The Turnaway Study

The Cost of Denying Women Access to Abortion

By: Diana Greene Foster PhD

Narrated by: Samantha Desz, full cast

“If you read only one book about democracy, The Turnaway Study should be it. Why? Because without the power to make decisions about our own bodies, there is no democracy.” (Gloria Steinem)

The “remarkable” (The New Yorker) landmark study of the consequences on women’s lives—emotional, physical, financial, professional, personal, and psychological—of receiving versus being denied an abortion that “should be required reading for every judge, member of Congress, and candidate for office—as well as anyone who hopes to better understand this complex and important issue” (Cecile Richards).

What happens when a woman seeking an abortion is turned away? To answer this question, Diana Greene Foster assembled a team of scientists—psychologists, epidemiologists, demographers, nurses, physicians, economists, sociologists, and public health researchers—to conduct a 10-year study. They followed a thousand women from across America, some of whom received abortions, some of whom were turned away. Now, for the first time, Dr. Foster presents the results of this landmark study in one extraordinary, groundbreaking book.

Judges, politicians, and pro-life advocates routinely defend their anti-abortion stance by claiming that abortion is physically risky and leads to depression and remorse. Dr. Foster’s data proves the opposite to be true. Foster documents the outcomes for women who received and were denied an abortion, analyzing the impact on their mental and physical health, their careers, their romantic relationships, and their other children, if they have them. Women who received an abortion were better off by almost every measure than women who did not, and five years after they receive an abortion, 99 percent of women do not regret it.

As the national debate around abortion intensifies, The Turnaway Study offers the first thorough, data-driven examination of the negative consequences for women who cannot get abortions and provides incontrovertible evidence to refute the claim that abortion harms women. Interwoven with the study findings are 10 “engaging, in-depth” (Ms. Magazine) first-person narratives. Candid, intimate, and deeply revealing, they bring to life the women and the stories behind the science.

Revelatory, essential, and “particularly relevant now” (HuffPost), this is a must-hear for anyone who cares about the impact of abortion and abortion restrictions on people’s lives.

©2007 Diana Greene Foster, PhD. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Enlightening

Whenever I converse with someone about abortion I ask if they’ve read this book, because I believe it is one the most comprehensive resources that is data-driven rather than the typical talking points I hear again and again. I recommend this book to everyone as a great way to be better informed about the whole matter.

Establishing empathy with others

This book does a wonderful job of pairing facts with true stories and how the choice for abortion impacts women before and after the choice is made.

Facts matter

This is a look through other peoples lives but with facts that matters. The personal stories and the numbers behind the stories make this so important for people.
Understand why for some people is enough for them to understand that woman’s health care does include abortion.
I use facts and figures from here daily.
Thank you for this book.

Gloomy topic but interesting.

Regardless of your position in the topic this reads like the huge research project that it was. The sections with statistics and data a bit dry, but necessary. Women’s stories interlaced gave credence to the dire situations some found themselves in and added clarity to the survey results. I feel enriched and more educated on the topic.

Thought provoking

This is the best landscape for abortion that I have read. It’s thorough and pushed me to think about my current position on abortion. I see myself as neither fully pro-choice or pro-life. It gives reason to think carefully about the beliefs and policies we supports and how it can effect others around this issue.

This is why education is important

People won’t read this book and they should. Any legislator or judge need to read this book. The data is all there. You should trust women to make their own decisions. Period. Thank you for this study.

Scientific Research on Women's Reproductive Health

The study is carefully crafted and implemented but the addition of the personal interviews of the women makes this a compelling narrative past a scientific study.

Would recommend!

I loved this book and the information it presented. It kept my attention and gave me lots of new information and personal stories or accounts to consider by women who have actually had abortions. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to gain more unbiased insight into this topic. I have a feeling I’ll be listening to this a second time in the future!

Fantastic

Dr. Foster brilliantly asked the questions what makes women seek an abortion and what happens to them after they get one or are turned away. It’s become so common to focus on the embryo/fetus, but no one ever seems to think about the woman herself, and what the consequences are for her if she is denied an abortion. Dr. Foster and her team followed over 1000 women, some who got their abortions, some who didn’t. In The Turnaway Study, Dr. Foster looks how the women looking to get an abortion, their children and family’s lives are affected. Not only by asking about their emotional well being, but also their educational goals, career aspirations, financial successes.
Dr Foster also discusses post 20 week abortions and why they occur. It’s easy to paint women having these procedures with a broad brush and say “you shouldn’t have waited so long”. The question is who put the stumbling blocks there causing women to have to wait longer in the first place?
There are also some personal stories of women who went to get abortions and either got or were denied their abortions and how their lives progressed from there.
The narration was stellar, absolutely perfect. This book is definitely worth the credit, I absolutely loved it!
Happy listening!!

The Most Humanizing & Data Backed Book on Abortion

The Turnaway study is probably the best book I have ever come across concerning abortion and female reproductive health. Not only does this book provide data, it explains the study process and normalizes the fact abortion is part of the reproductive lifecycle of women. The personal stories also bring the reader face to face with the human experiences surrounding family planning, culture, and many other aspects of human life on this planet. I learned so many factors I had never considered or at least had the data to discuss regarding abortion and womens' healthcare as a whole in the USA. I also gained more empathy for my fellow women. Thank you so much to everyone involved in this study and publishing this audio book.