In 1973, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protected the right to choose to have an abortion in the landmark case, Roe v. Wade. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court made the controversial decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. For those who are interested in exploring the different sides of this complex issue, here is a list of books examining the history of Roe v. Wade, the pro-life and pro-choice debate, and the personal stories of individuals whose lives have been impacted by abortion. All books are available for check out from the Orem Library. More information can also be found online by accessing the Points of View Reference Center, a database available to all those with an Orem Library card.
Abortion and American Politics
By Barbara Hinkson Craig
Nonfiction
How the deeply divisive abortion controversy has played out on state and national levels during the past two decades provides an illustrative portrait, even if in some ways a disappointing reflection, of the operation of American government and politics. Without attempting to resolve the abortion controversy or to advocate one or another position, Craig and O’Brien present a comprehensive analysis of the complex interaction of interest groups, the states, the courts, Congress, and the president and the executive branch. As a case study of institutional conflict over public policy, Abortion and American Politics demonstrates the enduring vitality of the Founders’ vision of a system of constitutional politics that allows for incremental change as a means to ensure stability in the face of unyielding social controversy.
Abortion: Opposing Viewpoints Series
By Mary E. Williams
Nonfiction
In this updated anthology, the Catholic Bishops of the United States, John M. Swomley, Naomi Wolf, and others debate the following issues: Is Abortion Immoral? Should Abortion Rights Be Restricted? Can Abortion Be Justified? Is Abortion Safe?
Roe v. Wade: the Abortion Rights Controversy in American History
By N.E.H. Hull
Nonfiction
Few Supreme Court decisions have stirred up as much controversy, vitriolic debate, and even violence as Roe v. Wade in 1973. Four decades later, it remains a touchstone for the culture wars in the United States and a pivot upon which much of our politics turns. This book details the case’s historical background; highlights Roe v. Wade’s core issues, essential personalities, and key precedents; tracks the case’s path through the courts; clarifies the jurisprudence behind the court’s ruling in Roe; and more.
Choice Words: Writers on Abortion
By Annie Finch
Nonfiction
With reproductive freedom under unprecedented attack, Choice Words, edited by poet Annie Finch, takes back the cultural conversation on abortion. A landmark literary anthology of poems, stories, and essays, Choice Words collects essential voices that renew our courage in the struggle to defend reproductive rights. Twenty years in the making, the book spans continents and centuries. This collection magnifies the voices of people reclaiming the sole authorship of their abortion experiences. The essays, poems, and prose are a testament to the profound political power of defying shame.
Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader’s Eye-Opening Journey Across the Life Line
By Abby Johnson
Nonfiction
Abby Johnson quit her job in October 2009. That simple act became a national news story because Abby was the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas who, after participating in an actual abortion procedure for the first time, walked down the street to join the Coalition for Life. Unplanned is a heart-stopping personal drama of life-and-death encounters, a courtroom battle, and spiritual transformation that speaks hope and compassion into the political controversy that surrounds this issue. Telling Abby’s story from both sides of the abortion clinic property line, this book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the life versus rights debate and helping women who face crisis pregnancies. Now updated with a new chapter covering the latest events in Abby’s journey, in the news, and in changing legislation . . . and revealing the impact Abby’s story has had in the most surprising places.
Doctors of Conscience: The Struggle to Provide Abortion Before and After Roe v. Wade
By Carole Joffe
Nonfiction
A summary of the risks abortion providers took and still take both before and after Roe v. Wade, both personal and professional, told largely through personal anecdotes and stories from physicians who were on the front lines of abortion provision particularly before Roe v. Wade.
The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having—or Being Denied—an Abortion
By Diana Greene Foster
Nonfiction
A groundbreaking and illuminating look at the state of abortion access in America and the first long-term study of the consequences—emotional, physical, financial, professional, personal, and psychological—of receiving versus being denied an abortion on women’s lives.
Why Pro-Life?
By Randy Alcorn
Nonfiction
So much is at stake in the abortion debate. If pro-choicers are right, precious freedoms are in jeopardy. If pro-lifers are right, innocent children are being robbed of their most basic freedom—life. Though bumpersticker slogans prevail, the facts are rarely presented. We need clear and credible answers to the central questions of the abortion debate. For those who have had abortions or are currently considering one, for pro-choicers and fence-straddlers alike, Why Pro-Life? provides answers to these questions in a concise, straightforward, and nonabrasive manner. No issue is more divisive or troubling than abortion. Many believe that we have to choose between helping women and helping children. This audiobook shows how critical it is that we help both. In a concise, non-abrasive fashion, Randy Alcorn offers compassionate, factual answers to the central issues of the abortion debate.
I Am Roe: My Life, Roe v. Wade, and Freedom of Choice
By Norma McCorvey
Nonfiction
Norma McCorvey was a pregnant, unwed mother of two when she took her fight for a legal abortion to the Supreme Court. Norma wasn’t anyone’s idea of a role model in 1973, a gritty, working-poor woman from Louisiana who couldn’t face the psychological pain of carrying an unplanned pregnancy to term, only to give up the child for adoption. She initially sought a back-alley abortion but, terrified by what she found, she fled. Shortly afterward, she was introduced to a team of public-spirited attorneys and gained a new identity: Jane Roe, the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, the court case that guaranteed freedom of choice for all American women.
For more information on this topic, visit the Points of View Reference Center.
