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Dispatches from the Abortion Wars: The Costs of Fanaticism to Doctors, Patients, and the Rest of Us
Surprising firsthand accounts from the front lines of abortion provision reveal the persistent cultural, political, and economic hurdles to access More than thirty-five years after women won the right to legal abortion, most people do not realize how inaccessible it has become. In these pages, reproductive-health researcher Carole Joffe shows how a pervasive stigma—cultivated by the religious right—operates to maintain barriers to access by shaming women and marginalizing abortion providers. Through compelling testimony from doctors, health-care workers, and patients, Joffe reports the lived experiences behind the polemics, while also offering hope for a more compassionate standard of women’s health care.
213 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
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About the author
Carole Joffe
10 books3 followersCarole Joffe is Professor in the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) program in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, and is the author of Dispatches from the Abortion Wars (2010) and several other books on abortion provision.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 26, 2010
Maybe I’m wrong, but in my understanding of war, combatants will do whatever it takes to destroy the opposing side. And that’s not what has happened in the conflict over abortion. Instead, one side, the anti-abortionists—from the Army of God to the Lambs of Christ, from Operation Save America to The National Right to Life Committee—have organized a multitude of campaigns to stop what they call “the murder of innocents.” Diverse tactics, from the ballot box to the bullet, have been used.
The damage has been horrific: Eight people (half of them doctors) have been killed since 1993 and there have been 17 attempted murders, 175 arsons, and 41 bombings since 1977. In the first four months of 2009—before the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas—the National Abortion Federation logged in 1411 harassing emails, phone calls, and letters; three bomb threats; five suspicious packages; 40 instances of trespassing; and 11 attacks by vandals.
Then there’s the legal stuff. Legislation has been passed in virtually every state to limit when abortion is permissible and require clinics to jump through a multitude of hoops to offer services. This has made the procedure hard to access, especially for women not living in or near major cities. Add in a constant barrage of ballot measures to outlaw the procedure or give personhood status to the fetus, and it’s not surprising that the antis have made inroads in getting people to question the efficacy of the procedure.
And providers? For their part clinicians have defended their turf, obtaining court orders to bar protesters from screaming in patient’s faces, installing state-of-the-art security devices, and working to pass legislation to protect reproductive freedom from further incursions. But war? Not even a skirmish. Instead, the lion’s share of clinicians have dedicated themselves to offering high quality medical care to women, not on retaliating against the anti’s for their belligerence and menace.
Indeed, not a single anti has been assassinated (yes, anti-abortion protester James Pouillion was killed in Michigan last September, but his murder was part of a shooting spree by a deranged gunman) or harmed by pro-choice forces. Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPC) have not had their locks glued shut or been attacked with butyric acid. They have not received letters filled with white powder claiming to be Anthrax. CPC staff have not been followed and berated as “murderers” while buying milk. Their children have not been taunted in the schoolyard because of their parent’s vocation. So I take issue with Carole Joffe’s conception of the “abortion wars.” What we have, instead, is mono-dimensional, a one-way fight aided by religious dogmatists hellbent on imposing their worldview on women and families.
Despite this fundamental disagreement, Dispatches from the Abortion Wars is often riveting. Joffe’s insights into popular culture, alongside her analysis of the recent barrage of ballot initiatives, are spot on in explaining the growth of negative attitudes about abortion. As she notes, the continuous introduction of restrictive legislation reinforces the idea that the surgery is contentious. What’s more, when something is seen as controversial, people tend to back off, fearing schisms they’d rather avoid. “It is a fear of controversy, more than actual moral opposition, that mainly accounts for the stigmatizing situation of abortion today,” she concludes.
If that’s true, it’s time for pro-choice forces to take the offensive, not in war—we can’t descend to the anti’s level—but by defending abortion as the sound moral choice of more than one-third of U.S. women of reproductive age.
Review by Eleanor J. Bader
The damage has been horrific: Eight people (half of them doctors) have been killed since 1993 and there have been 17 attempted murders, 175 arsons, and 41 bombings since 1977. In the first four months of 2009—before the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas—the National Abortion Federation logged in 1411 harassing emails, phone calls, and letters; three bomb threats; five suspicious packages; 40 instances of trespassing; and 11 attacks by vandals.
Then there’s the legal stuff. Legislation has been passed in virtually every state to limit when abortion is permissible and require clinics to jump through a multitude of hoops to offer services. This has made the procedure hard to access, especially for women not living in or near major cities. Add in a constant barrage of ballot measures to outlaw the procedure or give personhood status to the fetus, and it’s not surprising that the antis have made inroads in getting people to question the efficacy of the procedure.
