Building a Culture of Life: From Antiquity to Modern Era in the United States
Building a Culture of Life
Building a Culture of Life takes the reader on a journey to understand the complexities that have lead us to the modern era choices on such diverse topics as contraception, abortion, in vitro fertilization, cloning, stem cell research, genetic engineering, euthanasia, and assisted suicide.
Beginning in antiquity, we note that people have both celebrated new babies and killed them, typically because of physical defects or female gender. All manner of toxic substances have also been used to prevent pregnancy and abort an unwanted pregnancy. As unsettling as these practices sound in the modern era, most of the changes over time are one of technology.
In order to understand what follows, the reader is then introduced to eugenics, racism, and genocide, attitudes that degrade respect for life and the dignity of individuals. From there, the lives of Margaret Sanger and Norma McCorvey prepare the reader for an in depth discussion of why women seek abortion and how abortion is publicly funded.
A discussion of prevention and termination of unwanted pregnancies takes us far beyond contraception and abortion. It leads us also to discuss abortion survivors, human sex trafficking, rape, incest, neonaticide, and infanticide.
Modern technology has also offered in vitro fertilization, stem cell research, and genetic engineering; society also discusses human cloning, euthanasia and assisted suicide.
All these topics are treated with a minimum of technical detail so that the impact on respect for the life and dignity of individuals is emphasized while we find a path to the future that preserves both.
In conclusion, there is a discussion of resources available to those women who find themselves in desperate and untenable situations that make them consider abortion as their only option. State controlled community resources, charitable pregnancy resource centers, and healing after such traumas as rape, incest, and abortion give us hope for “building a culture of life.”
–George A. Brooks
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CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
1: The History of Abortion
From Ancient Times to Modern Day in the United States
2: Creating a More Healthy Society
Eugenics, Racism, and Genocide
3: The Life Work of Margaret Sanger
The Rise of Planned Parenthood
4: The Story of Norma McCorvey
Roe v. Wade and the Expansion of Abortion
5: Perspectives on Abortion in the United States
Who Seeks an Abortion and Why, Complications from Abortion, Public Opinion on Abortion
6: Funding Abortion for Family Planning
Medicaid, Title X, the Hyde Amendment, Politics, and Public Policy
7: Unwanted Pregnancy: Prevention and Termination
Abstinence, Contraception, Morning After Pill, Abortion Pills, Aspiration Abortions, Partial Birth Abortions, Late Term Abortions, Abortion Survivors, Human Sex Trafficking, Incest, Rape, Neonaticide, Infanticide
8: Creation and Termination of Life: The Domain of God and Man
In Vitro Fertilization, Stem Cell Research, Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis, Cloning, Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide
9: Building a Culture of Life
The Pro-Life Movement, Alternatives to Abortion, Healing After Abortion, Community Resources, Pregnancy Resource Centers, Legislative Activism
Summary
Appendix A: A Timeline for Contraception and Abortion
Appendix B: Notes for a Novena on Building a Culture of Life