Contested Lives: The Abortion Debate in an American Community, Updated edition, With a new introduction. [Paperback]

Faye D. Ginsburg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520217357 | ISBN-13: 978-0520217355 | Publication Date: September 1, 1998 | Edition: Updated

Based on the struggle over a Fargo, North Dakota, abortion clinic, Contested Lives explores one of the central social conflicts of our time. Both wide-ranging and rich in detail, it speaks not simply to the abortion issue but also to the critical role of women's political activism.
A new introduction addresses the events of the last decade, which saw the emergence of Operation Rescue and a shift toward more violent, even deadly, forms of anti-abortion protest. Responses to this trend included government legislation, a decline in clinics and doctors offering abortion services, and also the formation of Common Ground, an alliance bringing together activists from both sides to address shared concerns. Ginsburg shows that what may have seemed an ephemeral artifact of "Midwestern feminism" of the 1980s actually foreshadowed unprecedented possibilities for reconciliation in one of the most entrenched conflicts of our times.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Contested sides of the enduring conflict over abortion and its importance in helping determine women's place in society are presented here by Ginsburg, associate professor of anthropology at New York University. In a scholarly, historically weighted study too specialized for general readers, the author relates the present debate to the changes wrought by economic and cultural developments that engendered modern feminism, along with the impact of legal, medical and political agendas on public attitudes towards abortion. Based on interviews with a pro-life and a pro-choice abortion activist, both of whom claim to represent women's real interests, Ginsburg contends that their viewpoints are largely derived from personal values, background and experiences of transition and difficulties in their own reproductive lives. Although she maintains that activists on both sides share many common concerns, she concludes that abortion remains a challenge to the concept of female gender identity linked to nurturance and domesticity.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

By focusing on one small, localized struggle (in Fargo, N.D.) as it evolved over more than a decade, Ginsburg (anthropology, NYU) has provided an outstanding scholarly study of the abortion conflict. Her meticulous and sympathetic portrayals of the activists on both (or, as she reveals it, several) sides let her raise issues that transcend the "pro-life versus pro-choice" contest, and place the women, and those who would exploit their concerns, into a much broader cultural context. What began as a disputed state referendum campaign escalated into a battle over an abortion clinic, culminating in a social drama that was extended to a national audience via a TV newsmagazine. Her analysis of the role of symbols and metaphors in the propaganda , the competition among the various interest groups, and the life stories of the activists are particularly compelling. Highly recommended for serious readers and academics.
- Beverly Miller, Boise State Univ. Lib., Id.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 359 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; Updated edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520217357
• ISBN-13: 978-0520217355
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Women's Studies > Abortion & Birth Control
  • #16 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > History

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting look at BOTH sides of the debate in a small town, March 3, 2006

By 

A. Slade "as2a" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Contested Lives: The Abortion Debate in an American Community, Updated edition, With a new introduction. (Paperback)

I read this book in College.

It's not a definitive work of the entire debate, but does raise different sides of the argument regarding choice and abortion. I found it to be a balanced book. The author spoke to women engaged in the Choice debate from both sides of the fence one town/city. WHile this may not be the case now, the women knew eachother and eachother's organizations, and were, in some cases, very collegial. I would recommend this book quite highly.

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars book review, January 4, 2011

By 

ddc - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Contested Lives: The Abortion Debate in an American Community, Updated edition, With a new introduction. (Paperback)

The copy of Contested Lives was not at all in the condition I was led to believe I was buying. I had purchased this book for my daughter (a genetic counselor) for Christmas, knowing that it was most likely out of print and that I would most likely need a used copy. The book I received was highlighted and not in good order. It certainly was not so described. I did not feel I had the time to return so gave it to her anyway with my apologies.
This review is only about the book's condition, not it's content as it was a gift.