LibGuides: Research Topic Starters: Abortion

Library Databases

Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
Issues include: Abortion; Abortion: Late Term; Abortion: Parental Consent; Reproductive Rights

Resources

Abortion & Reproductive Rights: Issue Overview
From Issues & Controversies: Overviews and Pro/Con Arguments.
Hastings Center: Abortion
Bioethics Briefings including legal and ethical consideration of abortion.
Medline Plus: Abortion
Articles and information on abortion.
Research Starters: Abortion
Kaplan, C., Tischauser, L.V., Chara, P.J. Magill's Medical Guide (Online Edition), 2020.
Research Starters: Fetal Rights
Thomas, Susan L., Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2019
To What Extent Should Women Be Allowed Access to Abortion in the United States?
From Issues & Controversies: Overviews and Pro/Con Arguments.

Some search terms to use when searching databases for this topic:

Abortion

Fetal Rights

Pro-life

Pro-choice

Reproductive Rights

To narrow your topic, combine the search terms above with one of these terms / issues:

Ethics

Funding

Late Term

Legality

Morality

Parental Consent

Politics

Religion

Abortion: A surgical or medical procedure undertaken to intentionally terminate a pregnancy

Medical: Using medicines such as mifepristone (RU-486) and misoprostol to end a pregnancy no later than 7-10 weeks
Surgical: Removing the fetus and placenta from the mother's womb (uterus) using suction or D and C (dilation and curettage) procedure

Fetal rights: The rights of any unborn human fetus, which is generally a developing human from roughly eight weeks after conception to birth

Fetal viability: The point in the development of the human fetus when it has the capacity to survive outside the womb

Hyde Amendment: Prohibits the use of federal funding for abortion services

Late-term abortion: Abortions performed after approximately twenty weeks gestation

Miscarriage: When a pregnancy ends on its own before the 20th week of pregnancy, s sometimes called a spontaneous abortion

Reproductive Rights: The rights of individuals to decide whether to reproduce and have reproductive health

Roe v. Wade: The 1973 US Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protects a woman's right to an abortion through the end of the first trimester, or the twelfth week of pregnancy

Introduction to the Abortion Debate
Sets out the major questions involved in the matter of terminating a pregnancy.
5 Facts About Safe, Legal Abortion That Don’t Get Enough Attention
Abortion in the U.S.: Five key facts
Abortion is very common in the U.S. and most Americans support a woman's right to an abortion.
Historical Abortion Law Timeline: 1850 to Today
Follow the journey of abortion law in the United States — from criminalization in the late 1800s to legalization in the early 1970s — and the ongoing battles for abortion access.
The Roe v. Wade Ruling, 1973
The landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling recognizing the right to abortion.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade and revokes the constitutional right to abortion.
Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade
Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion upheld for decades
Interactive Map: US Abortion Policies and Access After Roe
This interactive map groups states into one of seven categories based on abortion policies they have in effect. Updated in real time.
Ethics and Abortion
Two opposing arguments on the morality of abortion.
Expanding abortion access strengthens democracy, while abortion bans signal broader repression.
A worldwide study that traces the relationship between abortion rights and democracy.
What the data says about abortion in the U.S
Pew Research Center has conducted many surveys about abortion over the years, providing a lens into Americans’ views on whether the procedure should be legal, among a host of other questions.

Abortion: Planned Parenthood
Facts about abortion.
Just Facts: Abortion
Includes information on the science of human development, women’s health, politics, taxpayer funding, parental consent, and more.
Key Facts on Abortion
Information from Amnesty International.
Pew Research Center: Abortion
Reports, fact sheets and statistics on all aspects of abortion including legal, political, social and religious.

When Abortion Was a Crime by Leslie J. Reagan
ISBN: 9780520387416
Publication Date: 2022-02-22
Abortion Care As Moral Work by Johanna Schoen (Editor); Curtis Boyd (Contribution by); Glenna Boyd (Contribution by); Renee Chelian (Contribution by); Thomas Cunningham (Contribution by); Sarah Dubow (Contribution by); Marc Heller (Contribution by); Amy Hagstrom Miller (Contribution by); Colin Partridge (Contribution by); Shelley Sella (Contribution by); Shannon Withycombe (Contribution by)
ISBN: 9780813597263
Publication Date: 2022-06-30
Abortion after Roe by Johanna Schoen
Call Number: e-Book Collection (Ebscohost)
ISBN: 9781469621180
Publication Date: 2015-11-02
After Roe by Mary Ziegler
Call Number: e-Book Collection (Ebscohost)
ISBN: 9780674736771
Publication Date: 2015-06-08
Understanding Abortion: From Mixed Feelings to Rational Thought by Stephen D. Schwarz; Kiki Latimer (As told to)
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9780739167700
Publication Date: 2011-12-28
Women Against Abortion by Karissa Haugeberg
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9780252040962
Publication Date: 2017-04-03

Abortion Statistics and Policies
Information and statistics on women's health care, including utilization of services such as abortion, family planning, and reproductive health from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Reproductive Health: Data and Statistics
CDC annual data on the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions since 1969.

Pro-Choice Organizations

Center for Reproductive Rights
Uses the power of law to advance reproductive rights as fundamental human rights around the world.
EMILY’s List
A political organization that exclusively funds campaigns to get pro-choice
Democratic women elected to office.
Guttmacher Institute
A primary source for research and policy analysis on abortion in the US tracking abortion statistics, legislation and policies at the federal and state level. It promotes access to abortion services and makes an evidence-based case against restrictions that limit access.
National Abortion Federation
Provides women, health care professionals, and policymakers access to factual information about abortion.
National Abortion Rights Action League
Focus is on protecting and expanding reproductive rights in America.
National Network of Abortion Funds
Seeks to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access.

Pro-Life Organizations

National Right to Life Committee
The oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the US. Through legislative and educational activity, works against induced abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and assisted suicide
Susan B. Anthony List
Their mission is to end abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
Pro-life Action League
Seeks to prevent abortions through legal, nonviolent means, advocates the prohibition of abortion through a constitutional amendment and conducts demonstrations against abortion clinics and other agencies involved with abortion.