The Story of Abortion in America: A Street-Level History, 1652-2022

by Marvin Olasky, Leah Savas

Overview

Authors Marvin Olasky and Leah Savas detail the long history of abortion and its impact on American culture through vivid personal stories that humanize people on both sides of the debate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433580444
Publisher:	Crossway
Publication date:	01/03/2023
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Marvin Olasky (PhD, University of Michigan) is a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute and an Acton Institute affiliate scholar. He is the author of twenty-eight books, including The Tragedy of American Compassion and Lament for a Father. From 1983 through 2021 he was a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and the editor in chief of WORLD. He and his wife, Susan, have four sons.

Leah Savas reports on abortion for WORLD News Group, where she writes the weekly Vitals roundup and newsletter of pro-life news. Leah lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her husband, Stephen.

Table of Contents

Foreword xiii

Introduction: The Life or Death of Innocent Life 1

1 Street Level vs. Suite Level 7

Section 1 Unsafe, Illegal, and Rare, 1652-1842

2 Common Law, Common Sense 17

3 Murder of a Man Child 25

4 Pressuring the Father 33

5 Bitter Execrations 41

6 An Oath for Midwives 49

7 Double Robbery of Life 55

8 A Fallen Pro-Life Founder 63

9 Laws and Scofflaws 71

10 Insufficient Protection for Women 79

Section 2 Specialization Begins, 1838-1878

11 A Fatal Needle 89

12 The Welfare of Two Patients 97

13 Madame Restell 103

14 An Unstoppable Force? 111

15 A Moral Maelstrom 119

16 The Unwelcome Child 127

17 Doctors Push Back 135

18 Massacres 145

19 Compassion vs. Abortion 155

20 Thugs of Society 163

Section 3 Supply and Demand, 1871-1940

21 A Much Pulverized Reporter 173

22 The Victims Are … 181

23 So Much Rascality 187

24 Horror Stories at Century's End 195

25 Medical Heroines 203

26 The Erring Women's Refuge 211

27 Weak-Kneed Enforcement 219

28 Old-School Abortionists 227

29 Twentieth-Century Compassion 235

30 Million-Dollar Hands 243

Section 4 Seeing Life, 1930-1995

31 Linkages 255

32 Complicated Lives 263

33 Losing the Baby 273

34 Playing the Danger Card 281

35 The Father of Abortion Rights 289

36 Eroded Ethic 297

37 On the Disassembly Line 305

38 Pro-Life Frustration 313

39 Pictures Seen and Unseen 323

40 Cacophony and Compassion 331

Section 5 Still Unsettled, 1995-2022

41 Window to the Womb 341

42 Loving Your Unborn Neighbor 349

43 Sensational Facts 357

44 A Sanitized Image 367

45 Aborting Alone 375

46 Incremental vs. Radical 385

47 The Abortion-Industrial Complex 395

48 A New Enforcement Mechanism 403

49 Their One Person 415

50 Egregiously Wrong 425

Epilogue 439

Bibliography 445

Books 445

Selected Journal and Magazine Articles 461

Other Books by Marvin Olasky 467

General Index 469

Scripture Index 493

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“A riveting story of the history of abortion by two ‘street-level’ researchers who tell us real stories of real people who have sought abortions, provided abortions, and lobbied for change in the abortion laws. Spanning nearly four hundred years of abortion history, Olasky and Savas transport us back in time to help us understand that there has always been abortion among women ‘seduced by men, money, or the religion of self.’ Many of these abortions were coerced, and the chilling narratives of these coercions throughout history are not for the faint of heart. Readers will be moved to tears by the stories, many of them transcribed from published accounts of the very words of the women who have been victims of the abortion industry and those who support it. We meet many of the craven abortion providers on these pages—the infamous Madame Restell, as well as a long list of lesser-known profiteers who have grown rich by ending the lives of unborn children. It is a tragic history, but Olasky and Savas do not leave us bereft of hope.”
—Anne Hendershott, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life, Franciscan University

“Under the reign of Roe v. Wade, abortion became ‘normal.’ But it wasn’t always that way in our nation, as this book explains. Now that the Supreme Court has removed its imprimatur from abortion-on-demand for any reason through all nine months of pregnancy, how do we restore respect for the tiniest among us and care for their mothers? Olasky and Savas provide crucial historical context for this effort, and everyone from the newly minted pro-life student to the battle-worn anti-abortion veteran will glean valuable insight from these pages.”
—Kristan Hawkins, President, Students for Life Action and Students for Life of America

“What an amazing work! Olasky and Savas have made an important contribution on a topic that is both so controversial and also so essential to the understanding of what America has become and what it will be as a nation in the future. Indeed, this book is a reminder that our nation’s abortion history is linked to its destiny, especially if we seek to offer compassion, hope, and help to those at risk for abortion and their vulnerable unborn children.”
—Roland C. Warren, President and CEO, Care Net; author, Raising Sons of Promise: A Guide to Single Mothers of Boys

“Olasky and Savas convey a largely unknown, and as yet unfinished, account of the deep struggle between individual and human rights, worldviews and wickedness. The Story of Abortion in America captures the real and raw nature of the battleground over, and for, the unborn. In these pages you’ll find selfless servants and the profiteering powerful. Just as other great moral issues have stretched and torn the fabric of America, so has abortion. This work should be read by everyone concerned for the soul of America.”
—Jor-El Godsey, President, Heartbeat International

“The Story of Abortion in America is a tour de force providing a chronicle of the history of abortion that is impeccably documented with near-cinematic realism. The facts are compelling, the human beings—including the unborn—are vividly portrayed, and the interpretations are invariably thoughtful. There is enough in this landmark work to upset easy conclusions about abortion across the full spectrum of opinion. Anyone who wrestles with this topic, as Olasky has done for a lifetime and Savas now follows, must grapple with this account on an issue that will not, and must not, go away.”
—Chuck Donovan, President, Charlotte Lozier Institute

“This remarkable and timely book should become the go-to narrative for anyone seeking to understand the tragic history and innumerable human costs of abortion in America. I recommend it enthusiastically.”
—Thomas S. Kidd, Yeats Endowed Chair of Baptist Studies, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

“In this book that is more than just a history of abortion in America, Olasky and Savas have amassed an impressive account through real-life stories of how abortion has impacted everyday people over the centuries. The detailed stories were often tragic and heartbreaking and remind us that, truly, it is everyday people who matter most in the abortion debate. It is astonishing to read how much has changed about abortion over the centuries, but also how much really has not. Those who face unplanned pregnancies and those who seek to help them are the ones who write the real life-and-death stories of abortion and are also the ones who can change the world for the better, one life at a time. This captivating book will certainly help cultivate some of that needed change.”
—Anne O’Connor, Vice President of Legal Affairs, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates

“The Story of Abortion in America is a big story, a momentous story, that extends to the most consequential of human experiences. The story of the past three hundred and seventy years, told here so clearly and deeply sourced, is largely a tragedy; it is up to us to determine what the rest of the story will be.”
—Frederica Mathewes-Green, speaker; author, Real Choices: Listening to Women, Looking for Alternatives to Abortion

“This book is a vital armament in the post-Dobbs fight.”
—National Catholic Register