"A deeply sophisticated argument about the character of our relation with unborn and newborn human beings. It challenges the models that have been allowed uncritical domination in a lot of recent ethical argument; and, without emotive pleading or overheated polemic, it insists that we look afresh at assumptions around abortion and the status of the unborn person, on the grounds of solid philosophical discussion as well as offering a rich and resourceful theological context for such a new look at the issues. This is a seriously impressive work."--Rowan Williams

"Unusually perceptive and helpful. To read his argument with care is to have one's judgment sharpened and illumined...This is a work of serious philosophical argument, well worth our taking seriously." --The New Atlantis

"[Mumford's] reasoning throughout the book is quite perceptive and respectful in debating his philosophical and theological interlocutors...Mumford's book is not only a very interesting contribution to the debate on the ethics of the beginning of life, but it is also an excellent example of scholarship on Continental philosophy. The writing is accessible and informative for various types of readers, with abundant and precise references to authors of various philosophical and theological traditions." --Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"A remarkable piece of work." --First Things

"Finally a book that offers a way to think about abortion that is an alternative to the language of past and present discussions. Drawing on the work of Merleau-Ponty, Mumford makes it possible for us to see how a mother's experience of her child is crucial for the recognition of our joint humanity. This is a brilliant book that has implications for how we think about a wide range of questions concerning our relation to one another." --Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School

"Skilful and original, a creative description of what Mumford calls the 'extraordinary encounter' of the 'newone'. This is a contribution both to moral philosophy and to phenomenology, a rare achievement. Mumford is a scholar equally at ease in the British and Continental tradition, he opens his readers eyes to many a fact which his predecessors have left unnoticed. The book is also the work of a good stylist -- reading it is sheer pleasure." --Jean Yves Lacoste

"The book is a feat of scholarship, thoughtfully engaging with authors from a wide range of periods and disciplines. It is also a joy to read, with allusions to mythology, poetry, literature, and film artfully woven into the argument. Anyone with the slightest interest in the status of the unborn, and indeed the weakest members of society, should read this book." --Political Theology

"...Mumford's primary application of phenomenological ethics is, of course, to an applied question that is as highly charged in ideological and emotional terms as one can imagine. He handles this with much sensitivity and emotional intelligence, tools essential to developing phenomenological attunement to the emergence of the newone. All in all, despite the difficulties that doing ethics in a phenomenological key might bring, Mumford has offered us a masterly and indisputably impressive demonstration of the harmonies that can sometimes emerge." --Modern Theology