Unwind

by

Neal Shusterman

Unwind: The Bill of Life Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
The Second Civil War, or “The Heartland War,” was fought over abortion. In order to settle the conflict between Pro-life and Pro-choice armies, The Bill of Life was passed. These constitutional amendments made abortion illegal but legalized a process called unwinding, in which parents can choose to “retroactively ‘abort’” a child between the ages of 13 and 18. Since the bill was passed, unwinding has become “a common and accepted practice in society.”
This short prologue of sorts introduces the reader to the moral conundrum at the center of the novel: whether or not unwinding is a logical or ethical alternative to abortion. Although the Bill of Life is generally seen as normal and acceptable in the world of the novel, the fraught nature of the abortion debate—and the fact that a war was fought over this issue—makes it clear that the reader will have to come to their own conclusions about the morality of this practice.
Themes
Inequality, Injustice, and the Law Theme Icon
Morality and Perspective Theme Icon