The Politics of Abortion

Andrea Levan is Co-ordinator of Women’s Studies at Laurentian
University.

This book provides an excellent overview of the events central to the
abortion issue in Canada in the last three decades. In addition, by
focusing on the ways in which meanings have changed as competing
interests have defined the problem, it provides an incisive analysis of
the common arguments on both sides of the debate.

The book consists of four chapters—a brief introduction followed by
essays from each of the three authors. Jane Jenson’s chapter traces
the events surrounding the reform of the abortion law in 1969 and the
subsequent events leading to the Supreme Court decision that struck down
the law. Jenson illustrates how different discourses have competed to
shape public understanding of the issue. The discourse of
medicalization, which saw abortion primarily as a medical rather than a
moral problem, had the most influence in the shaping of the 1969 law. As
feminist and pro-life discourses evolved to challenge this view, the law
came increasingly under attack.

The incompatibility of these various meanings was illustrated
dramatically by the government’s attempt, examined by Janine Brodie,
to devise a new law after the Morgenthaler decision. Brodie
systematically analyzes the arguments raised by each side and the
accompanying public events that gave urgency to the debate, which
ultimately ended in a stalemate.

Shelley Gavigan’s chapter discusses the extent to which the law is
the best vehicle to serve feminists in issues of reproductive rights.
She argues that while legal decisions have, for the most part, been more
favorable to feminist than to pro-life interests, the pro-life movement
has made significant gains in the struggle for meaning in the public
forum. Apparent legal victories have not guaranteed that women will have
access to abortion, or that the issue will be understood from a feminist
perspective.

This book is recommended to anyone wanting a greater understanding of
the changes in abortion law in Canada. It provides not only a detailed
record of the historical events that shaped the law and public opinion
on the abortion issue but also a framework for understanding the context
of arguments used on both sides of the debate.