The Ne Politics of Abortion [Paperback]

The New Politics of Abortion compares the reactions of eight Western political systems to demands for abortion legislation. The abortion issue is not easily integrated into party doctrines and consequently has been marginalized except where effective pressure groups have intervened. Examining the experience of Europe and the US in the last two decades, the contributors draw the surprising conclusion that the effect of abortion legislation has in many respects been minimal. The availability of abortion is ultimately dependent less on the law than on the existence of good medical facilities.The New Politics of Abortion compares the reactions of eight Western political systems to demands for abortion legislation. The abortion issue is not easily integrated into party doctrines and consequently has been marginalized except where effective pressure groups have intervened. Examining the experience of Europe and the US in the last two decades, the contributors draw the surprising conclusion that the effect of abortion legislation has in many respects been minimal. The availability of abortion is ultimately dependent less on the law than on the existence of good medical facilities.`Unlike many edited collections, the contributions build on each other, with introductory and closing chapters welding the book into a coherent and integrated whole...(it is ) an excellent collection of case studies.' -- The Times Higher Education Supplement, 13.4.87

`The high quality of all the essays and their successful integration of conceptual and historical or empirical analysis makes this book an admirable text for policy analysts and comparative political scientists as well as for those solely interested in abortion itself.' -- West European Politics

`a lucid and interesting analysis of the varying experiences of eight communities --