There is more to the pro-life movement than campaigning against abortion. That, at least, is the logic behind a large and growing network of pro-life pregnancy centers offering “help” to pregnant women. As these centers face increasing scrutiny, this book offers the first social-scientific study of the pro-life pregnancy help movement. The work being performed at pro-life pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and other charitable agencies is, Laura S. Hussey suggests, distinguished by several strategic features: it is directed at non-state targets, operates in largely privatized venues, employs service provision as its primary tactic, and aims to address causes popularly associated with its countermovement such as women’s (including poor women’s) wellbeing and empowerment. The motives and nature of the services such pregnancy centers deliver have become the subjects of competing political narratives—but, until now, very little empirical research. A rich, mixed-method study including data from two original national surveys and extensive interviews, Hussey’s book adjudicates these opposing views even as it provides a measured look at the identity, work, history, and impact of pro-life pregnancy centers and related service providers, as well as their relations with the larger American antiabortion movement. To what extent is pro-life pregnancy help work primarily geared to serving women versus “saving babies?” Pursued in these pages, the answer has broad implications for the wider study of social action and the pro-life movement, and for the future of the American abortion conflict.

In the United States, the “right to choose” an abortion is the law of the land. But what if a woman continues her pregnancy because she didn’t really have a choice? What if state laws, federal policies, stigma, and a host of other obstacles push that choice out of her reach? Based on candid, in-depth interviews with women who considered but did not obtain an abortion, No Real Choice punctures the myth that American women have full autonomy over their reproductive choices. Focusing on the experiences of a predominantly Black and low-income group of women, sociologist Katrina Kimport finds that structural, cultural, and experiential factors can make choosing abortion impossible–especially for those who experience racism and class discrimination. From these conversations, we see the obstacles to “choice” these women face, such as bans on public insurance coverage of abortion and rampant antiabortion claims that abortion is harmful. Kimport's interviews reveal that even as activists fight to preserve Roe v. Wade, class and racial disparities have already curtailed many women’s freedom of choice. No Real Choice analyzes both the structural obstacles to abortion and the cultural ideologies that try to persuade women not to choose abortion. Told with care and sensitivity, No Real Choice gives voice to women whose experiences are often overlooked in debates on abortion, illustrating how real reproductive choice is denied, for whom, and at what cost.

How do people become activists for causes they care deeply about? Many people with similar backgrounds, for instance, fervently believe that abortion should be illegal, but only some of them join the pro-life movement. By delving into the lives and beliefs of activists and nonactivists alike, Ziad W. Munson is able to lucidly examine the differences between them. Through extensive interviews and detailed studies of pro-life organizations across the nation, Munson makes the startling discovery that many activists join up before they develop strong beliefs about abortion—in fact, some are even pro-choice prior to their mobilization. Therefore, Munson concludes, commitment to an issue is often a consequence rather than a cause of activism. The Making of Pro-life Activists provides a compelling new model of how people become activists while also offering a penetrating analysis of the complex relationship between religion, politics, and the pro-life movement. Policy makers, activists on both sides of the issue, and anyone seeking to understand how social movements take shape will find this book essential.

Pregnancy loss is profoundly complex, ambiguous, and alienating, but telling women who have procured abortions that they are murderers and sinners is not the best way forward. Magisterial teachings on abortion are too often presented as moral absolutes, when in fact moral absolutism distorts the rich wisdom of the Catholic intellectual tradition. This book initiates a new conversation about women’s experiences of miscarriage, stillbirth, and abortion, arguing that we need not approach these difficult life experiences in a simplistic way. Dr. Reimer-Barry argues that both the pro-life and pro-choice movements make important and valuable claims, yet each approach on its own is flawed. Drawing on the framework of reproductive justice together with Catholic social teaching, Dr. Reimer-Barry suggests a new way forward for abortion discourse that takes seriously the full human dignity of women and the intrinsic (though not absolute) value of prenatal life. She argues that instead of thinking of the Church as a moral teacher—with leaders in Rome or Washington, DC dictating to the consciences of the faithful—a better way to address the complexity of difficult pregnancy discernments would be to think of the Church as a community of support in the midst of and after difficult discernments; a community that seeks justice together and implements structural reforms while also providing spiritual care to those in need. What women deserve, is justice.

