Abortion: A Reader (Pilgrim Library of Ethics)

This volume in the Pilgrim Library of Ethics series gathers signal essays from Christianity (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant), Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Part Four offers assessments of abortion from justice, legal, and public policy perspectives.

No moral topic has been as divisive in our times as abortion, and the controversy is largely due to intense opposition from those of strong religious conviction. Abortion: A Reader brings together influential articles across the spectrum of religious and moral convictions in an effort to present the complexity of the topic that is often lost in the black and white of political debate. Authors include Pope Paul VI, the anonymously self-proclaimed Pensacola Clinic bomber, and Sarah Weddington (the attorney who argued Roe v. Wade). In addition to a number of selections representing various Catholic and Protestant perspectives, several pieces also represent refreshing views from Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Absorbing the rational, calmly worded arguments away from the invectives of heated debate allows the reader an opportunity for levelheaded consideration of this difficult moral dilemma.