Killing for Life: The Apocalyptic Narrative of Pro-Life Politics
"Carol Mason has given us something new and important—an account which makes killing for life comprehensible, a logical outgrowth of millennialist ideology. She manages to do this in a way that treats millennialist thought and pro-life violence seriously and respectfully without romanticizing or justifying the perpetrators, and without falling into a simplistic clash of absolutes analysis."—Marlene Gerber Fried, Hampshire College"Not only does Carol Mason provide an intricate history of the pro-life movement, but, in a book that should be required reading for anyone concerned with national politics, she also shows how central that movement's intense grassroots organizing and worldview was to the contemporary consolidation of right-wing conservatism at a national level, where many of its members are now in powerful positions, both in and out of government. The book is a model of accessibility, in that it is a fascinating read, but the author also develops a technique of reflexivity, in which she traces theoretical concepts such as textuality, narrative, cultural logics, and the political unconscious, and then, by way of interviews and archival material, anchors them in meticulously rigorous and concrete historical descriptions and contexts."—Linda Kintz, University of Oregon"Killing for Life is a groundbreaking analysis of the narrative and rhetorical strategies used by the 'prolife' movement in the U.S. Far from simply pointing to the absurdity or revulsive nature of various highly publicized prolife strategies (from murder of abortion-providers to throwing blood and alleged fetus parts on bystanders), Mason shows how this branch of the new right has radically reshaped the entire framework of political debate about the body and its use and women's right to control the destiny of their own bodies. Unlike other writers, who view the new right as a fringe conspiracy, Mason shows the continuity between abortion foes and neo-liberal critics of the welfare state. This book is essential reading for those concerned with democratic processes and with the rights of women and minorities."—Cindy Patton, author of Globalizing AIDS