Distributed to some depository libraries in microfiche.

We Choose Life is a collection of compelling stories from men and women who are dedicated to rescuing babies, mothers, and fathers from abortion. Though sometimes heartbreaking, this book reveals examples of forgiveness, healing, and hope. We Choose Life brings light into the enveloping darkness of the culture of death. Each year 44 million babies are killed from intentional abortion around the world and 1.29 million babies are aborted in the United States. However, progress against abortion is being made. Movements of optimism are taking place in the pro-life cause, mostly led by young people. We Choose Life seeks to bring awareness to real stories of people who are doing something—individuals such as Ramona Trevino and Jewels Green, who found grace and forgiveness after they quit their jobs at abortion clinics. In these powerful true stories about forgiveness and hope from people of a variety of backgrounds, readers will see that their stories can also make a difference.

You’re pro-life. But can you explain why? You already believe in choosing life. But when the counterarguments are coming at you from every angle—legal, biological, medical, ethical, moral, philosophical, and biblical—how do you defend the pro-life view? And as you defend it . . . how do you speak with wisdom, humility, and compassion? Now more than ever, the times call for a balance of truth and mercy. There are good, wise, and thoughtful rebuttals of every claim made by pro-abortion advocates. Collected here in one place, Choose Life offers you reasonable responses from leading experts in their respective fields. The authors are accomplished women and men from all walks of life. They’ll help you know what to say—and why to say it—when you’re faced with claims like: “The courts have already settled the issue.” “The fetus is not a person.” “My body, my choice.” “I shouldn’t have to raise an unwanted child.” “My circumstances justify ending my pregnancy.” “Abortions are helpful to women and society.” “The pro-life movement doesn’t care about social justice.” It’s time to set aside the strident fist-shaking and hurled insults. Learn to make the pro-life case with intelligent arguments and compassionate love—just the way a Christian should.

An indispensable resource for students, scholars, and activists concerned about current attacks on abortion rights, this book offers an unmatched account of the emergence, consolidation, and consequences of the antiabortion movement's paternalistic abortion regret narrative. Abortion Regret explores the emergence and consolidation of the antiabortion movement's paternalistic efforts to "protect" women from abortion regret. It begins by examining the 19th-century physician's campaign to criminalize abortion and traces the contours of the women-protective abortion regret narrative through to the 21st century. Based on interviews, textual analysis of primary sources, and a content analysis of state antiabortion policy from 2010-2015, the authors argue that the contemporary rise of the abortion regret narrative has armed the antiabortion movement with a unifying and compelling strategy to oppose abortion through a woman-centered approach. In addition to covering the historical origins of our nation's criminal abortion laws, the book covers topics that include the origins and growth of crisis pregnancy centers, including recent efforts provide perinatal hospice services; an analysis of leading Supreme Court decisions on abortion; the emergence of the "pro-woman/pro-life" antiabortion platform, including its deeply religious roots; the infiltration of this position into the political and legal spheres in the guise of a secular rationale for limiting access to abortion; and an evidence-based rejoinder to the position that abortion harms women.

This special issue is a key text in the current study of social movements. It introduces new analytical concepts for understanding visuals in social movements and examines case studies from across the globe; such as analysis of the symbols used in the Egyptian uprising, and contested images from anti-surveillance protests in Europe.

In this story, Michael, Mariana, Katy, and Josh learn The L.O.V.E. Approach. You “listen” as they use it with people they care about. Finally, you discover what has changed in their personal lives as a result. In this book, you can also practice the 4 steps and see for yourself how transformational they can be – Listen and Learn, Open Options, introduce a new Vision and Value, and Extend and Empower!