Winner of the NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public LanguageAlthough Roe v. Wade identified abortion as a constitutional right in1973, it still bears stigma--a proverbial scarlet A. Millions of Americans have participated in or benefited from an abortion, but few want to reveal that they have done so. Approximately one in five pregnancies in the US ends in abortion.
Why is something so common, which has been legal so long, still a source of shame and secrecy? Why is it so regularly debated by politicians, and so seldom divulged from friend to friend? This book explores the personal stigma
that prevents many from sharing their abortion experiences with friends and family in private conversation, and the structural stigma that keeps it that way. In public discussion, both proponents and opponents of abortion's legality tend to focus on extraordinary cases. This tendency keeps the national debate polarized and contentious, and keeps our focus on the cases that occur the least. Professor Katie Watson focuses instead on the cases that happen the most, which she
calls "ordinary abortion." Scarlet A gives the reflective reader a more accurate impression of what the majority of American abortion practice really looks like. It explains how our silence around
private experience has distorted public opinion, and how including both ordinary abortion and abortion ethics could make our public exchanges more fruitful.In Scarlet A, Watson wisely and respectfully navigates one of the most divisive topics in contemporary life. This book explains the law of abortion, challenges the toxic politics that make it a public football and private secret, offers tools for more productive private exchanges, and leads the way to a more
robust public discussion of abortion ethics. Scarlet A combines storytelling and statistics to bring the story of ordinary abortion out of the shadows, painting a rich, rarely seen picture of how patients and
doctors currently think and act, and ultimately inviting readers to tell their own stories and draw their own conclusions.The paperback edition includes a new preface by the author addressing new cultural developments in abortion discourse and new legal threats to reproductive rights, and updated statistics throughout.
Winner of the NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public LanguageAlthough Roe v. Wade identified abortion as a constitutional right in1973, it still bears stigma--a proverbial scarlet A. Millions of Americans have participated in or benefited from an abortion, but few want to reveal that they have done so. Approximately one in five pregnancies in the US ends in abortion.
Why is something so common, which has been legal so long, still a source of shame and secrecy? Why is it so regularly debated by politicians, and so seldom divulged from friend to friend? This book explores the personal stigma
that prevents many from sharing their abortion experiences with friends and family in private conversation, and the structural stigma that keeps it that way. In public discussion, both proponents and opponents of abortion's legality tend to focus on extraordinary cases. This tendency keeps the national debate polarized and contentious, and keeps our focus on the cases that occur the least. Professor Katie Watson focuses instead on the cases that happen the most, which she
calls "ordinary abortion." Scarlet A gives the reflective reader a more accurate impression of what the majority of American abortion practice really looks like. It explains how our silence around
private experience has distorted public opinion, and how including both ordinary abortion and abortion ethics could make our public exchanges more fruitful.In Scarlet A, Watson wisely and respectfully navigates one of the most divisive topics in contemporary life. This book explains the law of abortion, challenges the toxic politics that make it a public football and private secret, offers tools for more productive private exchanges, and leads the way to a more
robust public discussion of abortion ethics. Scarlet A combines storytelling and statistics to bring the story of ordinary abortion out of the shadows, painting a rich, rarely seen picture of how patients and
doctors currently think and act, and ultimately inviting readers to tell their own stories and draw their own conclusions.The paperback edition includes a new preface by the author addressing new cultural developments in abortion discourse and new legal threats to reproductive rights, and updated statistics throughout.
Preface to the Second Edition
Introduction
A Note on Terminology
Pseudonyms
1. Ordinary Abortion: Common and Clandestine
2. Abortion Storytelling: Law, Masterplots, and Counter-
Narratives
3. Abortion Conversation: Mapping a Minefield
4. Abortion Ethics I: Whether
5. Abortion Ethics II: When
6. Abortion Politics: Trojan Horses, Russian Dolls, and
Realpolitik
Epilogue
Katie Watson is an award-winning Associate Professor of Medical
Social Sciences, Medical Education, and Obstetrics & Gynecology at
Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, where she
has taught bioethics, medical humanities, and constitutional law to
medical students and masters students for fifteen years. Professor
Watson is also a lawyer who began her career clerking in the
federal judiciary and practicing public interest
law, and in 2017-2018 she worked part-time as Senior Counsel to the
Women's and Reproductive Rights Project of the ACLU of Illinois.
