Entering the moral worlds of Catholicism, the evangelical Protestantism of the Operation Rescue movement, feminism, and the classical liberalism expressed in modern medicine, Beyond Pro-Life and Pro-Choice brilliantly illuminates the little-understood religious and philosophical aspects of the abortion issue. Rudy reveals how each community’s beliefs about abortion are connected to its deeply held values and concerns, and offers an alternative that would obviate the unproductive, divisive, and sometimes violent abortion debate we have today.
“Kathy Rudy has written the best book on the abortion controversy to date.”
—Robert Wuthnow, Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor of Social Sciences, Princeton University
“A provocative addition to the literature on abortion. . . . This book will stimulate new and worthwhile discussion.”
—J. A. Kegley, Choice
“Beyond Pro-Life and Pro-Choice is a fascinating work and a significant contribution to the literature on abortion ethics and social policy. . . . Religious activists, political philosophers, health care providers, and grassroots organizers will all locate themselves here and find themselves appreciated. The book is well worth public scrutiny.”
—Carol S. Robb, Professor of Social Ethics, San Francisco Theological Seminary
“A challenging philosophical examination of the arguments on all sides. . . . [Rudy] comes up with a profound challenge to pro-choicers and pro-lifers alike.”
—Helen Benedict, The Women’s Review of Books
“Kathy Rudy has written a complex and engaging book that refuses to fit into any of the locked boxes that so often characterize the abortion debate. . . . This is the kind of committed scholarship that perhaps can help us break the current stalemate.”
—Faye Ginsburg, author of Contested Lives: The Abortion Debate in an American Community