I thought Peters made some good points...but I was looking for more of the "Christian" part of a Progressive Christian argument in the title. Peters spends a lot of time unpacking whether Christianity is patriarchal, what the church fathers thought about abortion, and how those might impact our society which is fine. But I was hoping to see a biblically-based argument for respecting women and our bodily autonomy, which isn't what this book is doing, unfortunately. ( )

An interesting theological and historical analysis of reproductive rights. This is definitely a book for more academic audiences.

The target audience of this book is people who are already pro-choice. The point of the book is to convince these people to embrace a "reproductive justice" framework (basically saying that women should also have the right to choose TO have children as well as the right to not have children). I am conflicted prolife, not really pro-choice, so the book did not address any of my concerns, or engage with any arguments against abortion in a substantial way. The book also does not make any arguments from the Bible, or Christian theology; so it is not really a "Christian Argument for Reproductive Justice".

However, the book is written in a clear, understandable style. It is very well-researched, and I especially like the chapter on abortion through history. The author interviewed several dozen women about their experiences with abortion, and describes her own experience. I respect that level of vulnerability, especially about such a charged topic.

In conclusion, I think this is a pretty good book with a misleading title, that is not really "for me". ( )

For a lot of Christians, it seems that abortion was invented in the second half of the 20th Century. The pro-life activists really primed hearts and minds with the pictures of unborn children en pressure to take responsibility and perceive pregnancy as a logical consequence of sexual activity...frames within a marriage of course. Presbyterian minister and ethicist Rebecca Todd Peters busts that myth by digging into ancient times of Persian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman history to reveal the knowledge of abortion practices and contraceptives. Special attention is given to American history and the way women were stigmatized, paternalized, and abused. Statistics are brought in to clarify which small percentage of all abortions are triggered by rape or incest. Almost three-quarters of the women seeking an abortion in the United States do so for other than this or health issues of infant or mother. Though arguing that the Christian views on sexuality and abortion were the main driver, I'd precise it to a typically American cultural one, because I don't recognize this from a European point of view.

The author touches upon the question whether an unborn child - prenate as she likes to call them - has the same moral status as the mother. Where does life begin? Is ending a pregnancy killing or a normal part of women’s reproductive lives: roughly one-third of US women will have an abortion by age forty-five, and fifty to sixty percent of the women who have abortions were using birth control during the month that they got pregnant. Yet women who have abortions are shamed and judged for their actions, and safe access to abortion is under relentless assault.

Abortion is not the problem. Trust women to act as capable, responsible moral agents is the mission Rebecca has. Justification than becomes justice. Trust Women: A Moral Argument for Reproductive Justice addresses serious topics in a professional, provoking, well-thought manner. Hopefully, you don't jump to conclusions before reaching the book's end. ( )