And providers? For their part clinicians have defended their turf, obtaining court orders to bar protesters from screaming in patient’s faces, installing state-of-the-art security devices, and working to pass legislation to protect reproductive freedom from further incursions. But war? Not even a skirmish. Instead, the lion’s share of clinicians have dedicated themselves to offering high quality medical care to women, not on retaliating against the anti’s for their belligerence and menace.
Indeed, not a single anti has been assassinated (yes, anti-abortion protester James Pouillion was killed in Michigan last September, but his murder was part of a shooting spree by a deranged gunman) or harmed by pro-choice forces. Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPC) have not had their locks glued shut or been attacked with butyric acid. They have not received letters filled with white powder claiming to be Anthrax. CPC staff have not been followed and berated as “murderers” while buying milk. Their children have not been taunted in the schoolyard because of their parent’s vocation. So I take issue with Carole Joffe’s conception of the “abortion wars.” What we have, instead, is mono-dimensional, a one-way fight aided by religious dogmatists hellbent on imposing their worldview on women and families.
Despite this fundamental disagreement, Dispatches from the Abortion Wars is often riveting. Joffe’s insights into popular culture, alongside her analysis of the recent barrage of ballot initiatives, are spot on in explaining the growth of negative attitudes about abortion. As she notes, the continuous introduction of restrictive legislation reinforces the idea that the surgery is contentious. What’s more, when something is seen as controversial, people tend to back off, fearing schisms they’d rather avoid. “It is a fear of controversy, more than actual moral opposition, that mainly accounts for the stigmatizing situation of abortion today,” she concludes.
If that’s true, it’s time for pro-choice forces to take the offensive, not in war—we can’t descend to the anti’s level—but by defending abortion as the sound moral choice of more than one-third of U.S. women of reproductive age.
Review by Eleanor J. Bader
July 15, 2010
If you aren't already angry, this book will certainly piss you off. Even though we are living in the time of legal abortion, the antiabortion zealots have worked to shape public policy by getting bills passed to restrict abortion through mandatory wait periods, parental consent laws, and the denial of federal funds stemming from the Hyde Amendment. Many states require the reading of ideologically-derived "facts" with no basis in science under the guise of "informed consent." If a woman needs an abortion from a hospital, perhaps due to a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy, she better hope that she doesn't get taken to one of the 1-in-6 hospitals in the U.S. that are Catholic owned or affiliated because they are under no obligation to perform abortions or offer emergency contraception or contraception in general. Some may have liberal ethics committees or doctors willing to risk their careers for their patients, but its sad to think a woman would have to hope for one of those outcomes to save her life. The intimidation, stalking, damage to property, and the threat of violence or actual violence has made some doctors forgo performing abortions, which is especially troublesome in rural areas where one may have to go several hours or out of state to seek this legal procedure. And with 87 percent of counties without an abortion provider, abortion has become a privilege for those with money and time with the ability to travel and jump through hoops to get one. This is already such a sad state of affairs, but it makes me even more fearful for what's to come.
I highly recommend this book for those well-versed in abortion rights issues and especially for those who are not.
I highly recommend this book for those well-versed in abortion rights issues and especially for those who are not.
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October 21, 2009A self-described “abortion war correspondent” takes readers into the trenches, where clinic workers labor under legislative red tape, lack of funding and the threat of anthrax attacks, sabotage and murder. Evident throughout is the disconnect between their compassion and the inflammatory
rhetoric of their enemies.
rhetoric of their enemies.
July 11, 2010
While admittedly she was writing from the side of pro-abortion, there was much opinion without factual support. Her opinion was so strong that she really couldn't understand that some women face extreme emotion trauma when she has an abortion. It's no different than the difficult decision and related trauma that some face when they decide to give up a child for adoption.
June 1, 2011
Extremely well-written account on how difficult it is to provide abortion care in America. Parts were very difficult to read because I am super squeamish, and other bits made me tear up.
Brings up the fact that we need more access to contraception if we want fewer abortions in this country. It also discusses how poor women are more likely to get abortions compared to women who aren't poor.
Brings up the fact that we need more access to contraception if we want fewer abortions in this country. It also discusses how poor women are more likely to get abortions compared to women who aren't poor.
December 6, 2015
Very good for research purposes
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews