Abortion and the Christian Tradition - by Margaret D Kamitsuka (Paperback)

About the Book

Abortion remains the most contested political issue in American life. Poll results have remained surprisingly constant over the years, with roughly equal numbers supporting and opposing it. A common perception is that abortion is contrary to Christian teaching and values. While some have challenged that perception, few have attempted a...

Book Synopsis

Abortion remains the most contested political issue in American life. Poll results have remained surprisingly constant over the years, with roughly equal numbers supporting and opposing it. A common perception is that abortion is contrary to Christian teaching and values. While some have challenged that perception, few have attempted a comprehensive critique and constructive counterargument on Christian ethical and theological grounds.Margaret Kamitsuka begins with a careful examination of the churchs biblical and historical record, refuting the assumption that Christianity has always condemned abortion or that it considered personhood as beginning at the moment of conception. She then offers carefully crafted ethical arguments about the pregnant womans authority to make reproductive decisions and builds a theological rationale for seeing abortion as something other than a sin.

Review Quotes

"This book accomplishes many things, but its fundamental significance lies in who it includes: women. Within its pages are the voices of pro-life and pro-choice scholars, many of them women; feminist and womanist ethicists, medieval mystics; May, mother God; and vitally, Christian women who have had abortions." -Theology and Sexuality

-- "Theology and Sexuality"

"Throughout the book, Kamitsuka offers a constructive, compassionate third way that fully respects the moral agency of women. I recommend this book to readers who want to dig deeply into the philosophical, doctrinal and theological discussion of women's reproductive decisions and come out with a robust theoretical framework for affirming women and supporting their moral authority."
--Presbyterian Outlook

-- "The Presbyterian Outlook"

"This book bravely charts new territory for contemplating the complexity of questions at the heart of reproductive justice." - Women in Theology

-- "Women in Theology"