No Choice
The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
Named one of Mother Jones' BOOKS WE NEEDED IN 2022
An in-depth look at the legacy of Roe v. Wade, and on-the-ground reporting from the front lines of the battle to protect the right to choose
The pieces started to fall in 2019 when a wave of anti-abortion laws went into effect. Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana and Kentucky banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, while Missouri banned the procedure at eight weeks. Alabama banned all abortions. The die was cast. And on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and, abortion immediately became illegal in 22 states.
No Choice begins by shining a light on the eerie ways in which life before Roe will be mirrored in life after. The wealthy and privileged will still have access, low-income people will suffer disproportionately, and pregnancy will be heavily policed. Then, Andrews takes us to the states and communities that have been hardest-hit by the erosion of abortion rights in this country, and tells the stories of those who are most at risk from this devastating reversal of settled law. There is a glimmer of faint hope, though.
As the battle moves to state legislatures around the country, the book profiles the people who are doing groundbreaking, inspiring work to ensure safe, legal access to this fundamental part of health care.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Reporter Andrews debuts with a brisk yet comprehensive history of the fight over abortion care and access in the U.S. since the mid–20th century. She profiles early pro-choice activists including the 1960s founders of the Society for Humane Abortion, whose own experiences with illegal abortion led them to bolster the access network for abortion seekers, and Heather Booth, whose work helping a friend's sister led to the founding of the Jane collective in 1969. Andrews also spotlights the clients and organizers of the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion and Problem Pregnancies in New York, and offers an informative profile of Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade. Fast forwarding to the end of the Roe era, Andrews discusses so-called TRAP laws "aimed at limiting access to abortion care through seemingly harmless provisions about hallway widths or expensive medical equipment unnecessary to abortion," and profiles organizations that fund abortion care for impoverished women of color, clinic escorts who help patients get to their appointments, and antiabortion activists. Throughout, Andrews skillfully illuminates the implications of changing laws and policies through individual profiles, and offers nuanced critiques of the "political rhetoric" used by both sides of the debate. This is a valuable introduction to the current state of abortion rights in America.
