Beyond Health Insurance: Public Policy to Improve Health Book

Jennifer Baumgardner - author, filmmaker, and creator of the much-ballyhooed "I Had An Abortion" t-shirt - attempts to shift current feminist discourse about abortion with her latest book, Abortion & Life, which is sure to provoke passionate debate. Baumgardner effectively argues that, all too often, abortion is treated like a dirty little secret ' something that shouldn't be discussed in polite company (or even in private). As a result, Baumgardner believes that women who feel ambivalent or even guilty about their abortions do not get the emotional and social support they need. She speculates on how women (and men) experience abortion in the post-Roe v. Wade era, why the pro-choice movement often fails to provide a space for women to openly discuss all of their feelings regarding the procedure, and if it is possible to be "pro-life" and "feminist" at once.

As someone who has wondered how "pro-life feminism" (if there is such a thing) could manifest itself and how to properly support someone who doesn't necessarily feel relief after an abortion, I grew excited reading the introduction. I expected to be challenged on my own pro-choice position and to be exposed to differing perspectives on the issue. Despite the promising start and Baumgardner's clear sharply written prose, I finished the book feeling somewhat disappointed.

Baumgardner states early on that, "For my generation in the United States...the hanger doesn't evoke memories of barriers that women faced. The image is abstract... and, despite claims to the contrary, not likely to be part of our future, even if Roe v. Wade...were to be overturned." The author is most likely right; that's why I disagreed with her decision to include a history of abortion in this 175 page polemic. Chapter Five, "Portraits and Stories of Women Who've Had Abortions" presents a similar problem of redundancy. This section struck me as being superfluous, as I had already viewed Baumgardner's well-crafted film, I Had an Abortion (directed by Gillian Aldrich), which features most of these stories.

Abortion & Life would have been better if Chapter Four had been fleshed out more as well. For instance, Baumgardner (rightly) criticizes so-called "pro-life feminist" groups for manipulating the words of feminists like Susan B. Anthony and for attempting to "[dismantle:] abortion without bringing about the pro-woman changes...that might make abortion less common." However, she doesn't feature interviews of anyone who belongs to these organizations. For that matter, she doesn't feature anyone who identifies as a "pro-life feminist." By not providing them an opportunity to defend their position or even naming these individuals, Baumgardner fails to give reader an opportunity to analyze, contrast, and critique their own views.

This is not to say that Abortion & Life isn't worth the read. As I said earlier, the writing is polished, and Baumgardner does manage to successfully argue that advances in technology, anti-abortion misinformation, the way abortions are provided in America, and dissatisfaction with the mainstream feminist movement's "litmus test" on abortion viewpoints all contribute to the phenomenon of the ambivalent abortion-seeker. Baumgardner also lists many of the pro-woman, pro-child ways that government can effectively reduce the number of abortions without banning the procedure outright, and she includes a lot of information that is good to know. (For example, I had no idea that generic birth control pills contain only eighty percent of the hormones that name brands do, rendering them less effective. I also didn't know that lesbian or bisexual girls get pregnant at higher rates than straight girls. Thanks, Jennifer!)

Despite its shortcomings, I enjoyed reading Abortion & Life. I sincerely hope that Baumgardner continues to contribute to feminist discourse by further exploring this complex issue through her insightful work.

Review by Ebony Edwards-Ellis