My book, A Defense of Abortion, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2003.  The purpose of this web page is to provide some information about the book for those who might be interested in it.  

1. what the book is about

The jacket copy describes the book as follows:

    "David Boonin has written the most thorough and detailed case for the moral permissibility of abortion yet published. Critically examining a wide range of
    arguments that attempt to prove that every human fetus has a right to life, he shows that each of these arguments fails on its own terms. He then explains
    how even if the fetus does have a right to life, abortion can still be shown to be morally permissible on the critique of abortion’s own terms. Finally he
    considers several pro-life arguments that do not depend on claims that the fetus has a right to life and concludes that these too are ultimately unsuccessful.
    This major book will be especially helpful to those teaching applied ethics and bioethics in philosophy departments or professional schools of law and medicine.
    It will interest students of women studies and general readers for whom abortion remains a high-profile issue."

You can download a copy of the table of contents and chapter 1 (in pdf format) by clicking here .

2. what people have said about the book

The following quotes are also from the jacket copy:

    "Boonin gives a persuasive interpretation and development of Judith Jarvis Thomson’s good-samaritan argument. He dispatches with great authority Don Marquis’s
    future-like-ours argument. This original and carefully argued book will revitalize the abortion controversy."
        -- Bonnie Steinbock, State University of New York, Albany

    "I have never read a better examination of all the arguments that have been raised against abortion. Nor have I read a better series of counter arguments against    
    each of these arguments."
        -- Rosemarie Tong, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

    "David Boonin's book is must reading for anyone seriously concerned with the abortion issue.  Boonin discusses all the important perspectives.  His analyses are
    clear and insightful.  Boonin's book is the best available book on the ethics of abortion."
        -- Don Marquis, University of Kansas

In addition, a few reviews of the book have now appeared, some of which are available online:

    Review by Win-chiat Lee, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2003.04.11.  
        ("This is a very impressive book. I think Boonin has largely succeeded in what he sets out to do.")

    Review by Robert P. Lovering, Journal of Applied Philosophy, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 214-17 .
        ("For anyone even minimally interested in the abortion debate, Boonin's book is highly recommended.")

    Review by David DeGrazia [along with review of Jeff McMahan, The Ethics of Killing], Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 413-42.
        ([Boonin's book] may be the most philosophically thorough book-length treatment of abortion to date and, perhaps, also the best.")

3. how to order the book

To order directly from the publisher, click here .

To order from Amazon.com, click here .

4. how to contact the author

I would be very interested to hear from readers with questions or comments about the book.  Please e-mail me at David.Boonin@Colorado.Edu