Weaving together analyses of archival material, news coverage, and interviews conducted with journalists from mainstream and partisan outlets as well as with activists across the political spectrum, Deana A. Rohlinger reimagines how activists use a variety of mediums, sometimes simultaneously, to agitate for - and against - legal abortion. Rohlinger's in-depth portraits of four groups - the National Right to Life Committee, Planned Parenthood, the National Organization for Women, and Concerned Women for America - illuminates when groups use media and why they might choose to avoid media attention altogether. Rohlinger expertly reveals why some activist groups are more desperate than others to attract media attention and sheds light on what this means for policy making and legal abortion in the twenty-first century.
Forty years after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision legalizing abortion, Roe v. Wade continues to make headlines. After Roe: The Lost History of the Abortion Debate cuts through the myths and misunderstandings to present a clear-eyed account of cultural and political responses to the landmark 1973 ruling in the decade that followed. The grassroots activists who shaped the discussion after Roe, Mary Ziegler shows, were far more fluid and diverse than the partisans dominating the debate today. In the early years after the decision, advocates on either side of the abortion battle sought common ground on issues from pregnancy discrimination to fetal research. Drawing on archives and more than 100 interviews with key participants, Ziegler’s revelations complicate the view that abortion rights proponents were insensitive to larger questions of racial and class injustice, and expose as caricature the idea that abortion opponents were inherently antifeminist. But over time, “pro-abortion” and “anti-abortion” positions hardened into “pro-choice” and “pro-life” categories in response to political pressures and compromises. This increasingly contentious back-and-forth produced the interpretation now taken for granted—that Roe was primarily a ruling on a woman’s right to choose. Peering beneath the surface of social-movement struggles in the 1970s, After Roe reveals how actors on the left and the right have today made Roe a symbol for a spectrum of fervently held political beliefs.
Argues that abortion is a common part of a woman's reproductive life and should not be vilified, but instead accepted as a moral right that can be a force for social good.
In a shocking expose, Kristen Day reveals the agenda of the modern Democratic Party leadership, which hijacked the grassroots movement to push through Roe vs. Wade. Drawing from historical background, and her own experience in Washington, Day provides strong evidence that abortion on demand is not the mindset of real America.
Whether a state constitution protects a right to abortion is significant for two reasons: First, it may determine whether the State has the authority to enact and enforce laws regulating abortion (e.g., laws mandating informed consent or requiring parental notice or consent) within current federal constitutional limits. Second, and more important, it will determine whether the State would have the authority to enact and enforce laws prohibiting abortion, if the Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade and returns the issue of abortion to the States. Abortion under State Constitutions is the first, full-length treatment of the subject to appear in print. For each State, the author considers possible sources of a right to abortion in the state constitution (privacy, due process of law, equality of rights, equal protection, privileges and immunities, as well as other provisions); state court decisions interpreting those provisions; the relevant state constitutional history; pre-Roe prohibitions of abortion and their interpretation by state courts; post-Roe regulations of abortion; and what rights state law has conferred upon unborn children outside the context of abortion. Based upon the foregoing analysis, arranged topically within each State for ease of reference, the author concludes that thirteen state constitutions protect (or would be interpreted to protect) a state right to abortion that is independent of the right to abortion recognized in Roe v. Wade, while the supreme courts of the other thirty-seven States probably would not recognize a state right to abortion. Likely to become a standard reference work on the subject, Abortion under State Constitutions should be of interest not only to lawyers who litigate state abortion rights claims and judges who decide those cases, but to anyone on either side of the abortion debate who wants to have a better understanding of the status of abortion under state constitutions. "After an admirably incisive outline of federal constitutional law on abortion, Linton clarifies the law of each State in its own individual chapter, greatly facilitating the work of legislators, litigators, and lay activists concerned primarily about the law of their own particular State.... Although the author states that his work is meant to be "predictive" of future state supreme court decisions, he bases his estimations on close analysis of legal doctrine, not on uncertain guesswork about the political considerations of future courts and possible judicial activism. "Abortion under State Constitutions is sure to become the standard reference work for those concerned to resist (or to promote) a right to abortion founded on U.S. state constitutions."--Richard Stith, Professor of Law, Valparaiso University School of Law "Paul Benjamin Linton is one of the most thoughtful, insightful, and thorough legal authorities writing about biomedical ethics and law. Among his past masterpieces are influential law review articles analyzing suicide, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, equal rights, state abortion regulations, and abortion decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, Linton examines how abortion regulations have fared and would fare under state constitutions. Abortion under State Constitutions is a convincing explanation of the growing importance of state constitutional jurisprudence in controlling the regulation of abortion. The book is an invaluable, timely resource for lawmakers, judges, legal scholars, students, and anyone else interested in the constitutional, legal policy, and social strategies concerning the regulation of elective abortion in America."