Customer Reviews

The War on Choice: The Right-Wing Attack on Women's Rights and How to Fight Back

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

While The War on Choice alerts us to the determined and highly organized threat to reproductive freedom for women -- and for men -- it needs to rise to the level of war it reports. Only 39 pages in the chapter "Fighting Forward" point the political direction for Pro-Choice citizens.
The book is another example of why Pro-Choice activists are losing the media war. The greatest weakness of the book is that it only describes the enemy. It fails to put a human face on the tragedies of women and families who face tragedy without help. How does Tay-Sachs disease affect a family? What about a 12-year-old impregnated by a family member or step father? The anti-choice movement gains "moral" ground despite the fact that their advocates bomb clinics, assassinate providers, and rape a 15-year-old girl (e.g., John Burt in Florida)? The author and other Pro-Choice activists need to develop the emotional hooks and popular language that will attract those who haven't given, and won't ever give, much thought to the issues. Feldt needs to realize that the war is a public relations war, not just a political one.
I recommend a companion book, if you can find it, by John M. Swomley, Jr., "Compulsory Pregnancy: The War Against American Women."

Until recently I never paid that much attention to
reproductive rights. I knew that I was pro-choice, and
I was lucky enough to attend a private high school
that offered real sex-ed (including information on
contraception and STDs) and not just abstinence-only
classes. But The War on Choice demonstrated for me
that reproductive rights aren't just about women -
they are about men too, both as women's partners and
in their own right. While issues like abortion may be
more relevant to women, although they affect men as
well of course, things like medical privacy are
equally important no matter what your gender. Any man
who thinks that because he's male he doesn't have to
worry about his reproductive rights should read this
book and think again.

This book really illustrates why we pro-choice women need to be on guard. The Bush Administration and ultra-conservative groups are fully mobilized against American women and our right to choose how and when we reproduce. I was especially interested in the chapters on how to fight back. A great read if you want a toolkit for becoming an active pro-choice feminist.

Growing up during the 80s and 90s I always took my
reproductive rights for granted. I'm somewhat
politically active, so I certainly knew that my rights
were being threatened. But even as a well-educated
woman, I had no idea of the scope of the attacks on my
rights. Some of the anti-choice activities that Feldt
chronicles are obvious ones that I already knew about.
Going to a liberal school and always having access to
birth control, however, I never really felt that I
personally would be affected by them. But what was
really amazing about The War on Choice was the way it
explained the insidious connections between seemingly
unrelated attempts to make the fetus a person and deny
women access to abortion and birth control and
whatever other family planning services they want or
need. This book was a true awakening - after reading
it I was certainly disturbed, but I was also motivated
and energized. You will be too!

I'm a liberal-leaning guy so I've always prided myself
on my sensitivity to women's issues and my
understanding of the importance of women's rights. But
even so, Gloria Feldt's book The War on Choice was an
eye-opener. No matter how much you think you know,
it's hard to get the bird's eye perspective you really
need to understand the extent of the attacks on
reproductive rights that are happening today. This
book will give you that view. Feldt covers everything
from AIDS to birth control to abortion to the Supreme
Court and the legal definition of personhood, and she
paints a chilling but compelling portrait of the
threats being posed to everyone's rights, reproductive
and otherwise. The corruption of science with narrow
ideology and the right-wing's disregard for personal
privacy are only a few of the dangers facing each of
us that we should all be working to combat - and
Feldt's book can show us where to start.

Too often the fight against a woman's choice has been focused on the most controversial of issues, abortion. Don't let that distract you from how the extreme right has been trying to get contraceptives, including the Pill, declared an "abortifacient." Don't let it distract you from the Global Gag Rule, the first thing that George W. Bush signed into office, which prohibits health clinics from giving a woman counseling on or an actual abortion, even in the case of health risks and if the clinic is using its own funds. Gloria Feldt opened my eyes after years of bombardment from conservative radio, and I know she'll do it for you, too.

Gloria Feldt's book is an eye opener and just what we need right now. I had truly believed that my fundamental rights as women to make my own reproductive choices could not be taken away. She broke through the rhetoric and lies used by the right-wing extremist and helped me see how wrong I had been. This book has been a real wake-up for me and has shown me that I can't take my personal freedoms for granted. A must read.

As a man who cares about women (unlike the current administration) this book opened my eyes to just how good ol' boy the world of hate has become. This book transcends the usual abortion rhetoric and delves into the terribly frightening side of what women are up against in America today. I applaud Gloria Feldt for her work on this book and for her work empowering women. Every man, woman and young adult should read this book to make the world a better place.

As a student who works with pregnant college students
and studies women's issues, I am intimately acquainted
with the ins and outs of anti-choice attacks on
women's rights. I bought the War on Choice anyway
though, because I've always been a big supporter of
Planned Parenthood's work and because I wanted to see
what Gloria Feldt's book had to offer. As I had
expected, her analysis was insightful and the book was
well researched. But what was particularly striking,
to me, was the level of personal detail Feldt used and
the warm and intimate tone her writing conveyed.
Combining her personal experience as a pregnant
teenage bride in Texas with her thorough knowledge of
the reproductive rights world, Feldt's book manages to
educate and entertain at the same time. A must-read!

Feldt's book is an important battle cry to those who still don't realize the religious right and their political friends in Washington are out to destroy our country and take away all of our rights (men included). It's also important reading for those of us who "get it," but still don't do enough to rally others to this cause. Feldt deftly makes the case that this isn't just about abortion, it's about all of our rights - gay rights, medical privacy, and more. It's time to start taking our country back - this book is a great first step. Buy it (and go to the March for Women's Lives in DC on April 25!)