Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Amazon Prime includes:
Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
- Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
-36% $12.14$12.14
Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
$11.08$11.08
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Kuleli Books
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Audible sample Sample
Follow the author
OK
The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having--Or Being Denied--An Abortion Paperback – June 1, 2021
Purchase options and add-ons
The “remarkable” (The New Yorker) landmark study of the consequences on women’s lives—emotional, physical, financial, professional, personal, and psychological—of receiving versus being denied an abortion that “should be required reading for every judge, member of Congress, and candidate for office—as well as anyone who hopes to better understand this complex and important issue” (Cecile Richards).
What happens when a woman seeking an abortion is turned away? To answer this question, Diana Greene Foster assembled a team of scientists—psychologists, epidemiologists, demographers, nurses, physicians, economists, sociologists, and public health researchers—to conduct a ten-year study. They followed a thousand women from across America, some of whom received abortions, some of whom were turned away. Now, for the first time, Dr. Foster presents the results of this landmark study in one extraordinary, groundbreaking book.
Judges, politicians, and pro-life advocates routinely defend their anti-abortion stance by claiming that abortion is physically risky and leads to depression and remorse. Dr. Foster’s data proves the opposite to be true. Foster documents the outcomes for women who received and were denied an abortion, analyzing the impact on their mental and physical health, their careers, their romantic relationships, and their other children, if they have them. Women who received an abortion were better off by almost every measure than women who did not, and five years after they receive an abortion, 99 percent of women do not regret it.
As the national debate around abortion intensifies, The Turnaway Study offers the first thorough, data-driven examination of the negative consequences for women who cannot get abortions and provides incontrovertible evidence to refute the claim that abortion harms women. Interwoven with the study findings are ten “engaging, in-depth” (Ms. Magazine) first-person narratives. Candid, intimate, and deeply revealing, they bring to life the women and the stories behind the science.
Revelatory, essential, and “particularly relevant now” (HuffPost), this is a must-read for anyone who cares about the impact of abortion and abortion restrictions on people’s lives.
- Print length384 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJune 1, 2021
- Dimensions8.39 x 1.1 x 5.47 inches
- ISBN-101982141573
- ISBN-13978-1982141578
Frequently bought together
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
Get to know this book
What's it about?
This book is about the consequences on women's lives of receiving versus being denied an abortion.Popular highlight
The Turnaway Study brings powerful evidence about the ability of women to foresee consequences and make decisions that are best for their lives and families.174 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
We found no mental health harm from receiving an abortion, but we did find short-term increases in symptoms of anxiety and lower self-esteem among women who were denied an abortion.171 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
To the extent that abortion causes mental health harm, the harm comes from the denial of services, not the provision.158 Kindle readers highlighted this
Editorial Reviews
Review
—The New Yorker
"Foster’s findings are particularly relevant now, as the coronavirus pandemic, the economic downturn and ongoing efforts to restrict abortion access have made the procedure even more difficult for many to obtain."
—The Huffington Post
“The Turnaway Study provides definitive evidence that abortion access strongly enhances women’s health and well-being, whereas denying abortion results in physical and economic harm. Based on a ten-year investigation, the book combines engaging, in-depth stories of women who received and were denied abortion care along with study data from 50 peer-reviewed papers published in top medical and social science journals.”
—Ms. magazine
“Required reading for anyone concerned with reproductive justice."
—Kirkus, starred
“If you read only one book about democracy, The Turnaway Study should be it. Why? Because without the power to make decisions about our own bodies, there is no democracy. There is no freedom and justice without reproductive freedom and justice."
—Gloria Steinem
“Dr. Foster brings what is too often missing from the public debate around abortion: science, data, and the real-life experiences of people from diverse backgrounds. Dr. Foster’s book offers the first in-depth look at the impact of being denied abortion on mental and physical health, economic wellbeing, relationships, and families. This should be required reading for every judge, member of Congress, and candidate for office — as well as anyone who hopes to better understand this complex and important issue.”
