Abortion History

“A gift to future generations.”—Cecile Richards, author of Make Trouble “Our storytellers meet the moment with powerful insight and testimonials.”—Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley A galvanizing history of abortion recentering people of color to put forth a timely argument that we must...

Fifty years ago, the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion-on-demand sparked nationwide tensions that continue to this day. In the decades since that ruling, abortion opponents and proponents have descended on the Capitol each year for marches and protests. But this story didn't begin with the Supreme Court in the 1970s; arguments about abortion have been a part of American history since the 17th century. So how did we get here?

In the spring of 1970, seventeen women set out from Vancouver in a big yellow convertible, a Volkswagen bus, and a pickup truck. They called it the Abortion Caravan. Three thousand miles later, they “occupied” the prime minister’s front lawn in Ottawa, led a rally of 500 women on Parliament Hill, chained themselves to their chairs in the visitors’ galleries, and shut down the House of Commons, the first and only time this had ever happened. The seventeen were a motley crew. They argued, they were loud, and they wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Naughty Victorians lifts the starched petticoats of 19th-century propriety to reveal the delightfully messy truths hidden beneath. With wit as sharp as a corset stay, author David Rountree unpacks the double standards, sexual taboos, and delicious hypocrisies of the Victorian era, focusing on America’s primly scandalized society. From the perfumed parlors of upper-class women to the grim tenements of immigrant families, this book explores the lives of real people—particularly women—navigating a world obsessed with virtue while frequently indulging in vice. Based on true newspaper ...

"Beyond Limits is moving, personal, insightful, and powerfully written. This book helps us to see people who seek abortions with clarity and compassion, as people in the real world, rather than as the objects of an abstract moral or political debate."—Diana Greene Foster, author of The...

A NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK "Captivated me from the first chapter to the final page."—Reese Witherspoon Vivid and compelling in its portrait of one woman’s struggle for fulfillment in a society pivoting between the traditional and the...

A reporter and abortion access correspondent investigates the secret killers and hidden motives behind the death of abortion rights. They are going to kill people, investigative reporter for The Nation Amy Littlefield knew, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. After a decade covering...

Brandon Scott offers an insightful and unique account of the history and question of abortion. Scott's analyses of history and the sources indicate that contemporary Roman Catholic and Protestant Evangelical positions on abortion are out of step with tradition and surprisingly even more conservative than the church of the Middle Ages. Scott also reviews traditional Jewish and Islamic positions on the practice of abortion. This is a rare book in that while many books review the ethical and moral aspects of abortion, and many regard the history, few books focus on the religious history of ...

From Sarah Weinman, author of Scoundrel and The Real Lolita, comes an eye-opening story about the first major spousal rape trial in America and urgent questions it raised about women’s rights that would reverberate for decades. In 1978, Greta Rideout was the first woman in United States...

Discover the true story of a self-taught surgeon and trailblazing figure in medical history—Madame Restsell, a revolutionary surgeon who fought for women's rights and healthcare in Gilded Age New York.Madame Restell is a sharp, witty Gilded Age medical history which introduces us to an iconic...

“For fans who appreciate emotionally wrenching reads such as those by Sarah Jio or Kristin Hannah.” –Library Journal “Fans of Jodi Picoult and Kristin Hannah now have a new go-to author.” —Sally Hepworth, bestselling author of The Secrets of Midwives From the bestselling author of...

THE NEW YORK TIMES BETSELLING TRILOGY "Captivated me from the first chapter to the final page."—Reese Witherspoon "Powerful and evocative.” —Kate Quinn The Henna Artist A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK Vivid and compelling, The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and...

“One of the year’s must-reads.” –ELLE “[A] provocative, heart-breaking, and frequently hilarious collection.” –GLAMOUR “Essential, vital, and urgent.” –HARPER’S BAZAAR In the vein of Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist and Issa Rae’s The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, but...

From the internationally bestselling author of The Children’s Train comes an unforgettable coming-of-age novel, set in 1960s Sicily and based on a true story, of how a young Sicilian girl defied centuries old tradition to win the right to control her own life. As provincial Sicily bursts into...

The harrowing story of 14-year-old Kathleen who faces betrayal by a trusted family priest in a close-knit 1970s Catholic community and incarceration in an institution for "fallen women." Imagine the shame when you can't even tell the truth to those you love and they banish you to Ireland to have your baby in secret. How will poor Kathleen ever recover from her ordeal?This is a dramatic and heartbreaking story about the joys and tests of motherhood and the power of love, friendship and family ties spanning several decades. Years later, another mother, Faye, grapples with her own challenges ...

First published in 1997, The Story of Jane recounts the evolution of Jane, the underground group in Chicago that performed abortion services before the procedure was legalized. An extraordinary history by one of its members, this is the first account of Jane's evolution, the conflicts within the group, and the impact its work had both on the women it helped and the members themselves.

In this deeply moving and myth-shattering work, Ann Fessler brings out into the open for the first time the astonishing untold history of the million and a half women who surrendered children for adoption due to enormous family and social pressure in the decades before Roe v. Wade.

An urgent call for Christians everywhere to explore the nature of the kingdom amid the political upheaval of our day. Should Christians be politically withdrawn, avoiding participation in politics to maintain their prophetic voice and to keep from being used as political pawns? Or should...

A provocative and deeply important study of women’s lives, women’s choices—and an ‘unspoken taboo’—that questions the societal pressures forcing women into motherhood Women who opt not to be mothers are frequently warned that they will regret their decision later in life, yet we...

From New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard comes the eagerly anticipated follow-up to her beloved novel Count the Ways—a complex story of three generations of a family and its remarkable, resilient, indomitable matriarch, Eleanor. Following the death of her former husband, Cam...