Birth or abortion?

Many Americans who believe that women should be able to choose when and whether to bear a child are also deeply disturbed by the one-and-one-half million abortions performed each year in this country. They regard these concerns as irreconcilable, because the topic of abortion, until now, has been framed as a black-or-white conflict between the rights of the mother and those of the fetus. The very idea of compromise or common cause draws scorn among factions. How, after all, can the political debate about abortion permit any more options than pregnancy itself does? This extraordinary book tells fifty stories about women from strikingly diverse backgrounds who have had to choose whether to give birth or to abort. About half of these women carried their pregnancies to term; the others ended them. Their decisions arose from heartfelt struggles, expressed in terms completely different from those that prevail in the public debate. Some women who abhor abortion ended up choosing that option; others who are prochoice opted for birth or had abortions that, in some instances, caused them sorrow or regret. The outcome of nearly every private dilemma hung on practical and emotional matters - t