Condit provides a close look at how pro-life and pro-choice arguments have helped shape the development of public policy and private practice. She offers readers an orderly way through the barrage of rhetoric and an opportunity to identify and clarify our own opinions on a very difficult subject.

"A compelling story. . . . Not only a fascinating account of the abortion controversy but a substantial contribution to our understanding of discourse as praxis."-- Journal of Communication

"A thoughtful, socially important, and carefully constructed piece of scholarship." -- American Journal of Sociology

"A model of scholarly research and critical insight. . . . I cannot commend this book too highly." --Quarterly Journal of Speech