Women have been able to have abortions legally for over 30 years. Yet few books have considered it as anything other than a health issue. Mary Boyle breaks this mould by considering the constructions of abortion in Western society. Drawing on ideas from sociology, politics, anthropology and law as well as psychology, she shows how abortion is linked to sexual behaviour and motherhood in the complex web of gender and power relations. This book will be of interest to all those engaged with feminist thinking, whether as student, academic, or professional in practice.