mckenzierichardson's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fantastic book.
I, myself, am pro-choice already, but reading this book has made me more understanding about many of the issues surrounding the issue of abortion. I think it has helped me see the perspective of those who argue for pro-life and the importance of an open dialogue.
The idea of the I Had an Abortion project is amazing in itself. I think it is great to share the stories of real women who have had abortions to help remove some of the stigma and silence of abortion. The stories included come from many different women who all had different experiences, but each show how abortion can be improved upon, such as counseling/support after the procedure and more openness about abortion itself, as well as legislative reform.
Two of the chapters that I found most influential for me personally were the ones that focused on pro-voice and the possibility of being a feminist and being pro-life. Both of these chapters gave me a different way of looking at the issues in comparison to the traditional pro-choice viewpoint. I think these have helped me strengthen my pro-choice view while still being open to other viewpoints and experiences.
The book also contains a resource guide that includes suggested books, magazines, websites, films, and documentaries as well as information on organizations and funding.
This is a great book whether you have had an abortion or not. It focuses on stopping the silence of abortion and really listening to each other. Definitely an interesting read.
I, myself, am pro-choice already, but reading this book has made me more understanding about many of the issues surrounding the issue of abortion. I think it has helped me see the perspective of those who argue for pro-life and the importance of an open dialogue.
The idea of the I Had an Abortion project is amazing in itself. I think it is great to share the stories of real women who have had abortions to help remove some of the stigma and silence of abortion. The stories included come from many different women who all had different experiences, but each show how abortion can be improved upon, such as counseling/support after the procedure and more openness about abortion itself, as well as legislative reform.
Two of the chapters that I found most influential for me personally were the ones that focused on pro-voice and the possibility of being a feminist and being pro-life. Both of these chapters gave me a different way of looking at the issues in comparison to the traditional pro-choice viewpoint. I think these have helped me strengthen my pro-choice view while still being open to other viewpoints and experiences.
The book also contains a resource guide that includes suggested books, magazines, websites, films, and documentaries as well as information on organizations and funding.
This is a great book whether you have had an abortion or not. It focuses on stopping the silence of abortion and really listening to each other. Definitely an interesting read.
erikars's review against another edition
3.0
This book is written by Jennifer Baumgardner, who started the "I had an abortion" project in 2004. This book is part of that project. It starts with a brief history of abortion, a discussion of the project, an introduction to the "pro-voice" movement, and thoughts on feminism and the pro-life movement.
The most valuable aspect of the first part was the discussion of the pro-voice movement. Pro-voice is the idea that it should be okay to talk about abortion as a bad thing, as something that we should work to decrease the frequency of, without being painted as being against abortion. It should be okay for a woman to have conflicting emotions about her own abortion without being shamed for it. It should be okay to say, "I believe that the fetus is a person, but I still believe in the right to choose". In fact, not only should all of these thoughts be okay to have, discussing them out in the open is the only way to get beyond the caustic dichotomy that defines the abortion debate today. Sadly, since this discussion covered only a chapter, Baumgardner did not go into much depth.
The rest of the book is portraits and stories of women who got abortions. While not as deep as the stories in [b:Choice True Stories of Birth Contraception Infertility Adoption Single Parenthood and Abortion|1351728|Choice True Stories of Birth, Contraception, Infertility, Adoption, Single Parenthood, and Abortion|Karen E. Bender|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1336956623s/1351728.jpg|1341413] -- that would be difficult when these stories are only a few pages each -- hearing the real stories of women who chose abortion is always an important reminder of how diverse and complicated these decisions are.
The most valuable aspect of the first part was the discussion of the pro-voice movement. Pro-voice is the idea that it should be okay to talk about abortion as a bad thing, as something that we should work to decrease the frequency of, without being painted as being against abortion. It should be okay for a woman to have conflicting emotions about her own abortion without being shamed for it. It should be okay to say, "I believe that the fetus is a person, but I still believe in the right to choose". In fact, not only should all of these thoughts be okay to have, discussing them out in the open is the only way to get beyond the caustic dichotomy that defines the abortion debate today. Sadly, since this discussion covered only a chapter, Baumgardner did not go into much depth.
The rest of the book is portraits and stories of women who got abortions. While not as deep as the stories in [b:Choice True Stories of Birth Contraception Infertility Adoption Single Parenthood and Abortion|1351728|Choice True Stories of Birth, Contraception, Infertility, Adoption, Single Parenthood, and Abortion|Karen E. Bender|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1336956623s/1351728.jpg|1341413] -- that would be difficult when these stories are only a few pages each -- hearing the real stories of women who chose abortion is always an important reminder of how diverse and complicated these decisions are.
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