In my effort to see both sides of an issue and to better understand the other point of view. I am pro life. This point of view did not change my mind but it did confirm the hypocrisy of the pro-choice movement.

Some of the points is a better life. A better life for the poor, the oppressed and it is giving women a choice. Do you see the hypocrisy. If we do not value the youngest of life, how can we value of that mother that has to make that choice to abort her baby? I have discussed on social media which always solves the world problems (sarcasm) with a young man who is married as a young child who argued the point of pro choice. His reasoning. I do not know this baby, this baby is not a viable living being. His remarks struck me as they were made during the Sandy Hook shootings. A young man who killed students he did not know. If that is our reasoning for abortion, how can we say we value life.

Another point is what is not made in this book. The emotional health of women who choose to abort. This omission says more than anything that the book said.

The author was adamant that she did not believe abortion should be a form of birth control. Good luck with that and easing your own conscience.

There are no easy answers for this as our world is broken. The only answer I have is Jesus. Does it meet my needs, no but it does give me hope. A hope that there is more to life than bread to eat and clothes to wear. That people matter, starting with the most vulnerable.

A Special Thank you to Westminster John Knox Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

This is a good book that all Christians should read. It disproves the argument that one must be pro-life in order to be a Christian. She argues that you can still be pro-choice and still be a Christian no matter what the conservative Christians say. She uses verses from the Bible to prove her viewpoint and also points out that most of the so called pro-life supporters are in reality actually pro-birth since they do not support any of the social program that parents can use to help raise their children especially if they have more children than they can afford. She reassures those who may want to keep abortion legal that they could still call themselves a Christian. I would recommend this book for those who have different viewpoints on the abortion issue and who are Christians.

An interesting take on being pro-choice - from a perspective of faith.

The history of abortion is pretty complicated, though current opinions about women in many fundamentalist and evangelical churches seem to be handed down by the church fathers.

Augustine wrote in the 5th century, “I fail to see what use woman can be to man, if one excludes the function of bearing children.”

In the 2nd or 3rd Century, Tertullian wrote, “Woman is a temple built over a sewer,” and said that women are the gate to hell.

Good grief.

It’s obvious that we start from a perspective of misogyny.

But the author does a fantastic job of painting the diversity of opinions on the subject.

The author notes what most people fail to realize:

<i>Christians who are in favor of legal access to safe abortions are rarely pro-abortion and do not consider the termination of a pregnancy a decision to be entered into lightly.</i>

Actually, this is even true of most people who don’t identify as Christian, but are pro-choice.

I think this quote really shows some people’s hypocrisy:

<i>Joan Chittister, a Catholic nun, has said, I do not believe that just because you’re opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would i think that you don’t? Because you don’t want any tax money to go there. That’s not pro-life. That’s pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is.</i>

But this author gives a very thoughtful faith-based argument for being pro-choice.

She doesn’t say it this way, but she gives a decent argument that blatantly anti-abortion stances are truly anti-woman and anti-family.

There were way too many quotes that I highlighted to put them all in here. Take a look at this book. Read it with an open mind and an open heart.

It’s an excellent resource and an excellent read.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Westminster John Knox Press for a copy in return for an honest review.</i>

Poorly reasoned and, as a result, not a sound or even decent argument.

Good book to help Christians understand that everything isn't black & white. I doubt the far right will care for this book, but those who secretly think pro-choice has its place, will appreciate the points made and not feel so alone in their opinion. The book starts a bit slow, but eventually makes a strong case for people to really look at the issue, the person and their specific situation, versus the politics or Pro-life/Pro-choice lingo. If only everyone could be so thoughtful, realistic about how life really works and more open to understanding the reasons behind the "pro-choice" mindset, abortions might actually go down even more. Highly recommend to Christians who aren't sold on an all or none "solution" but who actually want to think through the why and how to change things.

I was excited for this book! It was a book for me! I wasn't alone! There were other Christians like me!
There are parts of the book I really respected: especially the research on how churches and other religious groups view the abortion topic. There is some basic history, but it wasn't very deep and rather one sides. But at the same time I felt better knowing someone else was "pro-life" as I see it: life is more than just pro-birth. Kira Schlesinger perfectly voice that some of us may not choose abortion on a personal level but we support women's right not to have the government control her body and understand that her health is of utmost importance (no more women dying from shoddy or illegal abortions!).
In the end I was a little disappointed; the book didn't delve deep enough. While there is a chapter on what te Bible does and doesn't ya in regards to abortion, it doesn't look deeply enough into the commandment of though shall not murder and it's limitations nor did she use Bible passage to support her own idea of Jesus and how her views are supported. While I have the same ideals of Jesus, if you don't fight Bible verse with Bible verse, you will never give the quoters the material they need to see the other side. The book is also rather short leaving me starving for an actual conclusion to the ideas proposed with in the covers.
Schlesinger's book is a great start for the conversations of pro-choice Christians but it should not be consider the definitive work on the subject.

In a perfect, ideal world, there would be no reason for a woman to have to choose abortion. But that’s not the world we have. We have a world in which women and girls are raped, where economic realities make raising a child difficult or impossible, where healthcare and health of the mother and/or baby raise difficult questions, and where politics that claim to be “pro-life” are anything but.

Kira Schlesinger argues that in a society that values both liberty and life, it must then value a woman’s right to reproductive health and choice. She argues that the most consistent Christian ethic to life is not to narrowly view biological life as the end, but to look at what “abundant life” means to the mother, the child, the family, and society as a whole. She argues that “pro-choice” is the most consistent with a holistic view of being “pro-life” that must live in the tension of imperfect conditions and less-than-ideal choices that must be made.

Schlesinger approaches the topic with a quick survey of the history of abortion and reproductive choice, from the pre-Christian era up to the present time. She offers how Christianity has looked at the topic and what the Bible offers on the subject. The Bible is consistently “pro-life” but what that means in application is far from clear for any specific case. Schlesinger criticizes the “pro-life” label by showing how it is actually “pro-birth” and “anti-abortion” but hardly ever “pro-life” in a meaningful way.

Schlesinger suggests that we stop using these labels, because they only serve to stereotype and divide. She writes that no one (except for a few on the fringe) are “pro-abortion” and that nearly all who oppose abortion do concede circumstances when that may be the most appropriate and ethical option. She suggests that groups find common ground in promoting life: not just biological life at birth, but the full continuum — motherhood, reproductive healthcare, contraception, raising children, family support, etc. She offers that by strengthening social policies and norms that support life across all phases, the need for abortion will naturally reduce. (She cites the ACA offering contraception services as one data point offering evidence for this reduction.)

This book is for those who want to find common ground and move toward a better and more consistent pro-life ethic. It is clearly written from a pro-choice (but not pro-abortion) perspective. I believe it offers good reasons why a person can and should be both pro-life and pro-choice.

(This review based on ARC supplied by the publisher through NetGalley.)

Kira Schlesinger tackles a highly divisive topic with great sensitivity and grace. In Pro-Choice and Christian, Schlesinger examines the history of the pro-life / pro-choice divide. She also examines the medical and sociological aspects of the debate. She also walks through Bible passages that are commonly referenced in the abortion debate. In particular, a couple verses was convicted to do more study on. In all, this is a very well-rounded discussion of the topic. She gives voice to both 'sides' of the issue, while also pointing out that the chasm should not be so great. I thought this was a well written and thoughtfully presented discussion of this highly controversial topic. I would love to put this book in the hands of certain folks in hopes of sparking meaningful discussion. Unfortunately, I'm sure many of the people who should read this book will not.