Abortion Controversy: 25 Years After Roe vs. Wade, A Reader [Paperback]

Louis Pojman (Author), Francis J. Beckwith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 13, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0534557643 | ISBN-13: 978-0534557645 | Edition: 2

This is a title acquired from Jones & Bartlett. It includes important and influential academic articles from all perspectives within the abortion debate, abridged versions of the most important Supreme Court decisions, and critiques of Roe vs. Wade.

Product Details

• Paperback: 461 pages
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 2 edition (February 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534557643
• ISBN-13: 978-0534557645
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,227,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for those interested in the debate., May 3, 1999

By 

DEAN STRETTON (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Abortion Controversy: 25 Years After Roe vs. Wade, A Reader (Paperback)

"The Abortion Controversy" (second edition) is a superb anthology in which all the major viewpoints on abortion are well represented.

Highlights include Michael Tooley's latest formulation of his argument against foetal personhood, Judith Jarvis Thomson's classic "A Defense of Abortion", David Boonin-Vail's brilliant 1997 defense of what he calls the "Responsibility Objection" to Thomson's argument, and Keith Pavlischek's interesting 1998 critique of Thomson and Boonin-Vail. Pavlischek essentially admits that Boonin-Vail's arguments succeed, but points out (correctly, I think) that those arguments entail that if a woman becomes pregnant to a man who wishes to play no part in the child's life, then that man, the father, is not morally obliged to pay child-support to the mother. Pavlischek thinks that many pro-choicers would find this implication unacceptable. I would add that on the other hand, many pro-choicers would regard this implication as perfectly just, so that Boonin-Vail's defense of Thomson is (for them at least) ultima facie sound.

These are just some of the interesting issues covered in the book; there are many more. Since no other anthology is as wide-ranging, up-to-date and authoritative as this one, "The Abortion Controversy" is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the philosophical debate over abortion.