Abortion Wars: A Half Century of Struggle, 1950-2000 (review)

342 Rhetoric & Public Affairs and insidious, it remains a favored tactic of the defenders of the status quo to keep blacks outside the centers of power. Through means of surveillance, black women are oppressed under the watchful eyes of the powerful. She may be near the top in her field, but when she rebels against the norms of society, the very fact that she is so highly placed simply makes it that much easier to monitor, discipline, and if need be, make an example of her, as with Anita Hill. Collins calls for resistance to this status quo in the form of a common agenda of self-definition and self-determination for black women. She urges the development of a new social paradigm to arise from black feminist thought. This critical social theory would be a "visionary pragmatism" rooted in the clear understanding of the unique history and perspective of the African American woman. This thinking would demand that black women move from being mere objects of knowledge to become agents of knowledge— the ultimate empowerment. Kimberly S. Adams University of Mississippi Abortion Wars: A Half Century of Struggle, 1950-2000. Edited by Rickie Solinger. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998; pp xvi + 413. $16.95 paper. Abortion Wars is a collection of essays written principally by individuals who have either advocated for women's right to choose or have worked in the pro-choice movement. The purpose of this volume is to place abortion politics in an historical framework. It is the belief of the book's editor, Rickie Solinger, that the abortion controversy has undergone change, especially since it has been legalized. Fundamental terms used in the abortion realm and activism around the issue of abortion rights and choice have altered over time. The historical context allows the contributors to this volume to achieve one of its aims, which is to counteract myths about abortion such as the extent of its existence prior to the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973, the degree to which illegal abortions were performed by "back alley butchers," and the importance of abortion to women other than members of the white middle class. Rickie Solinger defines five themes as being central to the book. The first is that "abortion rights" refers to one of a broad array of entitlements, services, and resources constituting reproductive rights that all women must possess in order to be full members of society. The second is that the erosion of Roe was inevitable primarily because that decision centered on a "privacy" doctrine. That doctrine, these essayists believe, created loopholes that have threatened the rights of many groups of pregnant women. The third theme focuses on the violent struggle that has ensued over abortion in the United States. The struggle has been so protracted and become so violent because of the ways that abortion activates and engages with the most bedeviling cultural and political issues facing this country, i.e., issues of sexism, race, Book Reviews 343 and class. Fourth is the conviction that pro-rights advocates must draw on the movement 's experience since legalization—and before—to set agendas and strategies for the twenty-first century. The final theme that runs through all the essays is that rights advocates and their organizations and constituencies have not lost their taste for the struggle. They are still energized. The book is divided into five parts: Coercion, Resistance, and Liberation before Roe v. Wade; Strategic Arenas; Activism; Physicians and the Politics of Provision; and Abortion Rights over Time. The authors describe both movement activities and theoretical perspectives over the course of the second half of the twentieth century. They defend pro-choice positions and expand our knowledge of groups involved in the movement. Given its historical perspective, however, it is somewhat surprising that none of the contributors to this volume tackle the 1990s battle over "partial birth" abortions. One assumes that this would not be a difficult task. It would also necessitate an evaluation of recent trends in support and opposition to abortion. For a quarter of a century after Roe v. Wade public opinion on abortion was quite stable. (See Public Opinion About Abortion by Everett...