Since the first publication of Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood in 1985, the politics of abortion have only become more fraught. With updates throughout, this important study examines the issues, people, and beliefs on both sides of the abortion conflict. Drawing on data from decades of public documents and newspaper accounts, as well as hundreds of interviews with both pro-life and pro-choice activists, author Kristin Luker argues that moral positions on abortion are intimately tied to views on sexual behavior, the care of children, family life, technology, and the importance of the individual.

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
2 Medicine and Morality in the Nineteenth Century
3 The Century of Silence
4 Abortion Reform: The Professionals' Dilemma
5 Women and the Right to Abortion
6 The Emergence of the Right-to-Life Movement
7 World Views of the Activists
8 Motherhood and Morality in America
9 The Future of the Debate
Appendix 1: Methodology
Appendix 2: Tables
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Kristin Luker is Professor of Law and Sociology at the University of California Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). She is also the author of Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of Teenage Pregnancy (1996) and, with Jean Fox O'Barr, Feminism in Action: Building Institutions and Community through Women's Studies (1994).

"A lucid, fair-minded and, most importantly, convincing analysis of the contemporary debate about abortion. Based on extensive interviews with both pro-choice and pro-life activists, Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood demonstrates beyond any reasonable doubt that the controversy derives its intensity not from differences of ideology or religion but from the radically antithetical social circumstances of the combatants. The book is a triumph of the sociologist's method."—Paul Robinson, New York Times Book Review

"One of the most important sociology books of the decade. In addressing crucial public policy issues in an engrossing and accessible manner, she has attracted an attentive audience that extends far beyond academic sociology."—Marion S. Goldman, American Journal of Sociology