Aborted Women: Silent No More

Rating:
Summary: Powerful and moving.
Review: I'm grateful to David Reardon for collecting these stories. For those of us who unexpectedly suffer significant emotional distress or even trauma after abortion, it is such a relief to realize that we are not alone and not crazy. When I came across this book, it broke down my isolation and gave me hope for healing. I looked around for other resources to help me pursue that healing and have been incredibly grateful to find them. For me, knowing that other women also suffered was a vital first step toward recovery.

Rating:
Summary: The Art of Subtle Propaganda
Review: One must read a few chapters of "Aborted Women: Silent No More" before realizing that despite its seemingly non-judgemental title, this book continues to force subtle pro-life propaganda on its audience. As a woman and feminist who has experienced abortion, I wholeheartedly agree that most women who undergo abortions suffer long-term emotional trauma as a result; this experience and suffering deserves to be given a voice and should not be denied or overlooked in order to further either side of the political debate. However, Mr. Reardon's use of the personal histories of women who have all since come to believe that what they did was bad and wrong, become pro-life advocates, and found solice in the Lord seems disgustingly biased. What of women, like myself and the many aborted women I know, who do suffer emotional trauma, but continue to believe in freedom of choice? The personal histories which Mr. Reardon utilizes are immeasurably valuable as testimonies of the abortion experience - but they are of a limited and obviously-slanted perspective. Mr. Reardon's book is full of useful statistical and factual information about the overall abortion experience, but these too are explained in a clearly "I told you how evil it was" tone. Is it so impossible for one to honor the voice of these women who have made the decision to abort without forcing religious or political propaganda down the throats of readers? Abortion may never be out of the public eye - and it is its presence in the public eye that has allowed it to become a political and religious issue. At its heart, however, it is a personal issue - the personal decision of every woman who is ever pregnant and does not immediately know that she will carry the child to term - whether she eventually does abort or not. This book is a useful example of the manipulation of women's stories for the sake of the greater pro-life cause, but it is difficult to read with any level of comfort if you don't already subscribe to that rhetoric.

Rating:
Summary: Shocking and Insightful
Review: This is an invaluable book for anyone interested in the abortion issue. It details the very real emotional and physical fallout of elective abortion, and features the strained voices of women victimized by what our society calls "safe, legal abortion." Abuses against the poor and women of color are particulary distressing to read about. I hope every woman considering abortion will read this book first.