: "They/we won the abortion war?!? When did that happen?" But William Saletan's conservatives are the "pro-choice conservatives"; right-to-life activists call them liberals and politicians call them moderates. These swing voters, conservative but not radical, pro-choice but pro-restriction, have dictated the terms of engagement in the abortion war from the late 1980s on. And Saletan's well-written account of abortion politics since that time gives no indication that the conflict is over, or will be any time soon.

Bearing Right begins its narrative in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1986. Pollster Harrison Hickman is leading a focus group on a proposed amendment to the Arkansas constitution to ban public funding of abortions, while the strategists of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) watch from behind a darkened glass panel, discussing how to turn the values of the Arkansas populace against the popular amendment. Remarkably, they succeed.

Despite voters' widespread disapproval of public funding for abortion, Hickman found a pair of key weaknesses: women were far less likely to support the amendment when rape entered the picture, and men reacted strongly when the amendment was portrayed as government intrusion into private family decisions. The resulting media campaign based on Hickman's insights marked the beginning of a dramatic shift in the terms of the public discourse on abortion rights. Pro-choice activists embraced the language of libertarian conservatism, the first slip onto a politically expedient slope that would gradually erode the meaning of "choice." They soon found that their ungrammatical new slogan, "Who Decides-You or Them?," was just as useful to their opponents for enforcing patriarchy and limiting the rights the poor and the young as it was for defending abortion rights generally. The only possible answer to the question was "you," but different groups had very different ideas of who, exactly, "you" referred to.

The story of the internal workings of NARAL is relevant to a wide array of scholars, activists, and general readers. For political scientists and historians it presents a compelling and personalized case study on rhetoric, special interests and the meanings of populism. The strategy decisions of NARAL and their consequences underscore the importance of what questions are being asked and in what contexts as competing interests try to define the "will of the people."

As Saletan points out in his less-than-subtle way, the abortion war highlights the pitfalls of sacrificing principles for expediency: inevitably, once the terms of debate are shifted toward the middle, especially in a disingenuous way, the double-tipped pen of rhetoric will write both ways. By 1992, recruiting Barry Goldwater to help defeat an Arizona ballot measure that restricted abortion rights, "pro-choice activists had reached the summit of victory stripped of the cumbersome weight of much of their agenda." "They had conquered the middle ground," Saletan concludes, "and the middle ground had conquered them." More interesting for activists and ideologues may be Saletan's discussion of "the right to choose life." Ironically, as pro-life and pro-choice rhetoric converged into a libertarian chimera of ideals and politics, it was the common ground that lost out. Within the framework of the public debate, in which abortion rights were protected by keeping the government out of personal, family (not individual) decisions, there was little room for protecting the rights of minors or working women to carry pregnancies to term against the respective demands or threats of parents or employers.

Unfortunately the intriguing NARAL story, based on organizational records and interviews, gradually dissolves into the broader context of the recent history of national abortion politics, essentially a distillation of fifteen years of news specials and newspaper clippings. The narrative loses momentum and coherence as it disconnects from the personalities and details of NARAL, and the issues spread from bans on abortion funding and government interference to parental consent laws, rape and incest exceptions, dilation & extraction/partial-birth procedures, cloning and stem cell research, and beyond.

Bearing Right is hardly adequate as a general account of abortion policy and politics; it leaves far too much out. The role of jurisprudence is mentioned occasionally but largely ignored, discussions of state abortion laws are unsystematic, and there is no analysis of the formal positions and ideologies that inform abortion activism. Even if the premise in the title is granted, the question of how the war was won is only partially answered. But what this book does do, it does very well. Saletan's extensive experience as a political correspondent shines as he analyzes the choices and public positions of activists and politicians, and though his biases are obvious, his work makes a strong enough attempt at a balanced treatment that it can-and should-be read profitably by combatants on either side, and the civilians in between as well.

A good historical analysis, but offers no vision

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-09

Mention the word `abortion' in casual conversation, and you are likely to find yourself in the midst of a heated debate, whether it is over legality, restrictions, the rights of minors, or parental control. However, the debate within the pro-choice movement about reactive and proactive strategies is often overlooked. William Saletan's book, Bearing Right: How Conservatives Won the Abortion War describes the internal struggles faced by key players in the pro-choice movement in the last 20 years.

Bearing Right examines the critical players- both individuals and interest groups- in the abortion rights movement, the frame of abortion rights activism, the impact of rhetoric on that frame, and the role of increasing conservatism among individuals that identify as pro-choice. Saletan explores key ballot measures, court cases, legislative initiatives, and elections that have shaped the strategies of the pro-choice movement. Saletan's book recounts the critical history of the pro-choice movement in the United States in an honest and frank manner. While Bearing Right is easy to read, its contents will outrage any loyal pro-choice activist, like myself.

Bearing Right starts the reader out in Arkansas in 1986, during Bill Clinton's reign as governor. Saletan describes the costly success of pro-choice efforts to defeat Amendment 65, which would have limited public funding for abortion in Arkansas. The campaign against this ballot measure did more than just kill an amendment in one state; it laid the groundwork for the messages of the pro-choice movement for decades to come.

Bearing Right provides a detailed analysis of the language used to convince constituents to vote for or against particular candidates and/or legislation, and the reasoning behind employing particular slogans, such as "Keep Big Government Out of Bedrooms" (p.24). Saletan shows how the frame of a message can influence not only the outcome of a particular campaign, but also the strategy of your opponent. Bearing Right describes the pro-life movement's careful and clever use of pro-choice language and strategies to achieve their own goals.

