Compulsory Pregnancy: The War Against American Women

by John M. Swomley

100% Satisfaction. Brand NEW and ready to ship - not a remainder.

158 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've purchased a lot of books for various reasons, but the reason for this is one of the more interesting ones. A week or two ago, a member of my family (most of whom are conservative Christians) came across an item in their Facebook feed about a Methodist minister who argued for abortion on the grounds that the fetus has original sin. Seeing as I couldn't just let this go by me without at least looking into it, I found a 2015 article by LiveAction (a secular pro-life organization) that fit the basic description. There were also links to a blog by Sarah Terzo, from where the aforementioned article derived their information. The handful of quotes were from this book, which was published in 1999. While it is a bit odd how old sources (relatively speaking) get dredged up to advance a particular agenda, and how they are circulated among the intended audience, this goes to show that, if anything, the pro-choice movement has been consistent.

This book, through a series of essays published between 1984 and 1999, very adequately explains how the pro-life movement began and tries to impose religious doctrine on the American public (as well as thwarting or undermining efforts overseas) through lobbying and legislation. Seeing as how the subject matter is somewhat specific, there is a lot of overlap and repetition between the various essays. It's also clear that the author has a bone to pick with the Catholic hierarchy (as opposed to everyday Catholics, who mostly follow their own consciences over official Church doctrine), but his writing stops just short of a conspiratorial tone. Evangelical Christians are just as complicit in the effort against pro-choice, but they aren't mentioned as much.

In hindsight, the position on abortion among social conservatives hasn't really changed that much, with Planned Parenthood and birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act still providing them a target. The difference is that a lot of their vitriol has now shifted over to the LGBT community, with the tone-deaf responses from Evangelicals to the Pulse massacre echoing a time when they were celebrating the murder of abortion-providing doctors and sabotaging/picketing clinics where such services (among other reproductive health services) are provided. I'm not here to try to convince anyone of anything that this book argues in favor of, but I would like to call out LiveAction and Sarah Terzo for providing quotes without the context. Swomley wasn't arguing from the Catholic position; he was refuting the Catholic (and Evangelical) justification for the pro-life movement by using their own theology against them. Very disingenuous, if not downright dishonest, on their part.

Outside of the main body of essays, the most valuable item is a 'amici curiae' brief from a 1981 case that sought to overturn Roe v. Wade. The brief summarizes the scientific evidence and reasoning which puts a lie to the conservative notion that "life begins at conception." Overall, I wouldn't necessarily recommend purchasing this book, since you could probably find most of the essays online for free, but you can still get it pretty cheap if a physical copy is desired.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this was a true ordeal. I'm so glad its finally finished. Read it for research. Lost of inaccuracies and he repeats himself over and over and over again. He seems to think the Catholic Church is behind every bad thing in the world, and running the pro-life movement. Obviously he knows nothing about the movement, because he claims its led by priests and the Catholic hierarchy. Basically he characterizes it as a movement of men with male leaders when most pro-lifers and pro-life leaders are women. That admission, though, would blow his pet theory (that the whole abortion debate it about the pope and bishops forcing their views on women) to pieces.