Liberating Abortion: Claiming Our History, Sharing Our Stories, and Building the Reproductive Future We Deserve

“Our storytellers meet the moment with powerful insight and testimonials.”—Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley

A galvanizing history of abortion, this powerful work of social justice recenters people of color to put forth a timely argument that we must liberate abortion for all.

People of color have been having abortions since the dawn of time, yet our access is continuously under attack. In Liberating Abortion, award-winning abortion activist Renee Bracey Sherman and journalist Regina Mahone illustrate the long racist history that brought us to this moment, uncover the hidden figures who set the foundation that activists and storytellers are building on today, and explain how abortion has been and remains essential to the bodily autonomy and health of our communities.

Liberating Abortion will take you back to the basics of sex education, detailing the traditions of abortion over centuries while examining how society creates abortion stigma and makes us feel about our experiences. You’ll find rigorous research, never-before-heard stories, and eye-opening interviews with more than fifty people of color who’ve had abortions, including activists, actresses, television writers, politicians, and two Black members of Jane, the Chicago feminist service that provided abortions before Roe.

With poignant storytelling and precise analysis grounded in reproductive justice, Liberating Abortion will change how you think about abortion forever.

This essential corrective to centuries of erasure and stigma delivers:

• A New Abortion History: An unflinching look at the long history of abortion, recentering the traditions, experiences, and hidden figures from communities of color.
• The Black Women of Jane: Never-before-heard stories from the two Black members of Jane, the legendary underground feminist abortion service in Chicago.
• Powerful Personal Stories: Eye-opening interviews with more than fifty people of color—including activists, actresses, and politicians—who share their abortion experiences with courage and honesty.
• The Roots of Inequity: A rigorous analysis of the racist and classist systems that have been used to attack abortion access and deny the right to parent.