—Cecile Richards, co-founder of Supermajority, former president of Planned Parenthood, and author of Make Trouble
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
AMY
I just couldn’t imagine starting over and doing it all again. I would be depriving my first child by having to support a second one.
I was born in Texas, and I lived there with my mom and my dad. My mom worked in a nursing home. My dad was a mechanic. They divorced when I was a little kid. My parents are remarried and have their own families now. So we’re still here in Texas.
When my parents got divorced, it really wasn’t the best time for a kid. So I don’t really remember a whole lot other than my grandparents, who had a farm. You know, there was lots of animals. But my parents were both very good parents. I can remember they were good.
My husband and I, we’ve been together since high school. We had just got married when I became pregnant. When we found out that I was pregnant with our first child, our only child, I was 17, and we had considered adoption. Well, we had picked out a family, and she actually went there for about two weeks until we changed our mind. We had thought, you know, if we couldn’t give her the life that she deserved, then we’ll give somebody else the opportunity to. We had signed the papers and everything that we were supposed to do. And she was with the family. It was so sad. I tried to separate the postpartum blues from my own emotions. And then I realized it’s not postpartum. This is our child. We need to get her back and raise her even if we have to struggle or we have to sacrifice different things. We’ll make it work. So we got her back.
We were just living the American dream and just living one day at a time and trying to raise a daughter the best we could. We talked about having more kids when our daughter was younger. My husband would say, “You know, we should have one more.” And first I was like, “Yeah, well, when she’s four.” And then I was like, “Okay, when she’s five or when she’s six or when she’s seven.” And then it just became—there’s really no point in starting over. She’s in school and there was no time, no room, no money, no nothing for an extra mouth to feed. Every marriage has its challenges. Was it anything out of the ordinary? No. We were just like any other married couple, I guess.
I was living with my husband and my daughter when I became pregnant again. At that time I was coaching figure skating and my daughter was ten. I was working, and living life, and stuff happens and there you are. We have to make decisions.
We weren’t struggling, but we had recently bought a house. My daughter was a figure skater, which was quite expensive. It was a good chunk of money each month to do that. And we were planning to send her to a private school. I felt like I wanted to give one kid everything that I possibly could. I couldn’t fathom giving two children all the things that I wanted to be able to give one.
When I found out I was pregnant again, I had mixed emotions. I was kind of scared, like, okay, what are we going to do? Sad because I already knew that I never wanted any more children.
My husband was—he had mixed emotions as well. He couldn’t believe that it had happened, because even though we had the one child, she was pretty much a miracle baby because my husband cannot have children, and here we were expecting another. When he was a teenager, my husband had a medical issue. And when he got finished with his surgeries, they told him the likelihood for him to have any children would be slim to none. So our first one was a surprise because we never thought that he would ever be able to have children. So when we found out that I was pregnant the second time, it was a lot to deal with.
I remember I told my husband on his birthday that I was pregnant. And he had asked me, he said, “Well, what are we going to do?”
So, on this new pregnancy, we already knew what the options were. We already knew that adoption wasn’t going to work. That just wasn’t in our blood. So we looked at the route of the abortion. And that just fit our plan better. When I went to my doctor, who I’d been seeing for the past ten years, she knew that I never wanted any more children, so she gave me a pamphlet, and I had to call and set up an appointment.
There were some protesters outside the clinic. There weren’t very many, and it didn’t faze me. I knew what I wanted to do, and I’m a pretty strong-willed person. So they weren’t going to change my mind. But I guess if some people were uncertain about their decision, then it could have affected them. But I just went on in. In the clinic, I was super nervous. One, you don’t want to see anybody that you know. So you just hold your head down and just get through it. We saw all types of different people there. But the staff was wonderful. They were—after you have the abortion, you’re kind of out of it a little bit, but I remember everybody being really nice and making sure that everything was taken care of properly. They kind of commended me on my bravery and were understanding and made me feel like I was making the right choice for me. When I left, everything was fine, and it was a rock lifted off my chest.
