The Story of Abortion in America: A Street-Level History, 1652–2022

Olasky (Lament for a Father) and WORLD News Group reporter Savas intended this book to be an intimate, personalized examination of reproductive and abortion-related history that contrasts with academic studies on the topic. They provide a fair amount of potentially useful information by exploring numerous narratives, activities, and battles from the colonial days in the U.S. to Roe v. Wade and current practices. Unfortunately, the book sometimes presents its arguments as objective without sufficient evidence, even when they run counter to established historical fact. For example, they assert that childbirth in the 18th century was not significantly dangerous for women and that abortion was rare in the colonial United States because colonists would have been steeped in lessons about its sinfulness. The authors also claim that the book is mostly nonpartisan, but pro-life sentiments are often obvious in their choice of information and the framing of subjects and events. This regrettably undercuts the trustworthiness and usefulness of the work as a whole.