The Woman's Book of Choices: Abortion, Menstrual Extraction, RU-486 [Paperback]

Rebecca Chalker (Author), Carol Downer (Author), Barbara Herbert M.D. (Introduction), Barbara Ehrenreich (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 1996

The New Our Bodies, Ourselves calls menstrual extraction (ME) "a powerful example of medical research done by women on and for ourselves." As the safest and most effective of the techniques that can be performed on women by women, independently of any legal restrictions that may be imposed on doctors in the coming months and years, menstrual extraction is today at the center of the raging abortion debate, serving both symbolically and practically as the line of first defense against recent rollbakcs of women's reproductive rights in the nation's courts. A Woman's Book of Choices chronicles the history of ME, the currently accepted standard of ME practice, and its legal ramifications, and offers accounts of actual ME procedures. It also describes the who range of other abortion alternatives, from state-of-the-art clinical abortions to folk remedies, for women who may be considering terminating a pregnancy. In addition, there is a comprehensive chapter that is directed to medical personnel who may be providing abortion care, and a chapter on the French-developed abortion pill, RU-486.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Authors Chalker ( The Complete Cervical Cap Guide ) and Downer (charged in 1972 for practicing medicine without a license after applying a yogurt antidote to a yeast infection) may have written the ultimate guerilla guide to reproductive choices. In an era when a woman's access to health care is determined increasingly, and arbitrarily, by age, race, health insurance, socio-economic status and geography--as of 1990, 82% of the counties in the U.S. did not have an abortion provider--this book helps to even the odds. It tells you how to find and evaluate an abortion clinic, where to go for low- or no-interest loans to finance an abortion and what a woman's options for ending a pregnancy were before 1973. Personal accounts of doctors and women here depict some harrowing pre- Roe experiences and some inspiring grassroots initiatives, such as the group of University of Chicago students who launched a clandestine abortion referral service in a dorm room in 1964. In the final chapters of the book, Chalker and Downer look to the future of RU-486, the controversial abortifacient, and cover a selection of dangerous folk remedies that don't work, as well as some herbs and remedies that do, according to the authors.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

REBECCA CHALKER is the author of The Clitoral Truth: The Secret World At Your Fingertips and A Woman's Book of Choices. She teaches Women's and Gender Studies at Pace University in New York City where she teaches a course on the cultural history of sexuality.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press; 1 edition (January 9, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888363282
• ISBN-13: 978-1888363289
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,639,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Information, July 19, 2005

By 

Elspeth - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Woman's Book of Choices: Abortion, Menstrual Extraction, RU-486 (Paperback)

Even though some of the information will now be dated, the book is excellent and I can't recommend strongly enough that every pro-choice (pro-child, pro-family; they are all the same thing) woman own this book. It documents very clearly the history of abortion and abortion laws and techniques. It describes procedures clearly; a must for anyone facing the current misinformation both sides of the abortion fight are often guilty of. It also has invaluable information on menstrual extraction. The book clearly cites tragic instances of women desperate for legal, safe abortion who have killed themselves trying unsafe "folk" methods. It makes clear that we want our daughters to choose between better options in the future, rather than face a frightening return to the past. The book is well-written, well-organized, and does not carry a proselytising flavour in any way. It is very objective in tone, which I appreciate, without being too technical, medical, or dry. It is also clearly footnoted and every source checks out.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, May 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Woman's Book of Choices: Abortion, Menstrual Extraction, RU-486 (Paperback)

If you are interested in women's self-help gynecological care and learning about menstrual extractions then this is a must have book. It is the best book on menstrual extraction available at this time.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL, January 7, 2008

By 

Jane.flowers (California, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Woman's Book of Choices: Abortion, Menstrual Extraction, RU-486 (Paperback)

this book is absolutely wonderful, and i am so glad to have added it to my library. its incredibly educational, and really no woman should live without it. i highly recommend it, especially if you are a woman seeking advice concerning menstruation, pregnancy and the like. this book will certainly be a life long reference for me, especially seeing how our reproductive rights as women are continuously put on the stand. this book gives me hope, and lets me know that there are in fact options outside of a coathanger, and the legal process, that are safe and effective.