Review Detail

Reproductive Rights: Who Decides?

Young Adult Nonfiction 349

Very Complete Overview of Difficult Topic

January 29, 2016

Overall rating

4.5

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Learning Value

N/A

Starting with ancient methods of birth control, this book covers a variety of issues involved with women's attempts to control the number of offspring they have and the social issues that go along with the practices of various eras. The Victorians get a chapter of their own which addresses both the innovations in contraception, the desperate need for it among the poor, and the complicated social structures of the times. Once the book starts to cover the 29th century, when society started to more openly address these issues, things get really interesting. I did not know, for example, about Mary Ware Dennett, and the fact that she considered Margaret Sanger's attempts to make birth control and birth control information widely available detrimental to the movement because she was so outspoken! Sanger is much more widely known, so the fact that Wittenstein covers lesser known historical figures makes this book a great resource. The information about the development and wide-spread adoption of the birth control pill also informed me of people as issues of which I'd never heard.

Good Points

The politics of reproduction are addressed as well. There are even two sections entitled "Pro-life Tactics" and "Pro-Choice Tactics" that address the political stances of both groups in admirably calm language. While all sides are given mention and considered, and the tone of the book is very factual and even tempered, it's clear, even from the title, that this is a book about giving women as many options as they can about their own bodies.

Other topics, such as advances in infertility treatment, surrogacy, sexual violence, and issues with reproductive rights around the world, are covered as well, making this an essential high school resource about reproductive issues that is an essential purpose for high school libraries. I can see this being used for debate topics, studies of social history, and women's studies.

Mature middle school students could handle this if they have some previous knowledge, but this is primarily a book for high school students.