Saletan describes conflicting views of pro-choice big-wigs, who frequently make concessions in order to win a short-term goal. Saletan's book paints a grim picture of Kate Michelman, Executive Director of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) from 1985 to 2004. Saletan scrutinizes over Michelman's decision-making regarding NARAL endorsement and involvement in various campaigns across the country. While seeking to provide an in-depth analysis of critical players in the pro-choice movement, Bearing Right does little to acknowledge their hard work, turning each success into a calamity.

Bearing Right also explores how pro-choice candidates, such as Virginia Governor Doug Wilder, spun their views to win an election. Even though Wilder identified as pro-choice, he approved of legislation requiring parental consent for minors seeking an abortion. Bearing Right describes Wilder's position on abortion and parental consent as the reason why Wilder won the election. Saletan describes Wilder's campaign as a crucial juncture in the pro-choice movement, introducing the concept, and power of a pro-choice moderate. Bearing Right highlights the anxiety of being pinned a liberal, and the ways politicians have crafted their image to avoid that label, especially in the context of abortion.

Saletan tries to concentrate on the trend towards conservativism within the pro-choice movement, as evidenced by the title of the book. However, it's no secret that pro-choicers have crafted their messages to appeal to the politically moderate population. The title should have read, Bearing Right: how the pro-choice movement sold out the liberals. Also, while this trend is important to highlight, the more interesting facet of the book centers on the role of rhetoric and messaging. In addition, Saletan's title suggests that the abortion war is over; I would argue not only that the abortion war is not over, but also that the pro-choice movement is in need of an army of troops to come to the rescue.

Saletan's chronological account of pro-choice campaigns helps the reader understand how critical court cases and elections coincided. Saletan refers the reader back to earlier initiatives that influenced the messaging of later campaigns. However, Saletan spends significantly more time describing the events of the late 1980s and early 1990s, devoting only the last quarter of the book to the last 10 years. While earlier events laid the groundwork for the strategies of the late 1990s, the unbalanced treatment underemphasizes the importance of recent pro-choice activities.

In its concentration on the late 1980s and early 90s, Bearing Right omits some key influences on the pro-choice movement. For example, Saletan does not even mention the advent of the internet, which has had a significant impact on all social movements. Websites and email have completely altered advocacy in both positive and negative ways. The internet has changed the face of communication, one of the main components of Saletan's book. While he did not have to spend an entire chapter on the topic, at least some mention of the internet would have informed the reader that Saletan is living in the 21st century.

Bearing Right ends rather abruptly, leaving the reader hanging on regarding what happens next. While Saletan states that the book "suggests new ways to think not just about abortion but also about politics, dialogue, and the communication of ideas" (p.1), Bearing Right merely provides ways of thinking about the debate, rather than offering concrete solutions. Pro-choice readers will undoubtedly put the book down frustrated. While critique and analysis are important, so is vision, and Saletan provides none.

Despite these drawbacks, Bearing Right is a critical read for anyone involved in the pro-choice movement. While it may be difficult for key activists to swallow, this book forces the reader to evaluate the meaning of being pro-choice, and to think long and hard about making certain concessions to win short term goals. While Saletan does not point this out explicitly, Bearing Right emphasizes the need for long-term goals in the pro-choice movement. Bearing Right would also be a good book for individuals interested in the role of rhetoric and politics- particularly candidates running for elected office, since Saletan focuses on the impact of frames and messaging.

The pro-choice movement is in desperate need of inspiration. We have been on the defensive ever since Roe v. Wade in 1973, and the majority of Americans have sat back and watched while the right to abortion has been chipped away with restriction after restriction. Now that South Dakota has passed legislation outlawing abortion, maybe people will wake up and smell the coffee. As we continue on this fight to define and advocate for abortion and women's rights, Bearing Right offers not only essential historical background, but also a way of examining the parameters of abortion rights and rhetoric. But you will have to draw your own conclusions about the next steps to take.

Readable and Thought-Provoking Contemporary History

Helpful Votes: 47 out of 51 total.
Review Date: 2003-12-15

This is an extremely readable and well-written recounting of the course of the politics of abortion from the perspective of the "sides" of the issue. As such, it's probably bound to tick off both "sides" at one point or another -- and I wouldn't take extreme negative reviews seriously, because they don't really appreciate the depth and clarity of the analysis. While I might quibble with some of the details, there's no denying it's a very well-researched book and one that, unlike most political tomes this side of Al Franken, can be read without feeling like you're stuck reading a textbook. My only real complaint is with the cover -- once again, a picture of a full-term pregnant woman to frame a book about abortions done months and months earlier, and this one with a little suggestion of female anatomy -- not helpful in taking the book seriously. But don't take this book by its cover -- if you're interested in genuine thoughtfulness and a little inside baseball on the give and take of an issue that touches most of the hot buttons of American politics, this is the book.

Breaking the Abortion Deadlock: From Choice to Consent

Published in Hardcover by Oxford University Press, USA (1996-10-24)

Author: Eileen McDonagh

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Orrin Hatch is licking his chops

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2003-12-29

To concede human rights to a fetus is indeed the end of the abortion debate, but a disheartening end it would be for McDonagh and her adherents. To build a case for the use of willful and deadly force in defence against a fetus and its involuntary, non-deadly threat is a truly futile undertaking both in the judiciary and in the legislature. And to try and make this case to the American public? Orrin Hatch is licking his chops.

Still, and interesting thought in a debate that could use a shake-up.

insightful!

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2002-07-17

very ingenious, insightful piece of work. the title isn't just arrogance - it really is a breakthrough, moving beyond the "it's a child! no it's not!" argument that passes for abortion debate these days.

just a note: it's a pretty meaty, academic book. not a beach read.

Ludicrous

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-11

Hopefully readers will retain enough objectivity and common sense to recognize what a heartless and absurd argument Ms. McDonagh presents. I recommend you do not choose to buy this book; otherwise you will be consenting to an assault on your intelligence.

