Nie's important book…examine[s] the diverse and difficult experiences and views of different groups of Chinese people….In addressing the moral experience of abortion in China, it brings to light the multifaceted, complex and difficult dimensions of an issue that continues to be excluded from public debate by the political constraints of the Chinese state.

Harriet Evans, University of Westminster, China Quarterly

Jing-Bao Nie's nuanced account of abortion in China has provided me with a new set of lenses through which to view abortion as it is theorized and practiced in the United States. Sensitive to issues of gender, race, and class; aware of hierarchies of power in the public, professional, and private realms; and attentive to debates about women's rights and responsibilities, he provides the means for previously repressed and suppressed voices to speak loudly about one of their most difficult choices: to say 'yes' or 'no' to new life. Nie has written a book for all seasons that I intend to use in my courses on Ethics and Public Policy, Health Care Ethics and Law, and Feminist Thought.

Rosemarie Tong, Distinguished Professor in Health Care Ethics and director of the Center for Professional and Applied Ethics, University of Nort

An important work about abortion in China....Nie's rich background is a perfect combination of medicine and sociology, with roots in Chinese culture, making his contribution to this area of research unique. This well-organized, readable book is useful for multiple disciplines in the social sciences. Highly recommended.

R. Wang, Central Michigan University, Choice Reviews

[A] remarkable achievement. Nie's overarching project, the eclipsing of stereotypes held in the West about a monolithic and mono-cultural Chinese experience, can be said to be an unqualified triumph. Not only does the work represent a hitherto unexamined area of Chinese society, it contributes to a theory of ethics that must coexist with this contentious subject matter….Nie's book is about the morality and ethics of abortion as much as it is about the multifaceted grounds for a medical procedure, and its frequently devastating effects on the lives of Chinese women.

Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology

[A] unique and comprehensive study of abortion and its moral and ethical contexts in contemporary mainland China....Nie has made a tremendous contribution to scholarship in the area by giving a voice to so many silenced women and bringing to light some of the diverse personal meanings and experiences of aboration in contemporary China...This book with its clear and comprehensive exposition...can be recommended to a wide range of readers from specialists in Chinese ethics, sociology or women's studies, right through to undergraduate students taking general courses on Chinese society and culture.

Rosemary Roberts, University of Queensland, New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies

from the Foreword:
One of the most important books written on morality and ethics in China. Nie's achievement is not just to tell us about what people have practiced and how they have reacted to abortion. Even more, this book opens a window on contemporary Chinese society that provides a better sense of how ordinary Chinese negotiate social dangers and endure and transform moral experience.

Arthur Kleinman, M.D., Ph.D., Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor of Anthropology, Professor of Medical Anthropology in Global Health and Social Medicine, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School