--Lynn D. Wardle, Bruce C. Hafen Professor of Law, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University "Scholars, advocates and activists involved in the abortion debate owe a debt of gratitude to Paul Linton for sharing his meticulous research. A comprehensive guide to the status of abortion under each state''s constitution, this book is a necessary tool for anyone seeking to predict the consequences of a United States Supreme Court decision overruling Roe v. Wade. As Mr. Linton carefully documents, abortion would remain legal in a minority of states due to state court decisions protecting the procedure under the respective state constitutions. The majority of states probably could enforce abortion prohibitions, but that would require new legislation in most of those states. Abortion under State Constitutions guides the reader through the differing law among the states. "This book will be of particular value to state lawmakers seeking to craft sound public policy in this volatile area. Whether the objective is to protect a woman''s right to choose or an unborn child''s right to life, attentive readers will benefit from Mr. Linton''s expert analysis of the development of state law. His description of the relationship between various state laws and constitutions reflects his decades of experience in advancing and defending state laws in this area.... Regardless of readers'' political views, Abortion under State Constitutions promises to inform, intrigue, and inspire those who care about the issue of abortion."--Teresa S. Collett, Professor of Law, University of St. Thomas School of Law "This is an important book for both sides."--Time Magazine Online
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."
From the authors of Manifesta, an activism handbook that illustrates how to truly make the personal political. Grassroots is an activism handbook for social justice. Aimed at everyone from students to professionals, stay-at-home moms to artists, Grassroots answers the perennial question: What can I do? Whether you are concerned about the environment, human rights violations in Tibet, campus sexual assault policies, sweatshop labor, gay marriage, or the ongoing repercussions from 9-11, Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards believe that we all have something to offer in the fight against injustice. Based on the authors' own experiences, and the stories of both the large number of activists they work with as well as the countless everyday people they have encountered over the years, Grassroots encourages people to move beyond the "generic three" (check writing, calling congresspeople, and volunteering) and make a difference with clear guidelines and models for activism. The authors draw heavily on individual stories as examples, inspiring readers to recognize the tools right in front of them--be it the office copier or the family living room--in order to make change. Activism is accessible to all, and Grassroots shows how anyone, no matter how much or little time they have to offer, can create a world that more clearly reflects their values.
"Supporting a Movement for Health and Health Equity" is the summary of a workshop convened in December 2013 by the Institute of Medicine Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and the Elimination of Health Disparities and the Roundtable on Population Health Improvement to explore the lessons that may be gleaned from social movements, both those that are health-related and those that are not primarily focused on health. Participants and presenters focused on elements identified from the history and sociology of social change movements and how such elements can be applied to present-day efforts nationally and across communities to improve the chances for long, healthy lives for all. The idea of movements and movement building is inextricably linked with the history of public health. Historically, most movements - including, for example, those for safer working conditions, for clean water, and for safe food - have emerged from the sustained efforts of many different groups of individuals, which were often organized in order to protest and advocate for changes in the name of such values as fairness and human rights. The purpose of the workshop was to have a conversation about how to support the fragments of health movements that roundtable members believed they could see occurring in society and in the health field. Recent reports from the National Academies have highlighted evidence that the United States gets poor value on its extraordinary investments in health - in particular, on its investments in health care - as American life expectancy lags behind that of other wealthy nations. As a result, many individuals and organizations, including the Healthy People 2020 initiative, have called for better health and longer lives.
Abortion and Democracy offers critical analyses of abortion politics in Latin America’s Southern Cone, with lessons and insights of wider significance. Drawing on the region’s recent history of military dictatorship and democratic transition, this edited volume explores how abortion rights demands fit with current democratic agendas. With a focus on Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, the book’s contributors delve into the complex reality of abortion through the examination of the discourses, strategies, successes, and challenges of abortion rights movements. Assembling a multiplicity of voices and experiences, the contributions illuminate key dimensions of abortion rights struggles: health aspects, litigation efforts, legislative debates, party politics, digital strategies, grassroots mobilization, coalition-building, affective and artistic components, and movement-countermovement dynamics. The book takes an approach that is sensitive to social inequalities and to the transnational aspects of abortion rights struggles in each country. It bridges different scales of analysis, from abortion experiences at the micro level of the clinic or the home to the macro sociopolitical and cultural forces that shape individual lives. This is an important intervention suitable for students and scholars of abortion politics, democracy in Latin America, gender and sexuality, and women’s rights.