Great Book

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-07

It's time we took action against these vicious fetuses. For too long they have been invading women's bodies and having their way with them. Fetuses are nothing but tiny rapists. These despicable parasites MUST be eradicated, and Eileen L. McDonagh has shown us the way. Remember the fetus is the cause of pregnancy.

Hard Premises

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-18

Having read and analyzed thoroughly the work, I find that McDonagh poses a very strong legal case for reframing the issue of Abortion. I fall in the middle ground on the issue of abortion, not being able to fully decide my thoughts on this complex issue. But I find much fault with the basic premises of her argument that cannot get past. A legal doctrine is never based on exceptions and hard cases, which McDonagh constantly invokes (that being rape and incest). The postmodern legal deconstruction of sexual intercourse and pregnancy, and the rejection of accountability for one's actions are fundamental to accept her argument. If we were to accept her argument which disregards consequence for the willful engagement in risky behavior (percentages of an activity which do not result in negative situations do not absolve anyone) in favor of upholding the issue of funding for the tough cases (which she admits is always provided for) we lose our sense of need for respect and honor of the integrity of women. Her book fails the test of the fundamental premise, and I would love to see a follow up work convincing me of this foundational issue regarding intercourse and pregnancy.

Breast Cancer : Its Link to Abortion and the Birth Control Pill

Published in Paperback by One More Soul (2000-09)

Author: MD Chris Kahlenborn

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A Book on Breast Cancer, Which Cries Out & Demands a Better Reading of Data by the Medical & Research Communities

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-19

Running at complete odds with political correctness, Dr. Kahlenborn courageously and magnificently demonstrates that "induced abortion and oral contraceptive use, especially at a young age, markedly increase a woman's risk for developing breast cancer" (p. 257). Personally, I can only begin to appreciate this masterpiece. To fully grasp Dr. Kahlenborn's work, one needs an exceptional head for both research methods and statistics. This book cries out and demands a better reading by the medical and research communities.

Among his findings, Dr. Kahlenborn notes that "If one considers the increased risk of breast cancer and suicide due to an induced abortion, and the decreased risk of ovarian cancer with a full-term pregnancy, abortion is many times more hazardouz in the long run that carrying a child to term" (p. 260).

Increase Incidence Factored Out

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2004-12-10

Considering the numerous factors in the studies reviewed by Dr. Kahlenborn the increased incidence in breast cancer was due to more than better detection methods and women living longer. Also it would not effect abortion-breast cancer studies; because their case-control subjects would be equally effected by those factors. (assuming good controls were selected) Meaning it would be factored out through the control of confounding factors.

Biased research leads to invalid conclusions

Helpful Votes: 16 out of 45 total.
Review Date: 2001-01-18

First, a little background. Some years ago, we were all alarmed to learn of a drastic increase in the incidence of cancer among women. We were particularly concerned by an increase in breast cancer cases. However, when the dust settled, we learned that the entire increase could be accounted for by the facts that more women live longer, and that we have better detection methods than we had even twenty years ago.

On a personal note, I am close to a family where the females seem genetically predisposed to breast cancer; where two members have died of the disease in the last ten years, and a third member had to undergo a radical masectomy. Thus, I am intimately aware of the heartbreak that is associated with breast cancer.

And now to the subject at hand: Dr. Kahlenborn's book is next to worthless as an unbiased source of information regarding the alleged link between abortion and cancer. Every reputable organization that deals with cancer research, including the American Cancer Society, has debunked the allegations of a link between abortion and cancer.

The only organizations that claim such a link are those that oppose abortion and artificial birth control. It is revealing to note that Dr. Kahlenborn's book is published by "One More Soul", a religious publishing house with no professional, medical peer review that I am aware of.

Readers who want to learn more about cancer, causes and prevention would be better off contacting the American Cancer Society or other reputable organization for information.

In Response to Review Dated January 18, 2001

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-07

I was searching for books about the link between the birth control pill and breast cancer when I came across this one. I have not read the book, but I plan to.

I am a breast cancer survivor. I was diagnosed at age 34, after the birth of my son. I do not fall into any risk category. I did, however, take the pill for over ten years. Every doctor that I saw during my diagnosis & treatment asked me if I had taken the pill, and for how long. I truly believe that my cancer, which was hormone positive, was a direct result of taking the pill for so long.

This reviewer, that I am citing, mentioned that the American Cancer Society was a better reference for information on the causes of breast cancer. I checked their website. The American Cancer Society says that there is, in fact, a link between breast cancer and the pill. And that there can be as much as a 60% increase in getting breast cancer if you have taken/are taking the pill.

Check it out. It is important to be informed.

A must read!

Helpful Votes: 9 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2001-03-15

Quite simply, this book is a must read for any woman using the birth control pill. It is thorough, convincing, and provides all the necessary citations, so anyone may confirm the results of the studies mentioned. 19 out of 21 studies conducted since 1980 have linked the birth control pill to breast cancer. It's time for women to hear the facts!

The Facts of Life: Science and the Abortion Controversy

Published in Hardcover by Oxford University Press, USA (1992-10-01)

Authors: Harold J. Morowitz and James Trefil

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If Trefil really has the facts, why does he need to abuse logic???

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-26

Co-author Trefil's pro-choice ideology got in the way of his using his common sense.

To make a long story short, Trefil writes that scientists can manipulate eggs, in order to cause them to develop into embryos. Therefore, he posits, eggs are somehow equivalent to embryos.

Trefil "forgets" to mention that there is a BIG difference between a manipulated egg and an unmanipulated egg...just as there is a BIG difference between a fertilized egg and an unfertilized egg.

Trefil outlandishly concludes that, since this manipulation of eggs into embryos is possible, pro-life women who shed unfertilized eggs each month should be concerned that they are actually having abortions.

