Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction

Mary Ziegler's new book concerns the "next step" in the fight against abortion that, for many on the anti-abortion side, was always a fight. The book was somewhat disappointing since it was often more of an overall summary of the anti-abortion movement. This was helpful, but somewhat redundant. 

Ziegler is an objective historian, leading an advocate on the other side to respectfully review her book. This is not wrong. The book is a work of history. It is not meant to be a critique. She also sometimes flags possible problems.  

For instance, there are many people in the book who appeal to feminism and the interests of women. Nonetheless, anti-abortion states and national legislators regularly do not support the pro-women and pro-child policies they support. Why isn't there more anger at hypocrisy referenced here?

The link also notes the problem with the conceit that you can think abortion is murder, and the unborn (down to fertilized eggs; surely embryos) are, in all relevant purposes, equal to newborns and not prosecute women. The idea is that they are all deluded and victimized. Doesn't hold up.

The book does intermix personhood discussions with a general history of the anti-abortion movement. For instance, it discusses the beginning of the anti-abortion movement in the mid-19th Century and notes personhood wasn't a primary concern. The originalist arguments don't hold up. 

(It is noted that originalist arguments are made without much clarity on how they thread the needle. A section on a typical originalist argument would have been useful. She referenced law articles making such claims.)  

Some key personhood issues are not covered in enough detail (IMHO). For instance, Johnson Controls is one case flagged as showing the possible dangers of fetal protection policies. There is also another case involving prosecuting those who took drugs during pregnancy. This issue was touched upon without referencing the Supreme Court case.  

(Rachel Roth in Making Women Pay: The Hidden Costs of Fetal Rights covered this ground in detail.) 

I talked about personhood amendments on this blog years back. The book covers them, but not in much detail.  The Webster abortion opinion in 1989 respects a law that includes a statement that life begins at conception. Again, this seems like a book that would discuss that sort of thing. 

The book is helpful and has some interesting aspects. Nonetheless, I hold to my argument that I'm not sure how much it adds. Ziegler's past works cover much of this ground. I thought there would be more focus on personhood specifically. It would be the main focus.

Anyway, it's quick reading (225 pages plus notes), and should be approachable to the general reader. Some abortion rights supporters will probably think some of the other side (including many women) are too positively portrayed. 

One time, someone was cited as having a balanced view on Kavanaugh, and we don't get any sense of what that meant. I repeatedly felt an urge to be able to push back on the claims. "You say this, but it simply doesn't hold up!"  

Okay. I tend to be disappointed with her long-form works. Her articles (normal size and law review) are more helpful. Again, there is some helpful stuff here. It just doesn't seem to work given the title.