Winner of the NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language Although Roe v. Wade identified abortion as a constitutional right in1973, it still bears stigma--a proverbial scarlet A. Millions of Americans have participated in or benefited from an abortion, but few want to reveal that they have done so. Approximately one in five pregnancies in the US ends in abortion. Why is something so common, which has been legal so long, still a source of shame and secrecy? Why is it so regularly debated by politicians, and so seldom divulged from friend to friend? This book explores the personal stigma that prevents many from sharing their abortion experiences with friends and family in private conversation, and the structural stigma that keeps it that way. In public discussion, both proponents and opponents of abortion's legality tend to focus on extraordinary cases. This tendency keeps the national debate polarized and contentious, and keeps our focus on the cases that occur the least. Professor Katie Watson focuses instead on the cases that happen the most, which she calls "ordinary abortion." Scarlet A gives the reflective reader a more accurate impression of what the majority of American abortion practice really looks like. It explains how our silence around private experience has distorted public opinion, and how including both ordinary abortion and abortion ethics could make our public exchanges more fruitful. In Scarlet A, Watson wisely and respectfully navigates one of the most divisive topics in contemporary life. This book explains the law of abortion, challenges the toxic politics that make it a public football and private secret, offers tools for more productive private exchanges, and leads the way to a more robust public discussion of abortion ethics. Scarlet A combines storytelling and statistics to bring the story of ordinary abortion out of the shadows, painting a rich, rarely seen picture of how patients and doctors currently think and act, and ultimately inviting readers to tell their own stories and draw their own conclusions. The paperback edition includes a new preface by the author addressing new cultural developments in abortion discourse and new legal threats to reproductive rights, and updated statistics throughout.

Posing as one of Robin Hood's thieves to avoid the evil Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only her fellow outlaws, John Little, Much and Robin Hood know the truth - this agile thief is no boy but in fact a fearless young woman with a secret past. But Scarlet is torn between her desire to get as far from Lord Gisbourne as possible and a strong sense of responsibility to those who took her in when she was first on the run. As Gisbourne draws closer to Scarlet and puts innocent lives at risk, she must decide how much the people of Nottinghamshire mean to her, especially John Little and Robin, whose quick smiles and temper have the rare power to unsettle Scarlet. Full of exciting action, secrets and romance, this imaginative retelling of the classic tale will have readers following every move of Robin Hood and his band of thieves.

The doctor she can't forget Two years ago, socialite Scarlet Portland spent one wild night with ER doc Luke Edwards. She hasn't forgotten their sizzling heat—it's branded on her mind forever—nor that night's devastating emotional repercussions… Now Scarlet's back in London and back in Luke's life. All she wants is one more chance—to see if the happiness she's only ever felt in his arms was real. But though their chemistry burns hot as ever, will he want her when he discovers the truth?

Reprint of the original, first published in 1839.