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Summary
Summary
"Reads almost like a well-written novel. . . . The story it tells is unsettling, but important. Anyone interested in finding an acceptable solution to the vexed issue of abortion should read it."--Harvey Cox, The Divinity School, Harvard University
On Christmas Day in 1984 three Pensacola abortion clinics were bombed by four young people who later went to trial and were convicted and sentenced. The authors explore this moral drama as a case study of religiously motivated political action (the perpetrators identified with Gideon, the Old Testament slayer of those who sacrificed firstborn infants to Baal). Their analysis sheds light on the violent wing of the anti-abortion movement.
Their detailed account of the nationally publicized trial and the fundamentalist Christian community's response to the bombings will be important and compelling reading for those concerned with the abortion controversy and other issues that encompass social violence and contemporary religion.
Scholars will be interested in the work as a comprehensive sociological analysis of religious fundamentalism, an ideology that the authors tie to a medieval world view. Placing anti-abortion violence in the context of social movement theory, they conclude that persons who are predisposed toward such behavior are likely to be working-class males under age 35, socially isolated from countervailing attitudes. Religious fundamentalists, they warn, will continue to utilize violence in reaction to such subjects as pornography, homosexuality, sex education, equality for females, and prayer in public schools.
For this book the authors conducted interviews with local activists on both sides of the abortion issue. They interviewed local religious fundamentalists, personnel of clinics throughout the United States that have been subjected to arson or bombing, and, when possible, persons who have been tried and convicted of those offenses. In addition, they attended the Pensacola trial and fundamentalist church services.
Dallas A. Blanchard is associate professor of sociology at the University of West Florida and a United Methodist minister. Terry J. Prewitt is associate professor of anthropology at the University of West Florida.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Blanchard and Prewitt, a sociologist and an anthropologist, respectively, at the University of West Florida, examine the anti-abortion movement through the lens of a case study: the 1984 Christmas bombings of three abortion clinics in Pensacola, Fla., described by its perpetrators as a ``birthday gift for Jesus.'' Two of the Pensacola Four, as those brought to trial became known, were found guilty on all counts; the remaining two were convicted only of conspiracy. The authors base their account on interviews with the participants and related parties, as well as on their own observations of the trial. By relating the events both preceding and following the bombings, the authors put these terrorist acts into perspective, considering the links between religious ideology, political action, social isolation and violence. They detail how a series of local defeats for the religious right in Pensacola led to radicalization, culminating in violence, and examine the national context for the violence as well. The authors seek to understand the motivations of those who profess to be ``pro-life'' and yet engage in acts that cause death. Though sometimes a bit dense, this is a fascinating and timely study. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Choice Review
Blanchard and Prewitt provide what may be one of the most important case studies in the abortion stalemate. Using a variety of data sources, the book highlights the controversy surrounding the bombing of three abortion clinics in Pensacola, Florida, in 1984, code-named, by those involved, "The Gideon Project." The book begins with an examination of the national context of abortion in the early 1980s as well as the local conditions that fostered conflict over this issue in Pensacola. Following this, detailed transcripts of the arrest and subsequent trial of the "Pensacola Four" underscores the religious pragmatism that rationalized the destruction of "property" as a means to ending abortion. The final section demonstrates the relevance of this research, particularly for understanding the theological and sociological factors that promoted the use of violence within the most radicalized wing of the "anti-abortion" movement. These factors include biblical and historical justification for religious violence, at least for radical fundamentalists; the perceived, though tacit, support of the Reagan administration for abortion-related violence; and the apparent failure of the anti-abortion movement to effect significant change. The book is well written and documented. All levels. C. M. Hand; Lenoir-Rhyne College
Library Journal Review
This is a carefully researched case study of the 1984 bombings of three Pensacola, Florida, abortion clinics on the same day. The authors, professors of sociology and anthropology, respectively, at the University of West Florida, use analysis of the trial and the convictions of four young religious extremists to provide insights into violence in general and religiously motivated violence in particular. They also use interviews and data gathered across the country to draw a profile of those disposed to acts of abortion-related violence. (Such individuals are likely to be working-class males under age 35 who are isolated from countervailing moral networks.) The authors are careful not to read too much into their data. Especially timely in the wake of the recent murder of a Florida doctor, this sophisticated sociological analysis of the extremist fringe of the antiabortion movement is worthy of thoughtful study by all participants in the abortion debate. For academic collections.-- John Broderick, Stonehill Coll., North Easton, Mass. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Foreword | p. ix |
| Acknowledgments | p. xv |
| Part 1 Background | p. 1 |
| 1 Introduction: The Abortion Stalemate | p. 3 |
| 2 A Birthday Gift for Jesus | p. 16 |
| 3 The City of Five Flags | p. 20 |
| 4 Onward, Christian Soldiers | p. 25 |
| 5 Marching as to War | p. 42 |
| 6 The Visit of the Magi | p. 51 |
| Part 2 The Trial | p. 69 |
| 7 Between the Times | p. 71 |
| 8 The prosecution | p. 89 |
| 9 The Defense | p. 108 |
| 10 Closing Arguments and Verdict | p. 131 |
| 11 Gifts of the Spirit | p. 152 |
| 12 Sentencing | p. 165 |
| Part 3 The National Context of Violence | p. 173 |
| 13 The National Roll Call | p. 175 |
| 14 Sacred Universes in a Secular Society | p. 216 |
| 15 Violence Against Abortion and the Abortion of Violence | p. 250 |
| 16 Will the Circle Be Unbroken? | p. 273 |
| Afterword | p. 281 |
| Notes | p. 287 |
| Bibliography | p. 330 |
| Index | p. 341 |