Bearing Right: How Conservatives Won the Abortion War

by William Saletan

Book Overview

In his gripping, behind-the-scenes account, journalist William Saletan reveals exactly how, thirty years after Roe v. Wade, "pro-choice" conservatives have won the abortion war. Having successfully... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520086880
• ISBN13: 9780520086883
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 327 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A good historical analysis, but offers no vision

Mention the word `abortion' in casual conversation, and you are likely to find yourself in the midst of a heated debate, whether it is over legality, restrictions, the rights of minors, or parental control. However, the debate within the pro-choice movement about reactive and proactive strategies is often overlooked. William Saletan's book, Bearing Right: How Conservatives Won the Abortion War describes the internal struggles faced by key players in the pro-choice movement in the last 20 years. Bearing Right examines the critical players- both individuals and interest groups- in the abortion rights movement, the frame of abortion rights activism, the impact of rhetoric on that frame, and the role of increasing conservatism among individuals that identify as pro-choice. Saletan explores key ballot measures, court cases, legislative initiatives, and elections that have shaped the strategies of the pro-choice movement. Saletan's book recounts the critical history of the pro-choice movement in the United States in an honest and frank manner. While Bearing Right is easy to read, its contents will outrage any loyal pro-choice activist, like myself. Bearing Right starts the reader out in Arkansas in 1986, during Bill Clinton's reign as governor. Saletan describes the costly success of pro-choice efforts to defeat Amendment 65, which would have limited public funding for abortion in Arkansas. The campaign against this ballot measure did more than just kill an amendment in one state; it laid the groundwork for the messages of the pro-choice movement for decades to come. Bearing Right provides a detailed analysis of the language used to convince constituents to vote for or against particular candidates and/or legislation, and the reasoning behind employing particular slogans, such as "Keep Big Government Out of Bedrooms" (p.24). Saletan shows how the frame of a message can influence not only the outcome of a particular campaign, but also the strategy of your opponent. Bearing Right describes the pro-life movement's careful and clever use of pro-choice language and strategies to achieve their own goals. Saletan describes conflicting views of pro-choice big-wigs, who frequently make concessions in order to win a short-term goal. Saletan's book paints a grim picture of Kate Michelman, Executive Director of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) from 1985 to 2004. Saletan scrutinizes over Michelman's decision-making regarding NARAL endorsement and involvement in various campaigns across the country. While seeking to provide an in-depth analysis of critical players in the pro-choice movement, Bearing Right does little to acknowledge their hard work, turning each success into a calamity. Bearing Right also explores how pro-choice candidates, such as Virginia Governor Doug Wilder, spun their views to win an election. Even though Wilder identified as pro-choice, he approved of legislation requiring parental consent for minor

Unfortunate Title, but Valuable Analysis

This unfortunately titled volume is sure to attract many puzzled and curious readers: "They/we won the abortion war?!? When did that happen?" But William Saletan's conservatives are the "pro-choice conservatives"; right-to-life activists call them liberals and politicians call them moderates. These swing voters, conservative but not radical, pro-choice but pro-restriction, have dictated the terms of engagement in the abortion war from the late 1980s on. And Saletan's well-written account of abortion politics since that time gives no indication that the conflict is over, or will be any time soon. Bearing Right begins its narrative in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1986. Pollster Harrison Hickman is leading a focus group on a proposed amendment to the Arkansas constitution to ban public funding of abortions, while the strategists of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) watch from behind a darkened glass panel, discussing how to turn the values of the Arkansas populace against the popular amendment. Remarkably, they succeed. Despite voters' widespread disapproval of public funding for abortion, Hickman found a pair of key weaknesses: women were far less likely to support the amendment when rape entered the picture, and men reacted strongly when the amendment was portrayed as government intrusion into private family decisions. The resulting media campaign based on Hickman's insights marked the beginning of a dramatic shift in the terms of the public discourse on abortion rights. Pro-choice activists embraced the language of libertarian conservatism, the first slip onto a politically expedient slope that would gradually erode the meaning of "choice." They soon found that their ungrammatical new slogan, "Who Decides-You or Them?," was just as useful to their opponents for enforcing patriarchy and limiting the rights the poor and the young as it was for defending abortion rights generally. The only possible answer to the question was "you," but different groups had very different ideas of who, exactly, "you" referred to. The story of the internal workings of NARAL is relevant to a wide array of scholars, activists, and general readers. For political scientists and historians it presents a compelling and personalized case study on rhetoric, special interests and the meanings of populism. The strategy decisions of NARAL and their consequences underscore the importance of what questions are being asked and in what contexts as competing interests try to define the "will of the people." As Saletan points out in his less-than-subtle way, the abortion war highlights the pitfalls of sacrificing principles for expediency: inevitably, once the terms of debate are shifted toward the middle, especially in a disingenuous way, the double-tipped pen of rhetoric will write both ways. By 1992, recruiting Barry Goldwater to help defeat an Arizona ballot measure that restricted abortion rights, "pro-choice activists had reached the summit of victory

More than one type of conservative

Reviewer Humbug obviously doesn't see more than one facet to conservatives. For the sake of a manageable title, Saletan didn't say "anti-government" or "libertarian" conservatives, but once you start reading the book it's clear. It's the best analysis I've seen of abortion politics; I've long felt that both sides were framing the issue wrong. In my view it should be about helping women with the resources to carry their children to term, the pro-life feminist position. Saletan captures that dynamic pretty well - pro-choice feminists reluctantly using the libertarian stick to win, in effect giving power over the issue to people (and legislators) who think abortion should be legal but constrained by sensible restrictions through democratic institutions, not the courts.

Readable and Thought-Provoking Contemporary History

This is an extremely readable and well-written recounting of the course of the politics of abortion from the perspective of the "sides" of the issue. As such, it's probably bound to tick off both "sides" at one point or another -- and I wouldn't take extreme negative reviews seriously, because they don't really appreciate the depth and clarity of the analysis. While I might quibble with some of the details, there's no denying it's a very well-researched book and one that, unlike most political tomes this side of Al Franken, can be read without feeling like you're stuck reading a textbook. My only real complaint is with the cover -- once again, a picture of a full-term pregnant woman to frame a book about abortions done months and months earlier, and this one with a little suggestion of female anatomy -- not helpful in taking the book seriously. But don't take this book by its cover -- if you're interested in genuine thoughtfulness and a little inside baseball on the give and take of an issue that touches most of the hot buttons of American politics, this is the book.

Eye-opening

This was completely different from everything I've read about this issue before. The details about what goes on behind the scenes are amazing, the polls and focus groups and how every word you hear from the politicians is gone over with a fine tooth comb to spin the public. I highly recommend for anyone interested on either side or in politics generally.