I don’t think that the abortion has affected anything since then negatively. And honestly I’m not even sure if it’s been positive, either. I think it was just something that I knew that had to be done, and we went about our lives. My husband owns his own business, and I’m working in a field that I love. I work as a medical assistant now. I remember when I was younger I would take a toy medical kit and pretend to listen to the heartbeats of my stuffed animals. So early on, I kind of had an idea that I liked health care. And here I am doing it, you know, three decades later. Our daughter has grown up with everything that I could’ve, would’ve, should’ve given her. You know, we have a house. We have a family. It’s a good life. I’m happy where I am. My daughter is a teenager. She’s a pretty big highlight of my life. I basically think that everything that I’ve ever done, ever worked for has been for her. So every moment, every day that I get to spend with her, is a highlight. Raising a teenage daughter, I’m so blessed because she’s such a good kid. It’s an ordinary life, but it’s an extravagant, wonderful ordinary life.
I never wanted any more children after I had our daughter, but she is dating a boy who came from very little. We’ve basically taken him in on our own and, you know, supported him as much as we can. And so it’s funny that I never wanted any more children, but here I am helping out another one. So it’s so funny. I tease him, “You’re the son that I never wanted.” But he’s a good kid.
When I did the studies every six months or so, they’d be like, “How often do you think about the pregnancy?” And I said, “Only when you call me.” It wasn’t something that plagued me or I thought about really much at all because I just knew that it was something that had to be done. So we just kept living.
If I hadn’t had the abortion, I’d basically be starting over, because this child would be, like, in kindergarten, first grade, and we’d be doing the same thing that we’ve already done. I just couldn’t imagine starting over and doing it all again. I would be depriving my first child by having to support a second one. And I guess being an only child myself I was really selfish, and I’m still selfish. I just want to give one person everything that I can. We’d have to buy a different house. We’d need a bigger house. Now we get to go on vacations. We’re sending our daughter off to Mexico this summer. Just things that I don’t think would be possible with a second child.
I’m glad that I did it. I don’t think that it’s a bad thing at all. I think it’s definitely a woman’s choice. That’s what I decided along with my family, and it was the best choice for us. I had the support of my husband, but I believe that it is always a woman’s choice. I don’t necessarily believe in it as a form of birth control, but it is—it’s still a woman’s choice.
My goal right now is sending the kiddo to college—a good college. Get her in and make sure she’s prepared for her own future. I want to continue to be happy. I mean, really that’s what anybody wants: Everybody just wants to be happy. And as long as we have that, I think that, to me, is a bright future. Happiness and having a supportive backbone is a pretty good goal for me.
Amy, a white woman from Texas, was 28 years old and six weeks pregnant when she had an abortion.
Product details
- Publisher : Scribner (June 1, 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 384 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1982141573
- ISBN-13 : 978-1982141578
- Item Weight : 10.9 ounces
- Dimensions : 8.39 x 1.1 x 5.47 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #47,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9 in Abortion & Birth Control
- #15 in Health Care Delivery (Books)
- #29 in Government Social Policy
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
The book is well written and alternates between a discussion of the data on each topic with interviews with women talking about their abortion or having to have the child, which gives a human face to the study. The findings were reasonable easy to follow, although a few of the figures were confusing.
I hope people who are curious about the physical, mental, and economic effects of abortion on women and their children vs. being denied, as well as those curious about the reasons the women want an abortion and why they waited so long, will read this book.
I highly recommend it.
*Please*, my sisters, don’t be fooled. Wake up and realize that the politics surrounding this subject have nothing to do with babies or abortion. The bottom line is really all about controlling woman and relieving us of those pesky things called human rights and that silly desire for equality.