It's hard to get more "unscientific" than this! Don't forget to put on your "thinking cap" when you enter Trefil's world.

Science Versus Conservative Christian Assertions

Helpful Votes: 10 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 1999-05-08

I see that a conservative Christian discovered the book, or this reference to it, and was afraid of what they encountered. Unfortunately for him, or her, this book is valuable precisely because it reveals the gaping fallacies in the antiabortion argument, and how its so-called "natural law" theory falls afoul of empirical verification of embryological development, which they always selectively cite. Pro-choice readers, buy this book!! I

Facts the Pro-Life side needs but will ignor

Helpful Votes: 11 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2001-12-02

Morowitz and Trefil (M&T I shall call them), two teachers at Geo Mason Univ started this short monograph as a friend of the court brief for one of the many abortion cases to reach the Supreme Court, so that the justices might have scientifically accurate and factual information to work with in some of their decisions. When Justice O'Connor made her famous statement to the effect that Roe v. Wade was a decision which was being overtaken by scientific advances in neonatology which were making survival of ever more immature infants possible, she did not have available reliable information of the sort M&T have put forth in this small gem of a book. I have been involved in providing abortion in my Ob/Gyn practice for a very long time and have made a serious and ongoing effort to educate both the public and my medical colleagues about the abortion controversy since 1984. One of the most difficult things for the average layperson, and even for physicians, to get a handle on has been exactly why 24 weeks gestational age of the fetus should make such a difference in the abortion debate. M&T have done everyone except for the militant anti-abortion fundamentalists a tremendous service by bringing together most of the scientific knowledge which bears on fetal development as it pertains to the higher functons of the central nervous system and newborn survival. As they state in the introduction to The Facts of Life, while the two sides in the abortion controversy will never admit to the validity of the conclusions drawn by the other side, we should at least have accurate information upon which to draw those conclusions. Morowitz and Trefil had done us a true service by providing much valuable information. wfh

A really good book

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-13

This book is a good tool for persons that are going through the hard time of having to make a decision in whether to have an abortion or not....It is also really good for students or profesionals doing in research of this subject...
It gives the reader a complete new point of view in the abortion controversy: The Scientifical One...

a scientific attempt to distort the quality of life

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 33 total.
Review Date: 1999-05-02

In brief, the following book tends back the pro-choice movement with cheap opinionated evidence of science. It attempts to supersede Gods law, and replace it with mans law. Additionally, the book conveys a grave an immoral message to its readers.Contrary to natural law, it states that by petty scientific proof, society can determine whether a fetus is human or not. Obviously, this book chooses to disregard Gods message-"It is immoral to produce HUMAN embyros intended for exploitation as disposable biological material". Not only is it futile to misinterpet the above, but it is simply a crime for pro-murderous writers to generate wimpy, relitivistic propoganda intended to distort the human race.

Pro-Life 101: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Case Persuasively

Published in Paperback by Stand to Reason Press (2002-02-13)

Author: Scott Klusendorf

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Prepares pro-lifers for intellectual combat

Helpful Votes: 13 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2002-06-17

Klusendorf deserves high praise for his laser-sharp focus, clear thinking, and brevity. He hammers home the key question about the unborn ("What is it?"), which clarifies every other issue in the abortion controversy. In 69 footnoted pages Klusendorf simplifies the abortion issue for those who think it's complex, scientifically and philosophically builds the case for the rights of the unborn, refutes five common objections to the pro-life view, and suggests ways to help a friend through a crisis pregnancy. As a wrap-up he collects the best resources for further reading in just two pages.

Before you send your sons and daughters off to school, give them this book to prepare them for the "intellectual" attacks of the pro-choicers.

Could have been better...

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 30 total.
Review Date: 2003-10-13

First let me point out the fact that I am pro-life, so that you know that I am not unfairly judging it from a pro-choice stance.

If you believe that a human who deserves full rights begins at conception, then this is will come in handy. However, you might want to pass this book up if you DON'T believe a zygote is a human being, because your whole case will come crumbling down since Klusendorf bases most of his arguments on this.

Also, his suggested rebuttal to the pro-choicer who says, "Don't force your morality on me" is unfair. Klusendorf says that this line is self-refuting, and advises pro-lifers to say, "You're saying I'm wrong, so why are you forcing your morality on ME?" But morality is subjective and not a fact, not to mention you would be committing the same mistake he calls upon the pro-choicer.

Furthermore, one of his suggested rebuttals for rape cases is flawed. When a pro-choicer asks us, "What about when the woman is raped?" Klusendorf says we should say, "Can you think of any other case where, having been victimized yourself, you can justly turn around and victimize another completely innocent person?" This argument is flawed, because it assumes that the mother is the one victimizing the fetus, which is an entirely debatable issue in itself (Is it the mother who victimizes the fetus in abortion? The rapist? The doctor performing the abortion?). The issue is not blame, so he shouldn't use this in his argument.

Useful training material, but the arguments are weak.

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 27 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-15

This booklet will almost certainly succeed in its aim of helping pro-lifers to give clearer, more persuasive and more confident arguments or presentations about abortion. Lay pro-choicers, indeed, will probably find it difficult to respond to some of the arguments in _Pro-Life 101_. That alone makes it worth buying *if* you are looking, as many are, for a kind of training manual for pro-life apologists.

But I rate the booklet according to what I perceive as a lack of philosophical merit in its arguments. _Pro-Life 101_ contains several omissions, equivocations and confusions which, until they are cleared up, will probably hamper any prospect of resolution or progress in the abortion debate.

(1) _Pro-Life 101_ asserts that the morality of abortion depends entirely on whether the foetus has a right to life (pp. 2-3, 5, 8-9, etc). This begs the question against bodily-rights defenses of abortion, which claim abortion is permissible *even if* the foetus has a right to life. That is, pro-choicers often claim abortion is justified "because a woman has a right to control her own body." _Pro-Life 101_ has no response to such claims, and this is a glaring omission.

