BACK TO THE D RAWING BOARD :THE FUTURE OF THE PRO -LIFE M OVEMENT

Teresa R. Wagner, editor St. Augustine's Press, 2003 350 pages, $20 To order: (800) 621-2736 www.staugustine.net

Three decades after the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions legalized and removed state restrictions on abortion, Teresa Wagner is realistic. “[I]t is time for the pro-life movement to ask tough questions,” she writes, “to entertain fresh ideas, and to consider new directions.”

Wagner, a former lobbyist with the National Right to Life Committee, has put together an informative and enlightening collection of essays. Abortion is here sized up from all the important angles — legal, medical/scientific, political, cultural — and with an eye toward where it all could be leading.

Pulling no punches, Wagner sets an unambiguous tone in her preface. “It would be both untrue and overly dramatic to say that the pro-life movement has lost,” she writes. “But we are not winning. And the sooner we face it, the sooner we change it.”

Today's pro-life advocates are confronted with prospects going far beyond the civic debate over whether or not abortion should be legal. Current and future challenges, all related to protecting life, include the destruction of embryos in stem-cell research, cloning, and the long-term treatment of physical and psychological wounds related to the destruction of human life. In the book's foreword, Father Richard John Neuhaus writes that, for all that is new and threatening, abortion remains at the heart of the contest for what Pope John Paul II calls the culture of life. “We know what our goal is: Every unborn child protected in law and welcomed in life.”

Some chapters offer overviews and helpful summaries of legal, legislative and medical developments. One of the best qualities of the book is that it attempts, in many places at least, to stand back from the culture wars in order to gain perspective. Most of the contributors offer an honest look at past achievements and misjudgments, suggesting new, thoughtful directions.

One of the disappointments to be found in a few places is the use of rhetoric that caricatures opposing views. For example, the second essay in the legal section of the book is titled “Only Liars Need Apply.” It begins with the statement: “On the thirtieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Americans may discover that the U.S. Senate will no longer confirm an honest person to the Supreme Court. Powerful pro-death forces seek to impose one non-negotiable condition on all nominees. ‘If you are willing to to lie about the meaning of the Constitution, you are not qualified to be a Justice.’ In short, only liars need apply.”

Such inflammatory language shows disrespect for two of the nation's highest institutions. It will change no minds and do little to advance the human rights under assault.

Also, considering the wide range of contributors, it is not surprising to find a certain unevenness in the quality of the 26 chapters.

Still, all things considered, this book well serves what its title suggests. Going back to the drawing board does not mean giving in to defeat. Instead, the title is an exhortation to pro-lifers to reassess their status, refocus their mission and refine their strategies. Fallow times can be periods of fertility and great promise.

Wayne A. Holst has taught religion and culture at the University of Calgary.