Lawrence Lader spent a lifetime on the pro-contraception and pro-choice barricades in the American women's reproductive rights movement. Indeed, he was co-founder of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League). One would therefore expect this writer to produce a shrilly biased account of the story that chronicles the women's movement to provide constitutional control over their own bodies. This was carried out against formidable resistance from the powerful political lobbying efforts of the Catholic Church and their Christian, Jewish and Islamic cohorts.

Having myself spent a lifetime in medical research to improve family plannning, had I written an account of its history perhaps the injustices and hypocrasy which I witnessed by those who would assume moral authority over all of humanity would have certainly made my writings biased. Yet Lader gives a rather balanced overview, trying to exercise respect for the position of his enemies; those calling themselves pro-life or putting the Pro-Life brand name on it.

From the early struggles of daring to place contraceptives into the hands of needy young people through the development of the safe abortion pill in France, Lader simply delivers factual accounts of its scientific, medical and political history. Of course, he doesn't fail to neglect the wicked political hippocrasy of the Republican Party who begin by first rallying around Richard Nixon's national and global agendas of promoting widespread family planning as part of his national security program for the 1970s. Exposaed here are two of Nixon's staunchest family planning supporters: Governor Ronald Reagan of California (liberalizer of his state's restrictive abortion laws) and Congressman George W. Bush of Texas, the point man for global contraception and abortion. Gleaning support for his presidential campaign from American Catholics and their allies for putting a stop to Nixon's efforts, Jimmy Carter begins cashing in on the anti-abortion movement. They get the message, and pretty soon Reagan and Bush do a 180-degree moral reversal so that the White House can become theirs. [Is any creature lower than politicans?]

In the end, French scientists led by Georges Teutsch and Emile Etienne Baulieu trying to produce a new treatment for overactive adrenal glands accidently stumble on the first safe drug for induction of first trimester abortion: RU-486. Lader carefully chronicles the medical and political developments accompanying this new drug. Against enormous odds, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Gore fulfill their 1992 campaign pledges of making RU-486 available to American women.

To gain insight into a very significant history of the emergance of women's reproductive rights in the 20th century this book is an indispensible sourcebook for educating the enlightened reader.

I picked up this little book at a used book sale and it is surprisingly interesting reading for the medical layperson. Chapter six concentrates upon the after-effect of female sterilization on a woman's physical and mental health, sex life, and marital relationship, based on studies which predate the recent CDC study (of thousands of women, over many years). Not dry reading, but includes some short case studies. It is funny how even the framing of the particular questions can reflect the status of women at the time. And it took 5 or 6 children before a woman was considered by common medical authority to have fulfilled her duty as a mother. The notion that women might want to chart their own reproductive destiny is overlooked or mentioned apologetically in this selection of essays. I think we have advanced a great deal towards the ideal of informed consent since the 1970s. Will make great reading for those interested in the history of reproductive medicine, as it relates to women's health, especially the topic of voluntary surgical sterilization.