(2) Klusendorf omits to lay out his metaphysical hand. Science tells us, he says, that "individual human life begins at conception"; thus "[y]ou did not come from a zygote, you once *were* a zygote" (p. 12, his emphasis). But this is a mistake. At most science tells us that *individual human organisms* begin to exist at conception. To draw the conclusion that beings such as *you and I* began to exist at conception, you have to assume you and I are essentially organisms. And that assumption may be false. Instead of being organisms, we might be emergent substances (à la William Hasker's "emergent dualism"), or constituted persons (à la Lynne Rudder Baker's "constitution view"); on either of these views we come into existence not at conception, but when the brain becomes sufficiently developed. Moreover, you and I might even -- as I'll wager Klusendorf himself believes -- be immaterial souls. But if we are essentially immaterial souls, how can it be true that I was ever a *physical* thing, a zygote? _Pro-Life 101_ shows a lack of metaphysical clarity.

(3) Klusendorf, like many pro-lifers, is guilty of terminological deck-stacking -- using terminology that lends covert and illicit support to the pro-life position. The strategy is this: first, declare that the central issue is whether the foetus is a "human being" (p.1), "human" (p.9), "fully human" (p.16). Second, point out that, according to science, the foetus is indeed "human" (p.13). Well, it seems to follow, easily enough -- and Klusendorf does nothing to dissuade this inference -- that the foetus has a right to life; after all, "humans" have a right to life, don't they? But this is an equivocation fallacy: given that the foetus (as science tells us) is "human" in the biological sense (i.e., belonging to the species _Homo sapiens_), it does not follow -- at least, not without further premises -- that it is "human" in the sense of having a right to life. Klusdendorf has either committed this fallacy himself, or else has sloppily used ambiguous terminology in a way that will encourage his readers to commit that fallacy.

(4) Klusendorf's discussion of what he calls "functionalism" (the view of Mary Anne Warren and others) repeatedly conflates and confuses two issues: the conditions under which somebody would continue to exist, versus the conditions under which that individual would have a right to life. Klusendorf thinks that, by showing a particular individual existed as a foetus, he thereby shows the individual must have had a right to life when he/she was a foetus (p.36). Not so: the individual might have existed but without a right to life. Thus it is a mistake for Klusendorf to assert things like: "Someone cannot be in the process of becoming a human person, since one must first exist in order to enter any process" (pp. 37-8). For an individual might exist *and yet also* be in the process of becoming a human person -- just as an individual child exists and yet is in the process of becoming an adult. The error here has two possible sources. First, Klusendorf may have equivocated on the notion of personal identity: he may have inferred that since there is "personal identity" between the foetus and me (which means only that I am one and the same entity as the foetus), therefore the foetus must be a "person" (in the sense of having a right to life). Or, second, he may simply have assumed -- question-beggingly, since pro-choicers do not grant this -- that the right to life is an essential property of those that possess it (i.e., he has simply assumed that, since I have a right to life now, I must have had a right to life at all other times that I existed or will exist). Either way, his critique of "functionalism" fails.

(5) The arguments in _Pro-Life 101_ are at times distractingly and irritatingly tendentious -- as, for example, when Klusendorf appeals (p.13) to the "Law of Biogenesis" (a term that has meant a couple of different things in science, but never what he needs it to say), and cites medical evidence for foetal pain that is incongruent with the bulk of medical opinion (pp. 56-9). The concern is that pro-choicers will be able to focus on such errors instead of confronting the true issues in the abortion debate.

Ultimately, the problem with booklets such as _Pro-Life 101_ is that they lead to a kind of delusion. On the one hand the arguments are based on confusions and fallacies and are, therefore, completely unpersuasive. But on the other hand those arguments are rhetorically effective enough that pro-lifers -- at least lay pro-lifers -- will be deluded into thinking they have adequate, indeed overwhelming, support for their position.

Defines the Real Issue

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2002-06-05

While other pro-life books answer the socio-economic arguments presented by the pro-choice side of the issue, Scott Klusendorf convincingly defines the moral issue as resting on only one question, "What is It?". The popular pro-choice position revolves around individual rights and the avoidance of hardships, yet these arguments are irrelevant to the moral issue.

Scott also exposes the faulty logic used by the pro-choice side, such as begging the question by assuming the fetus isn't a person and by leveling personal attacks at pro-lifers, rather than presenting sound arguments for the pro-choice position.

Just what the teacher ordered

Helpful Votes: 9 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-11

Pro-life 101 is just what the teacher ordered. The release of 101 is wonderful news for educators who truly care for their students. It uses simple logic to bring about discussion of a very difficult subject. Any teacher can bring Pro-life 101 into a classroom and engage the students in fair, unbiased and stimulated dicussion on abortion.

Away from the rhetoric and name calling this issue usally brings with it, students come away from a session of pro-life 101 with an unbiased informed conscience. Mr. Klusendorf has captured a moment in time and stepped back from the abortion wars to objectively look at where we stand as individuals, as a people and even as a society.

His work promises to provide fodder for the continued debate about how we should live. Rather than simply giving all his reasons for being opposed to abortion, he analitically disects the Pro-Choice position, ultimatley asking them to answer his questions.

I reccomend Pro-life 101 to everyone truly interested in stepping back objectively from the debate over abortion. Rather than having your opinion shaped by ranting raving and media bias, look at the facts. Get Pro-life 101.

John Hof

The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966

Published in Paperback by Pocket (1978-12-03)

Author: Richard brautigan

List price: $2.25

Used price: $3.39
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

Read Brautigan if you like, but not this particular book...

