The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES

If there is one thing that will surely stir up emotions is a heated debate between pro-life and pro-choice advocates. The debate invariably brings in political, legal, religious, moral, medical and sociological factors that often times only confuse those who are the spectators.

Alexander Sanger is the recently retired president of Planned Parenthood of New York City and grandson of the renowned planning advocate Margaret Sanger. In his defense of pro-choice, as exposed in his recent book, Beyond Choice: Reproductive Freedom In The 21st Century, Sanger argues that having abortion legalized and accessible is morally right, nor morally wrong. It is his contention that there should be a new perspective when defending the right to abortion in that it should be viewed as less of a rights issue but rather more of a reproductive one. Up to now Sanger believes that the traditional arguments of the pro-choice as well as the pro-life defenders do not provide us with as much guidance as the public deserves and needs.

As his principal objective is to defend pro-choice, Sanger maintains that the central challenge for those in favor of choice is to show that the movement has the ideas and philosophy to help people cope with the ethical dilemmas that new reproductive technologies present. Furthermore, he believes that American and worldwide views of abortion will become more pro-choice only when abortion is put into a reproductive and biological context. In other words, shift the perspective from rights to reproduction. As he states, “having the choice whether or not to become a parent and having a child has been and is essential to the survival and well-being of humanity.” Furthermore, as he maintains, the abortion debate in the last quarter of the twentieth century failed to address the issue as to why it is biologically vital that women control childbearing.

In order to advance his argument, Sanger examines the following topics: the origins of choice, reproductive freedom and human evolution, the reproductive rights debate that ignored reproduction, putting reproduction back into reproductive freedom, enlisting men in support of reproductive freedom, defending reproductive freedom from the dangers of reproductive technology, and should the government have the right to enter our bedrooms and enact abortion laws.

Sanger neatly presents his arguments with a great deal of historical and scientific information incorporating his own personal observations. As to the validity of his arguments, readers will have to judge for themselves, however, this is what makes the book intriguing food for thought.

To read an interesting interview with the author conducted by Public Affairs in February 2004 click: HERE