Here are eight anti-abortion books to consider adding to your summer reading list!
1. "Why Pro-Life? Caring for the Unborn and their Mothers" by Randy Alcorn
This book by Randy Alcorn is a classic — it gives a powerful overview of the pro-life position and how anti-abortion advocates should respond to cultural lies about the unborn. "Why Pro-Life?" is a quick read that will inspire you to be more effective in your fight for life.
"Are the older ones more human and the younger less human? Does someone become more human as they get bigger? If so, then adults are more human than children, and football players are more human than jockeys. Something nonhuman doesn't become human by getting older and bigger; whatever is human must be human from the beginning" (p.21)
2. "Abortion Survivors Break Their Silence" by Melissa Ohden
The newly released title "Abortion Survivors Break Their Silence," is a chronicle of several different people who survived abortion attempts on their lives while they were yet in the womb. Every abortion survivor reminds us that the presence of "pregnancy termination" in our society means the lethal oppression of individual babies who have a right to life. I loved this book because it shared stories of abortion survivors I had never heard before, and it gave me fresh hope that our mission to end the killing of the unborn is absolutely possible.
"My mere existence, plus that of my fellow survivors, is a flaw in the arguments of so-called pro-choicers. Our births, our fights for survival, our collective voice, are a huge shout-out to the world: 'We are more than the choice of others! We are humans in our own right, and we choose to live!' Even as an injured newborn, whether I realized it or not, I chose to live. I arrived in this world fighting to breathe, fighting to survive. It was instinctive. This book describes others like me whose instincts to hold on to life, even by a thread, only add to that unified chorus: 'I choose to live!'" (p.22).
3. "The Case for Life" by Scott Klusendorf
A pro-life professional who has been involved in the fight to end abortion for years is Scott Klusendorf. Having trained thousands of high schoolers, college students, and professionals to defend life, Klusendorf has a wealth of practical experience in guiding individuals to make a case for the anti-abortion position that is persuasive and compelling. I enjoyed Klusendorf's conversational style of writing and the numerous examples the book included of how to respond well in conversations where pro-abortion claims are made.
"Although humans differ in their respective degrees of development, they are nonetheless equal because they share a common human nature that bears the image of their Creator. Humans have value simply because they are human" (p.205).
4. "Redeemed: My Journey After Abortion" by Toni McFadden
Anti-abortion advocate Toni McFadden has shared her story of choosing abortion to audiences through speaking for years, but more recently, she made her testimony available in print. In "Redeemed," McFadden tells about her experience of becoming pregnant while still in high school, and how those around her failed to provide pro-life support. A few years after having an abortion, McFadden had a change of heart and came to oppose abortion. Her story gives insight into how the pro-life movement can reach young women facing crisis pregnancies and reminds us that our world needs God's message of redemption.
"Sitting across from my best friend, I blurted, 'I'm pregnant.' 'You have to get rid of it,' was the very first thing out of her mouth. During the next few minutes, she was very much in charge. 'I know what to do. We just call the abortion clinic.'" (p.2).
5. "You Carried Me" by Melissa Ohden
If you are looking for a book that is a personal story and pulls at the heartstrings, this is the right pro-life read for you. "You Carried Me" is the account of how Melissa Ohden was born alive after a saline infusion abortion in 1977. Thanks to the help of nurses who saved her from the abortion room in a hospital, she was taken to neonatal intensive care where she received the support necessary to recover from the physical harm done against her in the womb. She went on to pursue a journey of looking for her birth mother -- eventually sharing her story nationally, and founding her own organization, Abortion Survivors Network.
"Many people think abortion is a discrete act that has no lasting effect. They are so wrong! Abortion can't be compartmentalized and is never forgotten. And its effects ripple through generations" (p.165).
6. "Stuck: A Complete Guide to Answering Tough Questions About Abortion" by Justina Van Manen
"Stuck" could be compared to a short textbook on pro-life apologetics. With stories from real anti-abortion outreaches, and research from top pro-life experts, this book will enable any advocate to better engage pro-choice people with the truth about the unborn.
"The dependency of another human being heightens our responsibility towards them, even if it places us in difficult situations. That is the reality of living in a just society: rights and responsibilities go hand in hand" (p.119).
7. "Tearing Us Apart" by Alexandra DeSanctis and Ryan Anderson
Alexandra DeSanctis and Ryan Anderson utilize this volume to explain how abortion damages women, the unborn, society, and much more. The world is worse off because babies are killed daily, and "Tearing Us Apart" describes the specific ways havoc has been wrecked through the abortion industry. Read this book to more thoroughly grasp how our globe is suffering because preborn lives are being destroyed.
"Abortion is a grave moral evil, an act of violence against the most vulnerable members of the human family. Every abortion ends the life of an innocent human being in the womb, and child who, because he is human necessarily possesses intrinsic worth and dignity and thus deserves to have his life protected. Parents, in particular, bear special responsibilities to their children, and thus abortion strikes at one of the most profound human relationships" (p.20).
8. "The Hand of God" by Bernard Nathanson
At the prime of the sexual revolution in the West, OBGYN Bernard Nathanson joined forces with pro-choice campaigners in an attempt to persuade public opinion about abortion, with the intent of seeing abortion legalized everywhere in America. Nathanson killed tens of thousands of babies with his own hands. But one day, Nathanson began to rethink his promotion of abortion. Was it truly morally acceptable to destroy embryos and fetuses? Nathanson went on a journey of reconsidering what he had done and what he believed.
"As I look back across the twenty-five years separating me from that revolting extravaganza playing itself out on the bodies of pregnant women and their slaughtered babies, I am struck by the uncritical nature of the task we had set for ourselves, by the moral and spiritual vacuum at the core of this fantastic operation, by our unquestioned certainty of the high level of moral rectitude on which we operated. And yet, the thing was so obviously sordid. Why couldn't we make the link between the ethical and the moral, between the shoddy practices and the shabby practitioners, the evident greed and callous motives, between the crassness of the enterprise and those involved in it, between all these ethical indicators and the grotesque immorality of the act itself?" (p.106)
If you decide to pick up one of these books, let me know what you think!