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1997-04-17

I read this book when it was published. It is all right, but some of the ideas are quite dated (especially some of the ideas about women!). If you want to read something representative of Brautigan's best, I recommend "Trout Fishing in America" or "In Watermelon Sugar".

A sad and funny book

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-07

The book is the story of a guy who works at a bizarre library where strange people who can't get their books published bring their books to be registered and stored forever. One night, a girl comes in with a book about how she hates the attention her gorgeous body brings her; she and the main character have sex, become boyfriend and girlfriend, and she gets pregnant. They decide to get an abortion, and arrange to go to Mexico to do so.
The book, although casual in its treatment of abortion--including fetuses being flushed down toilets--does meditate a little bit on what was being lost, when somehow the couple's aborted baby, all grown up, shows up one night with a book full of blank pages, pages never written on, pages she never had a chance to write on. (Richard Brautigan's ambivalence on this subject is also reflected in his poem "The Pill Versus the Springhill Mining Disaster," where he compares birth control and a fatal mine collapse, and says something like:
"All those people...lost inside.")
Richard Brautigan really is a funny guy, though. He's also very much a child of the 1960s, and both his humor and his sixties idealism come through strong in this book.
The main girl has sex with someone she just met, gets an abortion, works at a topless place, and is perfectly happy.
The main guy arranges the abortion, quits his job, lives off his girlfriend, and is perfectly happy.
Politics aside, 1960s aside, this is an enjoyable read, though it ends on a somewhat disappointing note, and any suspense it maintains ends abruptly upon the couple's actual visit to the abortion doctor.
I laughed uncomfortably several times while reading it, but would probably recommend "Trout Fishing in America" over this.

One of Brautigan's most personal, and creative novels

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1997-06-18

"The Abortion" stands as one of Brautigan's most personal novels, as well as one of his most creative. The book tells the story of a librarian for a library that stocks only books that have never been published, and will never be read. It gives the character satisfaction to stock these books by people who want their one chance to be a writer. Intertwined with this is the story of that same librarian's trip to Mexico for the procedure that is the book's title. In contrast to the humor of the first part of the book, this section is morose, and descriptive. It wraps you in the feelings of the protagonists.

If there is criticism, then, it is that the writing speeds up and slows down periodically. Thus, several chapters may go by with little happening, and then all hell breaks loose. But this is a minor critique; and the reader can always know that the book WILL pick up pace. A definite must for Brautigan fans.

a historical romance : 1977

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1997-04-17

One of Brautigan's best and least known, this book captures the soul and ideals of a dying generation. Richard Brautigan's simple words and weaving prose embrace the reader into an erotic story of life in Brautigan-land. The idea of a library for unpublished books is on of the most outstanding metaphors put onto paper during the twentieth century. Brautigan again tells a story in his own unique way, a true favorite of a select few. To discover Brautigan, The Abortion is a must. To discover life, Brautigan is a must

A brilliant, but inane, writer manages to stick to a topic.

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 1997-10-06

Richard Brautigan , the beatnick author/poet, has always been the type of writer who's books only leave you with a feeling; the type of books that when people ask you what the book you're reading is about you can only give a puzzled look. (like it was a stupid question.) I think a friend put it best when he said, "Brautigans books are just words; they're a relaxation technique for the mind." Of course, there is more depth and continuity to them than that, but not much. Howere, in his book "The Abortion" Brautigan not only manages to stick to one topic, but to make it nearly as moving as his other novels. "The Abortion" chronicles his life as a librarian. Of course, it is no ordinary library; it is a library where people who can't get their books published can put their works on public display. An obvious, but interesting, metaphor for his own struggle with writing. He doesn't quite capture the same amazing imagery that he did in "Trout Fishing in America". But, for new, or old, fans of Brautigan it is a fine (and linear) novel.

Behind the Cypress

Published in Paperback by BookSurge Publishing (2006-07-06)

Author: Yvette D. Stewart

List price: $23.00

New price: $17.97
Collectible price: $149.00

Average review score:

Jean-Marie and Sharmaine must search for hope

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-21

Behind The Cypress is the captivating debut novel of the talented African-American author, wife, and mother Yvette Stewart. Jean-Marie and Sharmaine Martin are two orphaned sisters who search for acceptance. Raised in the bitter care of their mother's sister, they are confronted with abuse, incest, and murder. Jean-Marie and Sharmaine must search for hope and strength within each other in order to rise above their cruel and present circumstances. Deftly written, Behind The Cypress is a thoroughly engaging and original work which is highly recommended reading.

Truly Interesting

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-05

As a first time author, Ms Stewart kept my interest for two days. I had to know what happened with these two sisters. I am looking forward to more works from this author. The cover was also a draw.

Behind The Cypress...

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-07-27

The death of their mother sent Marie and her younger sister Shar to
live with their Aunt Pearl in New Orleans, LA. What they thought
would be a loving, safe haven where they could grow was in reality
the unwelcomed home of a crazed person. There was something evil about
their aunt, and as a result, both girls suffered at the hands of their
only living blood relative. When they finally left that place they
vowed to never return.

Now twenty years after leaving Aunt Pearl's house, Marie receives a
letter that causes a resurgence of painful memories. Memories that
had been locked away in their minds, of a violent night and a Cypress
tree. For twelve of those twenty years Marie has had a wonderful
marriage with a man who loves her as much as she loves him. But this
reminder from her childhood unveils the secrets, and the depression
that lingers is enough to destroy her marriage, her sanity and maybe
her life. In order to find freedom from these memories Marie and
Shar may have to return to the place where their dreams died; Aunt
Pearl's house.

