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In 2003,
activist Jennifer Baumgardner designed a t-shirt that sent
tsunamis through the already polarized world of feminist thought.
It simply read "I had an abortion." Baumgardner wanted to
open up a dialog about abortion, a dialog that is still going
on five years later. The shirts spawned a film called I
Had an Abortion, where women and men shared their experiences
around their abortions. Baumgardner's new book Abortion
& Life is an extension of the conversation—a sequel
to the film.
Baumgardner
wanted to explore how women experience abortion, why there
aren't more after-abortion resources, and whether feeling
sorrow means abortion is wrong. Unfortunately, none of those
questions are answered in Abortion & Life—to be
fair, they're pretty big questions—but Baumgardner at
least tries to open the discussion. The book is a mix of history,
statistics and provocative arguments, with a big chunk devoted
to the personal stories of women who have had abortions.
The polemics
in the abortion issue are not just between pro-choice liberals
and pro-life conservatives. Many within the feminist movement
argue over whether a person can call herself a feminist and
be pro-life. Others believe that the stigma that surrounds
abortion has prevented a cogent dialog about the decision-making
process, and issues that may come up afterwards. Women who
attempt to get objective counseling, either before or after
their abortions, often meet with brick walls or pro-lifers
with clear agendas. Baumgardner believes that both the pro-life
and pro-choice movements have failed both the women and the
children involved. Pro-choice organizations rarely acknowledge
that women may feel conflicted or depressed about getting
an abortion; pro-life organizations don't provide health care
or adoption services to anyone not carrying a white baby.
Abortion
& Life is not exactly all-embracing. Despite statistics
cited in the book, there are very few women of color profiled
on its pages. Most of the women didn't have any regrets. While
many had to struggle to get money to have an abortion, most
are now middle-class or better. It's as if abortion is only
something that happens to white liberals. In fact, some of
the women interviewed seem a bit cavalier—one recalls
literally skipping down the street afterwards, while another
says she could not make herself feel guilty.
Perhaps
for these women abortion was a coolly logical choice, but
for the millions of women who believe that abortion involves
killing a baby, it becomes a much more emotionally fraught
issue. This is not discussed in this book. But at least there
is a good mix of women from different religious backgrounds,
including one who had participated in anti-abortion rallies.
Also, it is interesting to read that when many women "confessed"
their abortions to family members, they discovered their mothers
and aunts also had abortions. Some of the women profiled had
abortions when they were still illegal procedures, and it's
surprising to discover how widespread abortion was even before
the so-called sexual revolution.
Abortion
& Life really succeeds where Baumgardner provides facts
and statistics. Poor women not only lack access to safe, affordable
abortions, but they lack access to effective, affordable birth
control. The generic version of the birth control pill that
many lower income women take is only 80% as effective as the
more expensive pills. And with even the most effective birth
control, even a 1% failure rate means a woman could get accidentally
pregnant three times in a lifetime. Becoming pregnant for
many is not the result of carelessness, as some think. Until
fundamental issues surrounding the availability and effectiveness
of birth control are resolved, or pro-life agencies vow to
take care of all the unwanted children, abortion will remain
a viable option for millions of women, legal or not.
Abortion
& Life will give readers lots to think about but doesn't
provide any solutions. It's unlikely to sway any pro-life
readers to the pro-choice side, but the interviews may provide
some comfort to those who have chosen this option. Ultimately,
Abortion & Life's power lies in its ability to open
up a dialog. Perhaps if more people knew how many women of
all types have had abortions, this intensely personal decision
could be wrested from the hands of the politicians.
(September,
2008)
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