No choice The destruction of Roe v. Wade and the fight to protect a fundamental American right

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. (Oct.)

A journalist for Mother Jones gathers personal and historical accounts of abortion and abortion activist experiences before, during, and after Roe v. Wade. Andrews argues convincingly that the battle over abortion is part of a larger "war on women." To demonstrate this, she spent three years talking to individuals who sought abortions. The three-part narrative she constructs from these interviews, which she interweaves with discussions of reproductive rights history, is profoundly sobering. In Part I, the author shows how misogyny and racism, along with the professionalization of medicine in the 19th century, created "motivation for powerful people to frame abortion as an evil comparable to murder." By the 1960s, anti-abortion laws gave rise to semiclandestine organizations like the Society for Humane Abortion and Jane, which linked some of Andrews' interviewees with abortion doctors both inside the U.S. and abroad. In Part II, Andrews looks at how, by the early 21st century, conservative backlash against Roe v. Wade, the law that transformed an "evil" into a protected right, made it increasingly difficult for pregnant people--especially disenfranchised ones--to get abortions. At the same time, it revealed the way a racist medical establishment ignored the myriad social and economic issues that women and people of color faced while trying to maintain their reproductive health. Andrews concludes her study in Part III, arguing that the demise of Roe in 2022 was not only inevitable, but perhaps necessary. Until the connection between the devaluation of women and White supremacist gender control is fully articulated--and the complacency that gave rise to its end is replaced with a grassroots commitment to seeking reproductive justice for all--abortion will always be regarded with fear, suspicion, and even outright hostility. Necessary in its racial and gender inclusivity, this thoughtful book will appeal to anyone looking to understand the way forward in a post-Roe world. An important book on a timely topic. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.