Beyond Choice
Reproductive Freedom in the 21st Century
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Thirty years after Roe v. Wade, the argument between "pro-choicers" and "pro-lifers" has reached stalemate. Pro-choice arguments haven't persuaded a comfortable majority that legal abortion is vital to our society, nor addressed our moral qualms. Younger people are less and less supportive of reproductive rights. Since 1996, state legislatures have enacted nearly 300 pieces of anti-choice legislation. With Roe in jeopardy, International Planned Parenthood Council Chair Alexander Sanger asks a simple but heretical question: How many more pieces of anti-choice legislation will it take to get the pro-choice movement to rethink its approach to the issue?
In Beyond Choice Sanger explores the history of the reproductive rights movement to discover how it got stuck in its thinking, and then provides a convincing new argument for the moral rightness of its cause. He shows why it is vital to the health and survival of the human race that couples be able to have children, or not, when they choose; why reproductive rights are just as important to men as to women; and why, in an era of new reproductive technologies, completely unfettered choice is not morally defensible.
Beyond Choice is inspiring and important reading for women's rights advocates, opinion leaders, medical ethicists, and anyone concerned to preserve our freedom to reproduce, or not, without government intervention.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sanger, grandson of reproductive rights activist Margaret Sanger, is dismayed by the abortion debate's current stalemate, and in this pro-choice manifesto he asserts that pro-choice supporters face a difficult task if they want to persuade pro-life advocates to listen. He recalls being on a talk show where audience members were polled about their views before he spoke and then again after he finished. Although Sanger thought he made provocative and persuasive arguments, not one audience member was swayed. This indicates a larger problem, and Sanger posits that such ineffectiveness will harm the pro-choice camp in the future, as state legislatures enact pro-life legislation and more young people join the pro-life movement. After explaining why current methods aren't working, Sanger opines on righting the pro-choice movement's maladies. He suggests discussions that could change how those outside the pro-life camp view the issue. Including men in the conversation about reproductive rights would be a major step toward positive change, Sanger notes, and one that isn't currently being taken. And, he notes, pro-choice advocates should take more time to understand the moral ground taken by pro-lifers and realize it's crucial to shape a conversation about the morality and immorality of reproductive freedoms. Compellingly, Sanger touches on why unfettered choice is not morally defensible, and how reproductive technology may change the debate. Holding leadership positions at Planned Parenthood of New York City and the International Planned Parenthood Council gave Sanger much experience articulating the nuances of the pro-choice position to detractors. With this much-needed volume, perhaps now those within his movement can listen, too.