Kira SCHLESINGER. Pro-Choice and Christian. Reconciling Faith, Politics, and Justice. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2017. pp. 130. $14 pb. ISBN 978-0664-26292-1. Reviewed by Pablo M. ITURRIETA. Independent Researcher, ON, Canada.

Kira Schlesinger is priest-in-charge at The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Lebanon, Tennessee. In this book, Schlesinger’s intention is to find common ground and bring together all the sides of the abortion debate, as she believes there is more that unites, rather than divides Christians. One of the most valuable lesson in this book is that “a consistent pro-life ethic includes not only an unborn child but its mother, her community, and the world in which she lives” (96). There is certainly a need to define what it means to be pro-life, which will open the door to finding “common ground with those who are anti-abortion.” It is a great intention on her part, yet one should be warned the approach is not one of neutrality.

In the first two chapters, Schlesinger looks at the political history of abortion and abortion laws in the United States before and after Roe v. Wade. These chapters are very informative and a valuable introduction to the debate. They show how “abortion” laws are not really abortion laws, but laws protecting a woman’s privacy (Roe v. Wade), and the unlimited right to choose. In chapter 3, she looks at the impact that societal changes and medical technology have had on the debate concerning where life begins. In chapters 4 and 5, Schlesinger presents what the Bible has to say about conception, birth, and life, as well as statements from different Christian churches. In the final chapter, Schlesinger attempts to reclaim what it means to be pro-life, which includes supporting abortion access.

In order to bring all sides of the debate together, Schlesinger explores the biblical, theological, political, and medical aspects of the debate. The result is an attempt to offer a Christian argument for a pro-choice position with regard to abortion issues. More precisely, Schlesinger situates the debate in the context of a “reproductive right.” It is not about the life that is being taken away through abortion, but rather about the choice that the woman makes together with her medical team, her family, or her personal counsel. For that reason, she supports “a woman’s access to abortion because of our Christian values of caring for the most vulnerable, not in spite of them” (2). Yet, she considers herself to stand in the middle, that is, valuing the gift of life, but believing “there is a difference between a just-fertilized egg and a fetus at thirty or forty weeks’ gestation” (1). And thus, she argues that “Christians who are in favor of legal access to safe abortions are rarely pro-abortion and do not consider the termination of a pregnancy a decision to be entered into lightly” (6).

In the end, Schlesinger’s argument is one for abortion, while making the case that there are other aspects that should also be taken into consideration. As a Christian, she argues, one should not focus only in abortion and leave aside so many other aspects of a “consistent pro-life ethics” such as capital punishment, food programs, housing, and access to health care. Schlesinger defines herself as being pro-choice because of her faith, not in spite of it (68). The arguments to justify her approach, however, are plagued with contradictions, and one can only hope that in the future she will address these inconsistencies.