Need helping writing a pro-life paper?
Tackling the topic of abortion or any other controversial life issue in your class can be daunting. Having reliable information is a key part of making a strong case for life. Here are some resources we recommend:
*These resources reflect a range of opinions on bioethical issues and do not necessarily reflect the views of NCLN.
The Science of the Beginning of Life
Condic, M.L. “Totipotency: What it is and what it is not.” Stem Cells and Development 2014; 23: 796-812.
Condic, M.L. "Life: defining the beginning by the end." First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (2003): 50+. Academic OneFile.
George, R.P. and Christopher Tollefsen, Embryo: a defense of human life. 1st ed. New York: Doubleday, 2008.
Lee, Patrick and Robert P. George. “The First Fourteen Days of Human Life.” New Atlantis 2006; 13: 61-67.
Moore, K. and Persaud, T.V.N., Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology and Birth Defects. 8th ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 2008.
When does Human Life Begin - Link
The Morality of Abortion - Philosophy
Beckwith, F.J. “Defending Abortion Philosophically: A Review of David Boonin’s A Defense of Abortion.” Journal of Medicine and Philosophy
2006; 31(2): 177-203.
Condic, M.L. and Kevin L. Flannery, S.J., “A Contemporary Aristotelian Embryology.” Nova et Vetera. 12 (2014): 495-508.
Stephen Schwartz, The Moral Question of Abortion, (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1990).
Philosophers in favour of abortion
Philosophers opposed to abortion:
Canadian Abortion Statistics: abortionincanada.ca
Millar, W.J., Wadhera, S. and Henshaw, S.K. “Repeat abortions in Canada, 1975-1993.” Family Planning Perspectives 29(1) (1997): 20-24.
Abortion Procedures: A Global Review
by the United Nations Population Division Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Bankole, A., Singh, S., and Haas, T. “Reasons why women have induced abortions: evidence from 27 countries,” International Family Planning Perspectives 1998; 24(2).
Yassin, KM. “Incidence and socioeconomic determinants of abortion in rural Upper Egypt.” Public Health 2000; 114(4): 269-272.
Christin-Maitre, S., P. Bouchard, and I.M. Spitz. “Medical termination of pregnancy.” The New England Journal of Medicine 2000; 342(13): 946-956.
Wiebe, E., S. Dunn, E. Guilbert, F. Jacot, L. Lugtig. “Comparison of abortions induced by methotrexate or mifepristone followed by misoprostol.” Obstetrics and Gynecology 2002; 99(5): 813-819.
Ostbye T, Wenghofer E, Woodward C, Gold G, Craighead J. “Health Services Utilization After Induced Abortions in Ontario: A Comparison Between Community
Clinics and Hospitals.” American Journal of Medical Quality 2001; 16(3): 103.
Fergusson, David M ; Horwood, L John ; Boden, Joseph M. “Does abortion reduce the mental health risks of unwanted or unintended pregnancy? A re-appraisal
of the evidence.”Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 2013; 47(9): 819-827.
Ferris, L.E., McMAin-Klein M, Colodny N, Fellows GF, Lamont J. “Factors associated with immediate abortion complications.” Canadian Medical Association Journal 1996; 154(11): 1677-1685.
Goodwin, T.M. “Medicalizing abortion decisions.” First Things 1996;
Medicalizing Abortion Decisions
Kruse, Beth. “Management of side effects and complications in medical abortion.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2000; 183(2):
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (UK). The care of women requesting induced abotion: 4. Information for women. 2000.
Brind, Joel. "Abortion, breast cancer and ideology." First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life 1997; (73):12+.
Huang Y, Zhang X, Li W, Song F, Dai H, Wang J, et al. “A meta-analysis of the association between induced abortion and breast cancer risk among Chinese females.” Cancer Causes & Control 2014; 25 (2): 227-236.
Lanfranchi A. The breast physiology and the epidemiology of the abortion breast cancer link.
Imago Hominis 2005;12(3): 228-236.
Pike, M.C., Henderson, B.E., Casagrande, J.T., Rosario, I., Gray, G.E. “Oral contraceptive use and early abortion as risk factors for breast cancer in
young women.” British Journal of Cancer 1981; 43(1): 72-76.
Future risk of Pre-term birth
Calhoun, B.C., L.E. Roche and B. Rooney. “Does induced abortion account for racial disparity in preterm births, and violate the Nuremberg Code?” Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons 2008; 13(4): 102.
Post Abortion Stress Syndrome
Fergusson DM, Horwood LJ, Ridder EM. “Abortion in young women and subsequent mental health.” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 2006;
Reardon DC, Jesse Cougle, Rue V, Shuping M, Coleman P, Ney P. “Psychiatric admissions of low-income women following abortion and childbirth.” Canadian Medical Association Journal 2003; 168(10): 1255.
Speckhard, A.C and Rue, V.M. “Postabortion syndrome: An emerging public health concern.” Journal of Social Issues 1992; 48: 95-119.
Barnard C. “The Long-Term Psychological Effects of Abortion.” Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Institute for Pregnancy Loss: 1990.
Xu B, Zhang J, Xu Y, Lu J, Xu M, Chen Y, Bi Y, Ning G. Association between history of abortion and metabolic syndrome in middle-aged and elderly Chinese
women. Front Med. 2013 Mar;7(1):132-7.
Fergusson, D.M., L.J. Horwood, E.M. Ridder. “Abortion in young women and subsequent mental health.” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
2006; 47(1): 16-24.
Koch, E., Thorp, J., Bravo, M., Gatica, S., Romero, CX., Aguilera, H. and Ahlers, I. “Women’s education level, maternal health facilities, abortion
legislation and maternal deaths: a natural experiment in Chile from 1957-2007.” PLoS ONE 2012; 7(5): 1-16.
Embryonic Stem Cell Research
George, R.P. and Lee, P. "Acorns and Embryos." The New Atlantis, Number 7, Fall 2004/Winter 2005, pp. 90-100.
Landry, D.W. and Zucker, H.A. “Embryonic death and the creation of human embryonic stem cells.” The Journal of Clinical Investigation 2004;
Feminism & Abortion
Lena A, Hammerstrom A. “Women's experiences in connection with induced abortion - a feminist perspective.” Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences
Hendin, H. and Kathleen Foley. “Physician-assisted suicide in Oregon- a medical perspective.” Michigan Law Review 2008; 106(8): 1613-1640.
Verhagen, E. and P. J.J. Sauer. “The Groningen Protocol — Euthanasia in Severely Ill Newborns.”The New England Journal of Medicine 2005; 352:
Freedom of Information: Legal and Ethical Issues in Evaluating Abortion Services