Without apology : writings on abortion in Canada

Summary: "Until the late 1960s, the authorities on abortion were for the most part men--politicians, clergy, lawyers, physicians, all of whom had an interest in regulating women's bodies. Even today, when we hear women speak publicly about abortion, the voices are usually those of the leaders of women's and abortion rights organizations, women who hold political office, and, on occasion, female physicians. We also hear quite frequently from spokeswomen for anti-abortion groups. Rarely, however, do we hear the voices of ordinary women--women whose lives have been in some way touched by abortion. Their thoughts typically owe more to human circumstance than to ideology, and without them, we run the risk of thinking and talking about the issue of abortion only in the abstract. Without Apology seeks to address this issue by gathering the voices of activists, feminists, and scholars as well as abortion providers and clinic support staff alongside the stories of women whose experience with abortion is more personal."--Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9781771991599
ISBN: 1771991593
Physical Description: print
x, 355 pages : color illustrations ; 23 cm.
Publisher: Edmonton, Alberta : AU Press, [2016]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references.

Formatted Contents Note:

Part 1. Speaking from experience. An abortion palimpsest: writing the hidden stories of our bodies / Judith Mintz -- T.A. / Clarissa Hurley -- But I kept all these things, and pondered them in my heart / Jess Woolford -- Keep it small / E.K. Hornbeck -- A bad law and a bold woman / Bernadette Wagner -- A lonely ride / Kristen -- [untitled] / Mackenzie -- Part 2. Abortion rights activism. Reproductive freedom: the Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics and the campaign to overturn the federal abortion law / Carolyn Egan and Linda Gardner -- Handmaids on the Hill: defending our rights to one womb at a time / Aalya Ahmad and the Radical Handmaids -- Breaking the silence through portrait and story: Arts4Choice / Martha Solomon -- "We can get there faster if we all move together": the birth and evolution of a reproductive justice activist / Colleen MacQuarrie -- Waves of change in Prince Edward Island: opening the dialogue on abortion access / Sadie Roberts -- Part 3. Challenging opposing positions. Blinded by the right: my past as a anti-abortion activist / Natalie Lochwin -- One life change leads to another: my evolving view of abortion / Tracey L. Anderson -- Pro-choice for God's sake / Shannon West -- Pro-choice with no "buts": three commentaries / Laura Wershler -- Expanding the reproductive justice lexicon: a case for the label pro-abortion / Laura Gillespie -- Same as it ever was: anti-choice extremism and the "third way" / Jane Cawthorne -- Women over ideology / Nick Van der Graaf -- Part 4. Practitioners and clinic support. Dissolving fear, fostering trust: lessons from life in abortion care / Peggy Cooke -- "Do you think I will go to hell for this?" / Ruth Miller -- Countering shame with compassion: the role of the abortion counsellor / Erin Mullan -- Women judging women: whose reasons are "good enough"? whose choice is OK? / Ellen Wiebe -- Therapeutic abortion: a nonnegotiable women's right / Sterling Haynes -- On becoming an abortion provider: an interview / Shannon Stettner and "Dr. James" -- Part 5. Sites of struggle. The myth of reproductive choice: a call for radical change / Karen Stote -- Sex-selective abortion and the politics of race in multicultural Canada / H. Bindy K. Kang -- The public pregnancy: how the fetal debut and the public health paradigm affect pregnancy practice / Jen Rinaldi -- A harm-reduction approach to abortion / Shannon Dea -- The unfinished revolution / Shannon Stettner.