BEHIND The CYPRESS is the freshman work of Yvette D. Stewart and she
shares this horrofying tale with vivid imagery. This is a story of
family secrets that spanned three generations, each one more disturbing
than the first. The story is told using a series of flashbacks for
each of the generations and this helps the reader experience each
woman's personal hell; a smoother transition between the spans of time
would have made it easier to determine which of the women's voice was
being heard. Still this is a story worth reading and the foreboding
cover only adds to the aura of it.

Reviewd by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Behind The Cypress...

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-07-27

The death of their mother sent Marie and her younger sister Shar to
live with their Aunt Pearl in New Orleans, LA. What they thought
would be a loving, safe haven where they could grow was in reality
the unwelcomed home of a crazed person. There was something evil about
their aunt, and as a result, both girls suffered at the hands of their
only living blood relative. When they finally left that place they
vowed to never return.

Now twenty years after leaving Aunt Pearl's house, Marie receives a
letter that causes a resurgence of painful memories. Memories that
had been locked away in their minds, of a violent night and a Cypress
tree. For twelve of those twenty years Marie has had a wonderful
marriage with a man who loves her as much as she loves him. But this
reminder from her childhood unveils the secrets, and the depression
that lingers is enough to destroy her marriage, her sanity and maybe
her life. In order to find freedom from these memories Marie and
Shar may have to return to the place where their dreams died; Aunt
Pearl's house.

BEHIND The CYPRESS is the freshman work of Yvette D. Stewart and she
shares this horrofying tale with vivid imagery. This is a story of
family secrets that spanned three generations, each one more disturbing
than the first. The story is told using a series of flashbacks for
each of the generations and this helps the reader experience each
woman's personal hell; a smoother transition between the spans of time
would have made it easier to determine which of the women's voice was
being heard. Still this is a story worth reading and the foreboding
cover only adds to the aura of it.

Reviewd by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Healing Old Wounds

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-07-16

Sisters, Marie and Shar had a difficult childhood. When their mother committed suicide, they had to leave their home in New York and move to New Orleans with their aunt Pearl who assumed responsibility for the girls. In Yvette D. Stewart's debut novel, Behind the Cypress, she weaves a story of mental and physical abuse and also murder.

Marie Bensen had a wonderful marriage to a wonderful man. Everything was going along well until Marie's sudden personality change. No one, even her husband, could figure out what was going on with Marie and eventually her aloofness drove them apart. In order to deal with her troubling problem, Marie tries to harm herself before finally revealing the problem to her sister, that she received a letter from their aunt Pearl who wanted to make amends with them. In order to move forward, the girls had to relive the past and learn to forgive. . The author alternates between the past and present as she explains the actions of the characters, and Marie begins her healing process.

This was an admirable offering for a debut novel. The history of the characters was captivating and intriguing. There were some problems with making the transition between the past and present in that the change was sometimes abrupt. The ending, tied up neatly, was a little unrealistic in that the sisters were so forgiving so quickly considering all the abuse they suffered. I found this quick read to be a good first effort and look forward to reading more by this author. .

Jeanette
APOOO BookClub

Expectations:Best Kept Secrets Every Mother Knows

Published in Hardcover by Andrews McMeel Publishing (1996-05-01)

Author: Terry Lee Bilsky

List price: $9.95

New price: $2.75
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

A terrible book to give to a first time mother-to-be

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-22

My wife just got this book given to her and it has done nothing but depress her. It basically paints a picture of life with a baby as one where the woman's life is over. Rather than being uplifting or humorous as it might be for a woman having a second child or having been through pregnancy, this book is completely upsetting and terrifying for a first-time Mom. It paints a picture of a woman who is unable to lose baby weight, who gets no support from her male partner and unable to have sex. These might be average responses, but they tell a stereotypical outcome. For my wife, it did nothing but bring her down at time when she's already struggling with her emotions and expectations. I would say that to give this to a first time Mom is to be cruel.

Warm, touching, funny

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1999-10-06

This is perfect for every new mother. it is a great gift item

Terrific!!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1998-07-17

You have pitched in for the baby stroller and you want to get just a little something extra - this is it!! Funny, insightful and fantastic illustrations. Highly recommended.

Excellent

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1999-10-26

This is an absolute must for every new mom. Best shower present!

Funny, beautifully illustrated and touching

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1998-12-09

I bought this book for a friend, but ended up keeping it because it is so sweet! I have now purchased three more for my new-mom friends. As a brand-new mom myself, I found this to be a wonderful little book that really made me chuckle and touched my heart. This is a beautiful little book for a very special time in a woman's life.

Giving Sorrow Words: Women's Stories of Grief After Abortion

Published in Paperback by Acorn Books (2007-01-02)

Author: Melinda Tankard Reist

List price: $14.95

Average review score:

Biased Book

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 19 total.
Review Date: 2004-08-04

The author is clearly pro life and I feel she has expoited these women. What are her qualifications? I suggest you locate a book written by someone who KNOWS about abortion.

giving sorrow true meaning

Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2003-04-10

I would like to commend Melinda Tankard Reist for her courage in her care to detail in recounting the experience of women
and abortion.

Her book gives an insight into the real damage, of both the physical and psychological pain women have encountered through
their experience of abortion.

Reist also exposes the coercion, the inadequacy of current pre-abortion counselling practices, the lack of informed consent, and more deeply troubling pro-choice ideology that does nothing to promote the true rights of women and their unborn children.

I believe that Reist successfully challenges the attitude that talking about abortion and the grief is politically incorrect. Afterall there remains an element of pro-choice ideology that would have us still believe that women should be grateful for their so called right to choose. Thankfully Reist's critique restores the balance in promoting the dignity of women and the real tragedy of abortion.

heart-breaking honesty

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2005-08-22

This book took my breath away. I cannot believe there are so many women living with tragedies of such epic proportions and yet until now not permitted to voice their sorrow. Society tells us that women's rights are a priority, but this book shows the other side - that many women have been persuaded or co-erced into denying their right to have a healthy happy baby simply because it was seen as inconvenient to their partner or parents. It is time we listened to these heart-broken mothers, who are expected to go on with life as if nothing had happened.
This book really opened my eyes to the cruelty of abortion.

