Choice Review

Simonds observed and interviewed workers at a feminist clinic, 1990-1992, asking the question "how do feminist ideals translate (or not translate) into the daily routines of health care provision," i.e., client care and the way in which health care workers interact. Her analysis shows how women who provide abortions think about them ("Feminists Working"); her analysis of the environment in which abortion is provided ("Working Feminism") helps readers understand women's choices in a new way. Workers handled feelings about late-term abortions (defending a woman's right to define viability) by rejecting the medicalized model of "pro-choice" advocates and by placing women's choices in a context of constraining social forces that "anti-abortion" advocates fail to recognize. Providing an empathetic but balanced portrayal and analysis of interviewees' responses, Simonds also draws on the theory and research of other sociologists to help interpret her data. Her analysis addresses why value-free approaches to the position of "pro-choice" and "antiabortion" make the ideal of anti-abortion tenable; how to define a feminist health care practice and distinguish it from traditional medical practice; how a feminist defense of abortion should be constructed; where feminism and bureaucracy can coexist; how conflicts among feminists indicated the intransigence of racism, and the demise of collectivism in a feminist community. An excellent resource for those interested in abortion and in the women's health care movement, the book's insights and applicability go well beyond the important question of providing health care to women. All levels. M. M. Denny St. Joseph College