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Scarlet a
Scarlet a: The Ethics, Law, and Politics of Ordinary Abortion | Katie Watson
3 posts | 1 read | 1 reading | 5 to read
Although Roe v. Wade identified abortion as a constitutional right over 40 years ago, it bears stigma - a proverbial scarlet A- in the United States. Millions participate in or benefit from an abortion, but few want to reveal that they have done so. Approximately one in five pregnancies in theUS 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, or loved one to loved one? This book explores the personal stigma that prevents many fromsharing their abortion experiences with friends and family in private conversation, and the structural stigma that keeps it that way. It argues persuasively that America would benefit from working to reverse such stigma, providing readers with tools that may help them model ways of doing so.Our silence around private experience with abortion has distorted our public discourse. Both proponents and opponents of abortion's legality tend to focus on the extraordinary cases. This tendency keeps the public discourse polarized and contentious, and keeps the focus on the cases that occur theleast. Katie Watson focuses instead on the remaining 95% of abortion cases. The book gives the reflective reader a more accurate impression of what the majority of American abortion practice really looks like. It explains why this public/private disjuncture exists, what it costs us, and what can begained by including ordinary abortion in public debate. As Scarlet A explains, abortion has been a constitutional right for nearly 45 years, and it should remain one. What we need now are productive conversations about abortion ethics: how could or should people decide whether to exercise this right? Watson paints a rich, rarely seen picture of howpatients and doctors currently think and act, and ultimately invites readers to draw their own conclusions.
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ManyWordsLater
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Time to listen and learn.

From nytimes

Karons1 Really don‘t understand the debate being British we have a totally different view that a woman‘s body is a woman‘s body and hers to choose as she wishes not a church not a religion not a third party 🫤 2y
Bookwomble @Karons1 Apart from Northern Ireland where, although abortion was decriminalised in 2019, there is almost no provision for people to get a safe abortion 😕 2y
Karons1 Is that so ? My friend is from Belfast and did get a safe nhs abortion a few years ago so I‘m not sure that‘s strictly true. But hey always a lot of propaganda about abortion and always in a highly religious environment. Catholic Church has always been anti abortion but now with all the proof of child abuse & sexual assault they haven‘t a leg to stand on ! 2y
ManyWordsLater Apparently, the question is: Is a female‘s bodily autonomy guaranteed in the constitution? (edited) 2y
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AcademicHustler
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“Advances in medicine‘s ability to alter nature‘s path regularly raise contentious questions. Our creation of technology like ventilators forces us to confront questions about when life ends, and our creation of safe abortion forces us to confront questions about when life begins.”

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Hooked_on_books
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Scarlet A is a book from a bioethicist and lawyer about the various complexities of the abortion discussion that are often left out. She advocates a change in the current conversation to encompass all these aspects. It‘s interesting and informative. I‘m staunchly pro-choice and she clearly is as well, but while she provides discussions of all aspects of this issue, I‘m not sure those who object to abortion access will be swayed. I hope I‘m wrong.

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