Professor Watson has been a Board member of the American Society
for Bioethics and Humanities,
and she is currently on the Board of the National Abortion
Federation, and a Bioethics Advisor to and Member of the National
Medical Council of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
"The role this book plays in bringing ordinary abortion to the
fore, telling its story and casting the spotlight on its many
beneficiaries, is invaluable to anyone involved in or looking to
join the debate about abortion in the 21st century." -- Kennedy
Institute of Ethics Journal
"In this brilliant new book, Watson draws on legal proceedings,
bioethics literature, and personal experience; offers cultural and
literary analysis; and uses her unique vantage point as a lawyer,
bioethicist, and medical educator to develop a thought-provoking
and thoroughly fresh perspective on one of the most divisive moral
issues of our time." --Mara Buchbinder, Hastings Center Report
"[E]xcellent ... Watson has a gift for explaining complex arguments
in a simple, easy to understand manner. ... Watson's book is an
important contribution to the growing literature on abortion stigma
and the moral case for abortion, and its accessible language will
make it an excellent text for classrooms and book clubs. Watson's
writing style is personal and engaging, making the book a pleasure
to read. The ideas it contains are complex and subtle, but the
writing is direct and honest." -- Anu Kumar, Conscience
"As a guide to the various ways of thinking about abortion,
"Scarlet A" is readable and respectful - and therefore, in its own
quiet way, revolutionary." --New York Times
"The book is a thoughtful and engaging consideration of one of this
country's most controversial words: abortion." --The Chicago
Tribune
"In this refreshingly accessible book Katie Watson, invites readers
to a conversation about 'ordinary abortion'-that is, the vast
majority of abortions that take place in the U.S. With immense
intelligence and sensitivity, and considerable wit, Watson offers
new ways to think about this complex issue, and, importantly, urges
readers to continue this conversation with their neighbors and
friends."-- Carole Joffe, University of California, San
Francisco
"Watson provides an important perspective of abortion that isn't
regularly shared -- that of a 'routine' and commonly performed
procedure. She deftly explores why women often have this procedure
and yet don't speak of it openly. The more perspectives we explore
and the more we open our minds to various ways of looking at this
topic the more readily we can come to a meaningful understanding. I
would encourage anyone -- regardless of their current view of
abortion -- to read this book."-- Louise P. King Harvard Center for
Bioethics
"At last, a new, important, and powerful effort to improve the
national abortion debate: in this book, bioethicist and lawyer
Katie Watson initiates a rich conversation about the morality of
ordinary legal abortion in the context of unwanted pregnancy. This
illuminating book builds on the narratives and vocabulary of
women's lived experience in deciding about abortion. It will
captivate anyone willing to attend to the complexity and ambiguity
of such
decisions." -- James F. Childress, University Professor Emeritus,
University of Virginia
"Katie Watson is not afraid to acknowledge the moral complexities
of abortion, even as she affirms the legal right to access it. Her
writing is lively and clear, but she never underestimates readers'
ability to engage in serious moral thinking. Watson will make you
think about abortion in new, unforgettable ways." -- Lisa H.
Harris, University of Michigan
"Scarlet A is written in a clear, engaging, and accessible style.
While it was written and marketed with a general audience in mind,
bioethics students and scholars alike will find much to appreciate.
Watson's interdisciplinary approach makes for an interesting
and
novel perspective. The emphasis on ordinary abortion is a
particularly important innovation for bioethics, which has all too
often focused on extraordinary cases. Watson ends the book with a
simple charge to her readers: 'Let's keep talking.' I have no doubt
that this important
book will inspire readers to do just that." --Mara Buchbinder,
Hastings Center Report
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