Scarlet A: The Ethics, Law, and Politics of Ordinary Abortion

Although Roe v. Wade identified abortion as a constitutional right forty-five years ago, 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 U.S. 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 f...