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Author Williams, Daniel K., author.

Title Defenders of the unborn : the pro-life movement before Roe v. Wade / Daniel K. Williams.

Publication Info. New York : Oxford University Press, [2016]

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Avon Free Public Library - Adult Department  363.46 WILLIAMS    Check Shelf
 Berlin-Peck Memorial Library - Non Fiction  363.46 WILLIAMS    DUE 04-06-24
 Manchester, Main Library - Non Fiction  363.4609 WILLIAMS    Check Shelf
 Newington, Lucy Robbins Welles Library - Adult Department  362.1988 WILLIAMS    Check Shelf
 West Hartford, Noah Webster Library - Non Fiction  362.1988 WILLIAMS    Check Shelf
Description xiv, 365 pages, 15 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [269]-337) and index.
Summary "On April 16, 1972, ten thousand people gathered in Central Park to protest New York's liberal abortion law. Emotions ran high, reflecting the nation's extreme polarization over abortion. Yet the divisions did not fall neatly along partisan or religious lines-the assembled protesters were far from a bunch of fire-breathing culture warriors. In Defenders of the Unborn, Daniel K. Williams reveals the hidden history of the pro-life movement in America, showing that a cause that many see as reactionary and anti-feminist began as a liberal crusade for human rights. For decades, the media portrayed the pro-life movement as a Catholic cause, but by the time of the Central Park rally, that stereotype was already hopelessly outdated. The kinds of people in attendance at pro-life rallies ranged from white Protestant physicians, to young mothers, to African American Democratic legislators-even the occasional member of Planned Parenthood. One of New York City's most vocal pro-life advocates was a liberal Lutheran minister who was best known for his civil rights activism and his protests against the Vietnam War. The language with which pro-lifers championed their cause was not that of conservative Catholic theology, infused with attacks on contraception and women's sexual freedom. Rather, they saw themselves as civil rights crusaders, defending the inalienable right to life of a defenseless minority: the unborn fetus. It was because of this grounding in human rights, Williams argues, that the right-to-life movement gained such momentum in the early 1960s. Indeed, pro-lifers were winning the battle before Roe v. Wade changed the course of history. Through a deep investigation of previously untapped archives, Williams presents the untold story of New Deal-era liberals who forged alliances with a diverse array of activists, Republican and Democrat alike, to fight for what they saw as a human rights cause. Provocative and insightful, Defenders of the Unborn is a must-read for anyone who craves a deeper understanding of a highly-charged issue"--Provided by publisher.
"Abortion is the most divisive issue in America's culture wars, seemingly creating a clear division between conservative members of the Religious Right and people who align themselves with socially and politically liberal causes. In Defenders of the Unborn, historian Daniel K. Williams complicates the history of abortion debates in the United States by offering a detailed, engagingly written narrative of the pro-life movement's mid-twentieth-century origins. He explains that the movement began long before Roe v. Wade, and traces its fifty-year history to explain how and why abortion politics have continued to polarize the nation up to the present day"--Provided by publisher.
Contents Introduction -- Chapter 1: A Clash of Values -- Chapter 2: The Political Fight Begins -- Chapter 3: Initial Losses -- Chapter 4: National Right to Life -- Chapter 5: "Abortion on Demand" -- Chapter 6: A New Image -- Chapter 7: Progressive Politics -- Chapter 8: National Battle -- Chapter 9: After Roe -- Epilogue.
Subject Pro-life movement -- United States -- History.
Abortion -- Moral and ethical aspects -- United States -- History.
Abortion -- Government policy -- United States -- History.
Abortion -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.
HISTORY / United States / 20th Century.
RELIGION / Christian Life / Women's Issues.
RELIGION / Christian Life / Social Issues.
Abortion -- Government policy. (OCoLC)fst00794593
Abortion -- Moral and ethical aspects. (OCoLC)fst00794606
Abortion -- Religious aspects -- Christianity. (OCoLC)fst00794623
Pro-life movement. (OCoLC)fst01077725
United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
Genre/Form History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
ISBN 9780199391646 (hardcover)
0199391645 (hardcover)
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