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A review by sunfishcakes
Abortion in the Age of Unreason by Warren M. Hern
4.0
A powerful and moving book.
This probably falls under memoir but structurally and stylistically, I would call this a scrapbook of Hern's life, knowledge, writing, and philosophy regarding abortion in the USA. While he outlines important political and cultural changes throughout his career, you won't get the kind of analysis or broad picture that you would from a historian or social sciences academic writing on the topic. The introduction explicitly lays out that this book will jump back and forth in time, and it does. It also repeats itself quite a bit, but I didn't mind it much. Some may find it kind of sloppy and gratuitous though.
I think his perspective as a doctor is one you don't often hear, even as pro-choice rhetoric often emphasizes abortion as healthcare, it's rare to actually hear someone go into the weeds of what that means and how vital it is for people. It is one of the few arguments for medicalization and pathology that I've read that doesn't focus on pity or helplessness, but on uplifting people's agency in getting the healthcare they need.
The parts I found especially valuable were his analysis of pregnancy as pathology and the testimonies from former patients. He's really quite articulate and rigorous in reframing abortion as a procedure to be normalized and appreciated, not just an unfortunate medical incident some may go through.
There is an almost exclusive emphasis on framing abortion (and OB/GYN care) as women's healthcare, but I'm willing to let it slide, as I think the work he's done and demonstrated is so major. He's otherwise someone who writes with deep expertise, thought, compassion, and experience.
Occasionally there are stray typos and formatting errors, which aren't too distracting, but are unfortunate in a book that I fins so interesting and informative.
This probably falls under memoir but structurally and stylistically, I would call this a scrapbook of Hern's life, knowledge, writing, and philosophy regarding abortion in the USA. While he outlines important political and cultural changes throughout his career, you won't get the kind of analysis or broad picture that you would from a historian or social sciences academic writing on the topic. The introduction explicitly lays out that this book will jump back and forth in time, and it does. It also repeats itself quite a bit, but I didn't mind it much. Some may find it kind of sloppy and gratuitous though.
I think his perspective as a doctor is one you don't often hear, even as pro-choice rhetoric often emphasizes abortion as healthcare, it's rare to actually hear someone go into the weeds of what that means and how vital it is for people. It is one of the few arguments for medicalization and pathology that I've read that doesn't focus on pity or helplessness, but on uplifting people's agency in getting the healthcare they need.
The parts I found especially valuable were his analysis of pregnancy as pathology and the testimonies from former patients. He's really quite articulate and rigorous in reframing abortion as a procedure to be normalized and appreciated, not just an unfortunate medical incident some may go through.
There is an almost exclusive emphasis on framing abortion (and OB/GYN care) as women's healthcare, but I'm willing to let it slide, as I think the work he's done and demonstrated is so major. He's otherwise someone who writes with deep expertise, thought, compassion, and experience.
Occasionally there are stray typos and formatting errors, which aren't too distracting, but are unfortunate in a book that I fins so interesting and informative.