24 Jones A. Nurses talking to patients: exploring conversation analysisas a means of researching nurse–patient communication. Int J NursStud 2003; 40: 609–618.

25 Marvasti AB. Qualitative Research in Sociology. London, UK: Sage,2004.

26 Rich M, Lamola S, Gordon J, Chalfen R. Video intervention/preventionassessment: a patient-centred methodology for understanding theadolescent illness experience. J Adolesc Health 2000; 27: 155–165.

27 Heath C. Analyzing face-to-face interaction: video, the visual andmaterial, In: Silverman D (ed.), Qualitative Resarch: Theory, Methodand Practice. London, UK: Sage, 2004.

28 Olsson P, Jansson L, Norberg A. A qualitative study of childbirth as

spoken about in midwives’ ante- and postnatal consultationsMidwifery 2000; 16: 123–134.

29 Corbetta P. Social Research: Theory, Methods and Techniques.London, UK: Sage, 2003.

30 Jamieson L. Intimacy: Personal Relationships in Modern Societies.Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1998.

31 Rice PL, Ezzy D. Qualitative Research Methods: A Health Focus.South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press, 1999.

32 Holland J, Ramazanoglu C. Coming to conclusions: power andinterpretation in researching young women’s sexuality. In: MaynardM, Purvis J (eds), Researching Women’s Lives from a FeministPerspective. London, UK: Taylor & Francis, 1994.

43J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 2005: 31(1)

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH/BOOK REVIEW

Journal of Family Planning andReproductive Health Care

PEER REVIEWERS 2004Dr Mandy Abushama, Dr S Ariyanayagam, Dr LesleyBacon, Dr Urszula Bankowska, Dr Derrick Bennett,Dr Sharon Bodard, Mr Peter Bowen-Simpkins, Dr AudreyBrown, Dr Jonathan Burton, Dr Jeanette Cayley,Dr Hilary Cooling, Mr Michael L Cox, Miss Angela Crook,Dr Elizabeth Devonald, Professor Lindsay Edouard,Dr Karen Fairhurst, Professor Richard Farmer, Dr CarolineFree, Dr Ruth Garside, Dr Deborah Gill, Professor AnnaGlasier, Assistant Professor James Gribble, Dr MalcolmGriffiths, Dr Sunanda Gupta, Professor Philip Hannaford,Ms Linda Hayes, Dr Jennifer Hopwood, Dr Andrew Horne,Mr Roy Husemeyer, Dr Margaret Kingston, Dr GuntaLazdane, Dr Medard Lech, Dr Amanda Lee, Dr AnneMacGregor, Mr Graeme Maclennan, Dr Diana Mansour,Dr Louise Massey, Dr John McEwan, Miss Angela Mills,Dr Helen Mitchell, Dr Jill Mollison, Dr Judy Murty, Dr KateNash, Dr Lesley Navaratne, Professor John Newton,Dr Alison Parkes, Dr Anthony Parsons, Miss KatherinePaterson, Dr Steve Patterson, Dr Clare Payne, Mrs HilaryPiercy, Mr Gordon Prescott, Dr Craig Ramsay, Dr SarahRandall, Dr Fran Reader, Professor Lesley Regan,Dr Christine Robinson, Dr Gillian Robinson, Dr ClémentineRossier, Dr Sam Rowlands, Mr Bhanu Ruparelia, Mr NeilScott, Dr Stephen Searle, Professor Samual Shapiro, MrsJill Shawe, Dr Lindsay Smith, Dr Imogen Stephens,Dr Lesley Sutcliffe, Assistant Professor Stephanie Teal,Dr Ros Tolcher, Dr Gillian Vanhegan, Professor GillianWakley, Dr Martyn Walling, Dr Pam Warner, Dr AnneWebb, Dr Edith Weisburg, Miss Ley-Mee Yu, ProfessorSue Ziebland

Abortion in the USA and the UK. ColinFrancome. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate PublishingLtd, 2004. ISBN: 0 7546 3015 3. Pages: 154.Price: £35.00 (hardback)

Colin Francome has devoted much of hisacademic life to researching the abortion issue,and this book provides an insightful account ofhis findings. Comparing the USA and UKthroughout, it begins in the present, outlining therealities of the provision of, and demand for,abortion. It moves back in time, summarising theprocesses through which abortion was legalisedover three decades ago, and forward again withan account of the political debate to the present.

The overriding similarity between these twosocieties is evident in data presented about thedemand for abortion. Some specifics arehighlighted – for example, why the abortion rateis higher in the USA – but overall it is clear thatfor women in both societies abortion was, is, andwill remain a fact of life. Attention is rightlydrawn to differences, most clearly in the legal andpolitical aspects. Women in the USA have legal

provision for ‘the right to choose’ which they lackin the UK (very obviously in Northern Irelandwhere the Abortion Act does not apply). But inthe UK the political movement to oppose legalabortion is relatively weak, meaning contest overabortion is muted by comparison.

An unprecedented victory for the Americananti-abortion movement discussed by Francomeis the recent passing of a law by the US Congresswhich, for the first time in American history, bansa particular medical procedure, termed by itsopponents ‘partial birth abortion’. Other eventsunder the Bush administration indicate similarlythe extent to which abortion remains politicisedby its opponents’ activities.

But it would be wrong to imagine thatopposition to abortion is not important inBritain. Recent events make it clear thatdespite the relative weakness of the religiouslyinspired campaign for the ‘right to life of theunborn’, abortion is contentious. Over the lastyear, high-profile public debate has crystallisedaround abortion for fetal abnormality, inparticular cleft palate, and ‘late’ abortion, carriedout for any reason. Francome includes statisticsin his book that show that these abortions arestatistically marginal, yet they have moved to the

centre of the British abortion controversy.The dominance of argument hostile to

provision of abortion in these cases is striking.What is also notable is that its proponents come inmany forms. Feminists including Naomi Wolf andYasmin Alibhai-Brown have voiced their‘disquiet’ about abortion after 12 weeks, as haveclinicians who work in obstetrics. Journalistsfixated with both four-dimensional ultrasoundimages and with the very attractive currentchampion of the ‘rights’ of the abnormal fetus, theReverend Joanna Jepson, have joined in. Some inthe disability rights lobby play an important rolein portraying abortion for abnormality as‘eugenic’. Politicians including David Steel arearguing for a reduced upper time limit.

Francome reminds us that the woman is,always, the person who should have the moralauthority to decide whether to end a pregnancy.Those who agree with this standpoint need to beaware the abortion debate has moved on, andpresents us with new challenges.

Reviewed by Ellie Lee, BSc, PhDLecturer in Social Policy, School of Social Policy,Sociology and Social Research, University ofKent, Canterbury, UK

Book Review

40-43 JFPRHC Jan 05 12/14/04 5:32 PM Page 4

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