Abstract
Reviewed by: Malvern Chiweshe, Rhodes University, South Africa
In this book, Katie Watson brings to the fore contestations that exist within abortion politics in America. By unveiling the different agendas at the core of these contestations, Watson is able to explore why there is opposition to abortion despite it being an established constitutional right: the question of women’s role in society. In aiding her goal of having a pluralistic society – one in which different abortion opinions and positions are tolerated – she identifies what she terms ordinary abortion as a way of moving away from the current ways of understanding abortion (usually through extreme cases – rape, incest, foetal anomalies, late trimester abortions). She supports this by showing that “the vast majority of abortions in America are not for medical need, and nine out of ten of them happen in the first trimester” (p. 105). Watson is able to explore how abortion stigma has functioned to make discussions of these common abortion stories close to non-existent. She equates the lack of having abortion as a topic of discussion in ordinary day-to-day conversations to abortion being this era’s ‘Scarlet A’ (historically, a scarlet letter is an identifying mark or brand placed on someone who has committed adultery) – that which shall not be spoken of. Instead of showing how common abortion is through everyday discussions, this silences abortion. Watson explores throughout the book how these silences, which contribute to the stigma surrounding abortion, make it “easy to miss that millions are quietly using this service” (p. 9).
Watson’s book uncovers some of the underlying reasons for the viciousness of abortion politics. Not only is this book particularly relevant in the current atmosphere of US states moving to limit access to abortion, but it is also relevant for those wondering “what next” given the recent appointments of two Supreme Court justices. In a country where the Vice President has shown his disdain for abortion and the Attorney General has called Roe vs Wade a colossally erroneous Supreme Court decision, Planned Parenthood is being systematically defunded; those who oppose abortion now comprise the administration that makes decisions about its availability to women. Taking together the Vice President’s disdain for abortion, the Attorney General and other administration figures’ position on abortion along with the Supreme Court appointees, it is only a matter of time before there is a case that seeks to challenge the standing of abortion in America. The appointment of two conservative justices has tipped the balance of the Supreme Court, meaning that a challenge to the constitutionality of abortion is more than likely to succeed. In such polarized conditions, Watson offers us a way to bring ordinary abortion into focus as a way of having meaningful and richer conversations about abortion. Watson argues that “if we could talk to each other privately in a way that embraces the complexity of our lives and the nuance of our thinking, perhaps that enriched experience would lead to more reality and civility in our public abortion debates” (p. 36).
Watson rightly shows that even though the Supreme Court has ruled that abortion is a constitutionally protected right, this has not stopped those who oppose abortion and states’ efforts to erode/negate laws and rules that seek to limit access. She tactfully explores how these limitations/ways of opposition can be traced to protests of the 1980s and early 1990s. The violent protesters who blocked clinics and harassed women have subtly been replaced by senators and state legislators doing the work of opposition for them. Watson’s understanding of continued opposition despite court rulings is enlightening: that the opposition, largely male elected representatives, hide behind the ideas of being pro woman, premised on the notion of wanting to protect women. These ideas are common and have sought to legitimize the continual state laws which limit women’s access. These office-holding opponents are aided by the “public and private silence about the experience of abortion” (p. 6). Watson’s successful analysis of ordinary abortion stories not only shows the commonness of abortion in America but also allows one to step back and understand the everyday stories of people who have abortions.
Watson provides an insightful exploration into some of the key constitutional rulings on abortion in the US (Roe v. Wade, 1973; Planned Parenthood v. Cassey, 1992; and Gonzales v. Carhart, 2007). She is able to show the power of language by exploring these judicial opinions and the kind of representations about abortion that are enabled in and through them. She shows how the protagonist and antagonist positions shift within the different schools of opinion. Watson demonstrates how the “masterplots” evident in the judicial opinions tend to “take a story that’s true for some and make it the only story we can tell, the only story we’re able to hear, the only one that counts” (p. 40). The book also shows how the “public abortion debate has reduced life’s complexity into black and white.” Watson argues that this has ignored some of the nuances within abortion and by so doing leaves out many common abortion stories. Throughout the book Watson brings out women’s narratives to show some of these nuances.
Watson provides two compelling chapters on abortion ethics that explore and critique the different approaches used in abortion ethics (biological, autonomy, public health, relational and multi-factorial). Her discussion on the foetus provides persuasive arguments around how it is at the centre of abortion politics. She states that “the moral worth of embryos and foetuses can’t be proven by science; it springs from beliefs” (p. 104). In her discussion she explores what underpins some of our abortion beliefs. Using the metaphors of Trojan horses and Russian dolls, Watson shows how abortion politics is full of laws that are “crafted to appear as if they are to protect patients” (p. 175) but are really meant to protect embryos. She highlights how there are many hidden agendas involved in the arguments around the moral value of embryos and foetuses.
The book does, however, have some limitations. While Watson tries to promote pluralism, which I believe is a noble effort, the way abortion politics are unfolding in America at this precise moment does not allow for a pluralistic solution. Those who oppose the right to abortion are on a warpath, and unless there are strong and powerful efforts to oppose them then this right is going to be taken away. Her search for pluralism, while admirable and to be supported, is difficult in practice. The abortion opposition are coalescing and gaining in strength. Another limitation of the book is that it is silent on insights on abortion within black American communities. Such an analysis would have aided in showing some of the complexities in American abortion politics. Despite these limitations, Watson provides a persuasive argument on a subject that has divided opinion for so long. Weaving together ethics, narratives, politics and law, the book successfully paints a picture of the current abortion landscape and offers solutions on how both proponents and opponents can come together and have a discussion on abortion. The book will be valuable for those interested in the intersection of abortion, ethics, law and politics. The book has interdisciplinary applicability. It can be used by practitioners (law, psychology) in understanding the complexities within abortion and by students in providing a historical account on the politics of the foetus; it also gives a well-reasoned philosophical account for academics.