saborlitino's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
I learned so much from this wonderful comic compilation! From the intricacies of fetal development to various first-hand accounts and histories, Comics for Choice gathers a choir of voices to shine a light on just how important abortion access is for us as a society.
Premise aside, I found myself struggling to make it through this. The pacing was choppy because the quality varied greatly from comic to comic. I would get a lot of momentum from a really strong story then lose it after moving to the next (at times too dense, at others confusingly organized) story because of this. Also, I found that some stories were surprisingly moderate with their take on abortion:
Premise aside, I found myself struggling to make it through this. The pacing was choppy because the quality varied greatly from comic to comic. I would get a lot of momentum from a really strong story then lose it after moving to the next (at times too dense, at others confusingly organized) story because of this. Also, I found that some stories were surprisingly moderate with their take on abortion:
As if pro-choice people believe in abortion. This is false. We believe in personal choice. A person can have a future.
Of course, there will always be variation in people's opinions on what pro-choice means, however, I am completely sure that pro-choice is pro-abortion (as it should be!). This take was strange and felt off-putting compared to the rest of the stories surrounding it.
That said, I am so glad to have read this! Access to abortion is a human right.
jess_a_h_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
jemmania's review
1.0
When I used to kick around in woke & feminist circles, we used to regularly discuss the "infantilization of women" & how damaging that can be. We are women, not children. We can run companies, we can vote, and we can readily face the consequences of our actions. What I see in the feminist movement is a demand to take on the privileges of being seen as an adult, but a complete refusal to take on any of the responsibilities. This pattern can be seen all the way back to the first wave of feminism. Us women wanted the privilege of being able to vote without the responsibility of having to be drafted. When it's beneficial for women to be seen as children, we take full advantage. It's common enough to see a modern woman demanding to be taken seriously in the workplace one moment, then crying that she was "manipulated" into sleeping with that guy covered from head-to-toe in red flags, the next.
I see abortion as an extension of this pattern. We want the privileges that come with sex, but none of the responsibility. We all know that when you have sex (regardless of what birth control you use), a risk you are taking is that you could get pregnant. Instead of insisting women take responsibility for their actions, we let them murder the baby because they cry about how unprepared they are to face up to the consequences of their actions.
The women featured in these comics hide behind their gnostic religion in order to live out the most convenient parts of childhood. There is lots of hate for Christians in this book, but no self awareness that the philosophical views used to justify abortion are deeply religious. The position that a baby is not alive or valuable until the moment it is pushed out of the vaginal canal is a religious position. The position that there is a threshold of growth a baby has to reach before it is considered living is also a religious position. These positions aren't based in biology or science. The state supports abortion pseudoscience because women who don't have children are able to work more hours and pay more taxes. The state also has an interest in keeping its welfare expenses down. Instead of helping the mother who is poor and struggling, it's in the state's best interest to kill the baby. Planned Parenthood is a eugenic organization that targets the poor and racial minorities because the elites deem mothers from these demographics unfit to reproduce.
Margaret Sanger was a proud eugenicist, her legacy lives on.
I see abortion as an extension of this pattern. We want the privileges that come with sex, but none of the responsibility. We all know that when you have sex (regardless of what birth control you use), a risk you are taking is that you could get pregnant. Instead of insisting women take responsibility for their actions, we let them murder the baby because they cry about how unprepared they are to face up to the consequences of their actions.
The women featured in these comics hide behind their gnostic religion in order to live out the most convenient parts of childhood. There is lots of hate for Christians in this book, but no self awareness that the philosophical views used to justify abortion are deeply religious. The position that a baby is not alive or valuable until the moment it is pushed out of the vaginal canal is a religious position. The position that there is a threshold of growth a baby has to reach before it is considered living is also a religious position. These positions aren't based in biology or science. The state supports abortion pseudoscience because women who don't have children are able to work more hours and pay more taxes. The state also has an interest in keeping its welfare expenses down. Instead of helping the mother who is poor and struggling, it's in the state's best interest to kill the baby. Planned Parenthood is a eugenic organization that targets the poor and racial minorities because the elites deem mothers from these demographics unfit to reproduce.
Margaret Sanger was a proud eugenicist, her legacy lives on.
sizrobe's review
4.0
Anthology of comics about abortion, birth control, and abortion-adjacent topics. Honestly, 75% of the comics were either "I had an abortion and it was tough, but I'm glad I had the choice" or "radical Conservatives are being shitty people." I definitely recommend this collection to someone who has either had an abortion and feels bad about it or is thinking about getting one, as the repetition reinforces that it's a commonplace and perfectly safe procedure, both in surgical and medical methods.
sar_p's review
4.0
Docked one star because some of the stories/illustrations were really difficult to read for me. These stories were ... great seems to be the wrong word, but I'll stick to it. Some made me very angry about the state of reproductive health, others informed me on the history of the fight for reproductive health and the nuances of the laws, and others made me feel grateful that I have such a good community of supportive women around me that if I was ever in the position to get an abortion I would not have to deal with the struggles so many others did, but reading about those struggles angered and saddened me.
This isn't a book that is created to change someone's mind about the pro-choice movement, but to share stories and to humanize the women who, whether they've had abortions or not, have been dehumanized and demonized.
This isn't a book that is created to change someone's mind about the pro-choice movement, but to share stories and to humanize the women who, whether they've had abortions or not, have been dehumanized and demonized.
roctothorpe's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
4.0
I hope this book reaches many people - those on the fence about the abortion debate, sure (I suspect the vast majority of people who would pick up a book like this are pro-choice already), but mostly I hope that as many young people as possible can read this and know that abortion is normal. I appreciated the diversity of stories included. Favorites for me included "October" by Kris Louis (abortion from the perspective of a trans person), "Bearing Witness: Life as an Abortion Doula" by Mick Moran (about supporting folks through abortion and the concept of holding space), and "Nothing Feels Real" by Vreni.