Without Apology: Writings on Abortion in Canada

Until the late 1960s, the authorities on abortion were for the most part men—politicians, clergy, lawyers, physicians, all of whom had an interest in regulating women’s bodies. Even today, when we hear women speak publicly about abortion, the voices are usually those of the leaders of women’s and abortion rights organizations, women who hold political office, and, on occasion, female physicians. We also hear quite frequently from spokeswomen for anti-abortion groups. Rarely, however, do we hear the voices of ordinary women—women whose lives have been in some way touched by abortion. Their thoughts typically owe more to human circumstance than to ideology, and without them, we run the risk of thinking and talking about the issue of abortion only in the abstract.

Without Apology seeks to address this issue by gathering the voices of activists, feminists, and scholars as well as abortion providers and clinic support staff alongside the stories of women whose experience with abortion is more personal. With the particular aim of moving beyond the polarizing rhetoric that has characterized the issue of abortion and reproductive justice for so long, Without Apology is an engrossing and arresting account that will promote both reflection and discussion.

With contributions by Aalya Ahmad, Tracey L. Anderson, Jane Cawthorne, Peggy Cooke, Shannon Dea, Carolyn Egan, Linda Gardner, Laura Gillespie, Sterling Haynes, E.K. Hornbeck, Clarissa Hurley, “Dr. James”, H. Bindy K. Kang, Kristen, Natalie Lochwin, Mackenzie, Colleen MacQuarrie, Ruth Miller, Judith Mintz, Erin Mullan, Jen Rinaldi, Sadie Roberts, Martha Solomon, Shannon Stettner, Karen Stote, Nick Van der Graaf, Bernadette Wagner, Laura Wershler, Shannon West, Ellen Wiebe, and Jess Woolford.

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Without Apology: Writings on Abortion in Canada

Until the late 1960s, the authorities on abortion were for the most part men—politicians, clergy, lawyers, physicians, all of whom had an interest in regulating women’s bodies. Even today, when we hear women speak publicly about abortion, the voices are usually those of the leaders of women’s and abortion rights organizations, women who hold political office, and, on occasion, female physicians. We also hear quite frequently from spokeswomen for anti-abortion groups. Rarely, however, do we hear the voices of ordinary women—women whose lives have been in some way touched by abortion. Their thoughts typically owe more to human circumstance than to ideology, and without them, we run the risk of thinking and talking about the issue of abortion only in the abstract.

Without Apology seeks to address this issue by gathering the voices of activists, feminists, and scholars as well as abortion providers and clinic support staff alongside the stories of women whose experience with abortion is more personal. With the particular aim of moving beyond the polarizing rhetoric that has characterized the issue of abortion and reproductive justice for so long, Without Apology is an engrossing and arresting account that will promote both reflection and discussion.

With contributions by Aalya Ahmad, Tracey L. Anderson, Jane Cawthorne, Peggy Cooke, Shannon Dea, Carolyn Egan, Linda Gardner, Laura Gillespie, Sterling Haynes, E.K. Hornbeck, Clarissa Hurley, “Dr. James”, H. Bindy K. Kang, Kristen, Natalie Lochwin, Mackenzie, Colleen MacQuarrie, Ruth Miller, Judith Mintz, Erin Mullan, Jen Rinaldi, Sadie Roberts, Martha Solomon, Shannon Stettner, Karen Stote, Nick Van der Graaf, Bernadette Wagner, Laura Wershler, Shannon West, Ellen Wiebe, and Jess Woolford.

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Without Apology: Writings on Abortion in Canada

Without Apology: Writings on Abortion in Canada

by Shannon Stettner (Editor)
Without Apology: Writings on Abortion in Canada

Without Apology: Writings on Abortion in Canada

by Shannon Stettner (Editor)

eBook

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Overview

Until the late 1960s, the authorities on abortion were for the most part men—politicians, clergy, lawyers, physicians, all of whom had an interest in regulating women’s bodies. Even today, when we hear women speak publicly about abortion, the voices are usually those of the leaders of women’s and abortion rights organizations, women who hold political office, and, on occasion, female physicians. We also hear quite frequently from spokeswomen for anti-abortion groups. Rarely, however, do we hear the voices of ordinary women—women whose lives have been in some way touched by abortion. Their thoughts typically owe more to human circumstance than to ideology, and without them, we run the risk of thinking and talking about the issue of abortion only in the abstract.

