Abortion: Facts and Feelings-A Handbook for Women and the People Who Care About Them / Edition 1

by Nada L. Stotland MD MPH

Overview

Where do you turn when you are wrestling with a painful decision? You turn to your spouse, trusted friends and relatives, to professionals, to religious advisers. But sometimes you want accurate information and suggestions all in one place, in a form you can use on your own.

The decision to have an abortion is not an easy one, and it is not the right decision for every pregnant woman, even in difficult circumstances. Every situation is different. Women considering abortion range in age from nine to fifty-five years. They are rich and poor; married and unmarried; white, black, brown, yellow, and red; members of every religious group and ethnic origin; heterosexual and homosexual. Some have no one to talk to and others have too many people talking to them. Some are in danger from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.

Abortion: Facts and Feelings is for women who are considering whether to have an abortion, women who have had an abortion and want to do more thinking about it, and relatives, mates, lovers, friends, and health professionals who want to help the women they care for make the best possible choices for themselves. Partners in relationships, families, and friends, and, of course, pregnant women themselves, deserve to have accurate information about this common, but controversial, procedure -- information they can use to make both personal and policy decisions.

This book contains that information. It discusses • The practice of abortion in other times and places, and practical information about how it is practiced now• How to find out about abortion laws where you live, and laws in other places where you might go if necessary• The attitudes of major North American religious groups about abortion, and how to obtain more specific information about the approaches of your religion to your situation• The medical and psychological outcomes of abortion• Alternatives to abortion -- delivering the baby and either caring for it yourself or allowing someone else to provide the parenting• The needs and concerns of women in special circumstances, and of women's loved ones

Most important, it will help you think through and carry out your own decision, whatever it is.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780880487405
Publisher:	American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Publication date:	04/01/1998
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nada L. Stotland, M.D., M.P.H., is Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Obstetrics/Gynecology at Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Stotland has published many articles and several books on women's health, has lectured widely in the United States and other countries, and has appeared on Larry King Live and Oprah. She currently serves as President of the Women's Caucus of the American Psychiatric Association and President-Elect of the Association of Women Psychiatrists.

Table of Contents

Why this book? For Women. Problem pregnancy: approaching a decision. Why do we feel the way we do about abortion?. Facts and figures about abortion, birth, and adoption. State and national abortion laws and regulations. Abortion procedures. Religion, ethics, and values. Making the decision. Making the arrangements. After an abortion. And the People Who Care About Them. Men and abortion. Parents, other relatives, and friends. For the professional counselor. Resource directory. References.

What People are Saying About This

Warren H. Pearse

This book is written by a distinguished psychiatrist and author, with empathy for all women. It is thorough, explaining all ethical, legal, religious, and medical viewpoints.... The book is directed to any woman for whom abortion is a consideration, as well as to men as fathers, to a woman's parents, and to professional counselors. The scope is important, because data tell us that almost 50% of all women in America will have at least one abortion during their lifetimes.... The book is thoroughly referenced from standard scientific sources.... on a topic where information is often deliberately withheld or misstated, this book is a landmark.

Sarah Weddington

Here's a valuable ABC guide to making the personal decision of abortion or to helping someone else who is deciding what to do about an unplanned pregnancy.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Rita H. Kelly, CNM, MS (East Carolina University)
Description: This book provides information about the abortion decision and is divided into two major sections. The first section is directed to the attention of the woman and consists of nine chapters. The second section is directed to the woman's support persons and includes three chapters. Resources, references, and an index complete the contents.
Purpose: The purposes of the book are to help a woman faced with an unwanted pregnancy in her decision to continue to carry or abort her pregnancy and to assist the woman's support persons. This is accomplished by giving dispassionate information factually. Given the enormity of the problem of unwanted pregnancy, this objective is worthy. It meets the author's objectives.
Audience: The intended audience is women considering whether or not to have an abortion, women who have had an abortion and want to know more about it, and their support persons. Chapters and headings can direct the individual in the target audience to the desired information easily. The author is a recognized authority in both psychiatry and women's health.
Features: Of special mention is the Resource Directory, which is balanced between pro-choice and pro-life views and includes mental health and domestic violence resources. There are two sidebars in the chapter on "Making the Decision" that directly address the woman and possible complicating emotions. References are both current and classic, distributed equitably and pertinent to the appropriate subject. The table of contents is easy to read.
Assessment: This is one of the few books on the market that helps a woman in her decision about abortion in a factual manner without neglecting the powerful and often conflicting emotions often accompanying such a decision. This book would also do well in a library reference section or a clinician's reference library of books perhaps loaned to the appropriate client.

Doody's Review Service

[A] comprehensive resource directory of organizations that provide information about the following: general information, financial assistance, informative reading, legal help, racial and ethical help, adoption choices, domestic violence, and mental health... This volume will prepare the reader, whether it is the woman making her choice, the father, the family, friends or the professional counselor, to take the thoughtful approach to unplanned pregnancies.

Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic

Highly recommended for any library. The resource directory would be useful in a reference section although it would also be useful to circulate.

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