Pro Woman.

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2005-08-20

Like the woman of days gone by, who were encouraged to forget about their stillborn children, "Have another baby", "you've already got children", this is a hidden grief that can't be reolved unless it is acknowledged.

Some women who miscarry are given such unhelpful information, and other gems such as "you're grieving for the baby that would have been" (so then, what was the mother pregnant with, if not a baby), and "it's normal to feel a bit sad for a while" (doesn't really cover the shuddering waves of grief some women experience). Generally, though, miscarriage management has come a long way in the last few decades. hopefully when this generation of women is elderly, we won't be nursing distraught old ladies who are still struggling with a miscarriage or stillbirth that they were told not to talk about. But we may well be nursing women at the end of their lives still struggling to come to terms with the abortion they weren't allowed to talk about.

No matter where our politics lie, it is clear that abortion is a womans issue. Any unresolved grief is too much, and we need to be open about this issue.

It's too easy to dismiss this book as "pro-life", rather than challenge our idea that abortion is easy.

A brave, woman- centred approach.

First-hand accounts of an unspeakable sadness

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-14

This book leaves a lasting impression, but is hard going emotionally and can only be read one chapter at a time, one woman's story at a time. The genre of a personal account of suffering is refreshingly sincere and to the point. These are clearly ordinary women-next-door and the emotional devastation they suffer after abortion is likely to be the same story for a hundred thouseand similar women whose stories will never be told. So the idea of giving them a voice is a worthy one, and hopefully has helped them work through their grief.

Many readers will identify with some of these stories. The creation of a place of death in a woman's body where there should be a place of life must be the most profoundly disturbing physical and psychological event. The act - however excusable in terms of pressures and panic and ignorance - of ending the life of one's own offspring is not one that can be forgotten, but only forgiven - and that search for transcendent forgiveness is the one ray of hope in this otherwise inconsolably sad book.

There may never be a document like this one. It is a book of insight and first-hand truth about an emotionally "subterranean" catastrophy in our midst.

The Liberal Case Against Abortion

Published in Paperback by R.A.G.E. Media (2006-01-22)

Author: Vasu Murti

List price: $9.95

New price: $6.07
Used price: $7.31

Average review score:

Is illegal abortion dangerous?

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-12-29

Thirteen years BEFORE the legalization of abortion, Dr.
Mary Calderon, the medical director of PLANNED PARENTHOOD, made the following admission in the July 1960 edition of the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH:

"90% of illegal abortions are being done by PHYSICIANS. Call them what you will, abortionists, or anything else, they are still physicians trained as such...They must do a pretty good job IF THE DEATH RATE is as LOW as it is...

Abortion, whether therapeutic or ILLEGAL, is in the main NO LONGER DANGEROUS [in 1960!!] because it is being done WELL BY PHYSICIANS."

Eleanor Cooney states in her review of this book that overturning Roe v. Wade will send "women back to the illegal abortionist," thus endangering their safety. However, this argument doesn't hold up when placed next to the preceding quote from Guerrilla Apologetics for Life Issues (another noteworthy book)

Real Liberals are ProLife

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-17

With science, history, and logic, the authors call liberals (and libertarians) to be consistent in their stand for human rights. We cannot, on the one hand, oppose the killing of young people in an unjust war while demanding the right to kill unborn children in abortion. In the past, pro-lifers have been dismissed as blinded by their religious agenda - but which is worse, a religious agenda or a purely political agenda? This cry for justice must be heard. Abortion has not brought freedom to women, on the contrary, it has brought only another form of oppression. It is time to make a consistent moral stand for the most basic of all human rights.

Rank Hypocrisy, alas.....

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 19 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-25

Mr. Murti is articulate and smooth-talking. He calls himself a "Feminist for Life." But he favors repealing Roe v. Wade, thereby sending women back to the illegal abortionist, where he knows they'll go. He is willing to do this before his Brave New World, where everything is so fine for women that it would never occur to them to even consider abortion, is accomplished, or even on the drawing board. He does not, and cannot, address this glaring, gapingly contradictory hole in his "nonviolent" philosophy.

Compelling Collection of Information and Ideas

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-19

While Murti relies heavily on quoting from other authors, speakers, and historical figures, his organization of the material, and the sheer number of quotes that he has gathered, is both impressive and overwhelmingly compelling. I find myself appreciating that he did all of the work and research for me, compiling it into a quick read. His own assertions are honest and challenging to any reader: to pro-choice liberals, pro-life conservatives, pro-life activists who insist on using religion to essentially lose the debate, and to pro-life meat eaters like myself. Watch out--Murti makes some undeniable claims about the need to be consistent, and he has gotten me thinking! That is what any good book should do.

A Pro-Life Book Like No Other!

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-08

This is a truly unique and stunning work. Unlike a majority of pro-life material, it does not rely on any religious common ground between author and reader.

Even more amazing is the fact that the author comes from a strong "left-wing" position, yet makes common sense arguments from that position in opposition of abortion. I would go so far as to say that Vasu's arguments are even stronger than those I have heard from pro-life Republicans - perhaps there is more reason for Democrats, Progressives, and the left to be anti-abortion than the right-wing conservative movement.

I would not only reccomend this book to liberals, but to conservatives who could learn a thing or two about how to address the abortion issue with people who do not ascribe to the same "religious right" world view.

In this vein, you might also want to consider Guerrilla Apologetics for Life Issues, as that book also uses non-religious arguments to address life issues (although it is not specifically a liberal book, as this one is).

Abortion Books