Without Apology seeks to address this issue by gathering the voices of activists, feminists, and scholars as well as abortion providers and clinic support staff alongside the stories of women whose experience with abortion is more personal. With the particular aim of moving beyond the polarizing rhetoric that has characterized the issue of abortion and reproductive justice for so long, Without Apology is an engrossing and arresting account that will promote both reflection and discussion.

With contributions by Aalya Ahmad, Tracey L. Anderson, Jane Cawthorne, Peggy Cooke, Shannon Dea, Carolyn Egan, Linda Gardner, Laura Gillespie, Sterling Haynes, E.K. Hornbeck, Clarissa Hurley, “Dr. James”, H. Bindy K. Kang, Kristen, Natalie Lochwin, Mackenzie, Colleen MacQuarrie, Ruth Miller, Judith Mintz, Erin Mullan, Jen Rinaldi, Sadie Roberts, Martha Solomon, Shannon Stettner, Karen Stote, Nick Van der Graaf, Bernadette Wagner, Laura Wershler, Shannon West, Ellen Wiebe, and Jess Woolford.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781771991612
Publisher: Athabasca University Press
Publication date: 09/08/2016
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 366
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

Shannon Stettner is a post-doctoral visitor in the Department of Political Science at York University and teaches in the Department of Women’s Studies at the University of Waterloo. She is the co-founder of the Reproductive Activism and Abortion Research Network.
Shannon Stettner teaches in the Department of Women’s Studies at the University of Waterloo. She is the co-founder of the Reproductive Activism and Abortion Research Network.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Without Apology: An Introduction / Shannon Stettner
A Brief History of Abortion in Canada / Shannon Stettner

PART I. Speaking from Experience
An Abortion Palimpsest: Writing the Hidden Stories of Our Bodies / Judith Mintz
T.A. / Clarissa Hurley
But I Kept All These Things, and Pondered Them in My Heart / Jess Woolford
Keep It Small / E.K. Hornbeck
A Bad Law and a Bold Woman / Bernadette Wagner
A Lonely Ride / Kristen
[untitled] / Mackenzie

PART II. Abortion Rights Activism
Reproductive Freedom: The Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics and the Campaign to Overturn the Federal Abortion Law / Carolyn Egan and Linda Gardner
Handmaids on the Hill: Defending Our Rights One Womb at a Time / Aalya Ahmad and the Radical Handmaids
Breaking the Silence Through Portrait and Story: Arts4Choice / Martha Solomon
“We Can Get There Faster If We All Move Together”: The Birth and Evolution of a Reproductive Justice Activist / Colleen MacQuarrie
Waves of Change in Prince Edward Island: Opening the Dialogue on Abortion Access / Sadie Roberts

PART III. Challenging Opposing Positions
Blinded by the Right: My Past as an Anti-abortion Activist / Natalie Lochwin
One Life Change Leads to Another: My Evolving View of Abortion / Tracey L. Anderson
Pro-Choice for God’s Sake / Shannon West
Pro-choice with No “Buts”: Three Commentaries / Laura Wershler
Enriching the Reproductive Justice Lexicon: A Case for the Label Pro-abortion / Laura Gillespie
Same as It Ever Was: Anti-Choice Extremism and the “Third Way” / Jane Cawthorne
Women over Ideology / Nick Van der Graaf

PART IV. Practitioners and Clinic Support
Dissolving Fear, Fostering Trust: Lessons from Life in Abortion Care / Peggy Cooke
“Do you think I will go to hell for this?” / Ruth Miller
Countering Shame with Compassion: The Role of the Abortion Counsellor / Erin Mullan
Women Judging Women: Whose Reasons Are “Good Enough”? Whose Choice Is OK? / Ellen Wiebe
Therapeutic Abortion: A Nonnegotiable Women’s Right / Sterling Haynes
On Becoming an Abortion Provider: An Interview / Shannon Stettner and “Dr. James”

PART V. Sites of Struggle
The Myth of Reproductive Choice: A Call for Radical Change / Karen Stote
Sex-Selective Abortion and the Politics of Race in Multicultural Canada / H. Bindy K. Kang
The Public Pregnancy: How the Fetal Debut and the Public Health Paradigm Affect Pregnancy Practice / Jen Rinaldi
A Harm-Reduction Approach to Abortion / Shannon Dea

The Unfinished Revolution / Shannon Stettner

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