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

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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 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 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 makes us feel about our experiences. Youll find rigorous research, never-before-heard stories, and eye-opening interviews with more than fifty people of color whove 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, Liberating Abortion will change how you think about abortion forever.

Reviews

"[Bracey Sherman and Mahones] informative text will help young women especially to navigate difficult decisions. An affirmative vision that places abortion within a social justice context, calling for equitable support for all families. Kirkus Reviews(starred review) "A clear and accessible guide for those who want to learn more about abortion and join the fight for reproductive rights." Booklist "By laying plain the relationship between abortion and racism, activist Renee Bracey Sherman and journalist Regina Mahone offer an invaluable perspective, rigorous research and invigorating interviews of Black women who have fought for abortion rights throughout history." Ms. Magazine "A range of difficult, nuanced conversations coexist withsurprising humor and levity, small but impactful jokes sprinkled throughout, colorful and intimate details about abortion stories and experiences. Even as the book reckons with the gravity of our post-Roereality and all its uncertain terrain, Bracey Sherman and Mahone manage to write with a pervading tone of optimism." Jezebel "Liberating Abortion is an unabashed defense of abortion as an essential part of reproductive justice, inextricably tied to our right to parent on our own terms. Based on compelling stories of people of color who had and advocate for abortions, Bracey Sherman and Mahone contest the racist, sexist and unscientific myths that stigmatize abortion and they issue a no holds barred manifesto for abortion carefor anyone, anywhere, at any time, and for any reason. This book is the rebellious call for reproductive freedom we need right now." Dorothy Roberts, author of Killing the Black Body and Torn Apart "The truth about abortion is sometimes uncomfortable. Abortion is medical care. It saves lives and families even if anti choice voices want to pretend otherwise. Here, Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone lay bare the truth compassionately and thoroughly. A necessary and breathtaking look at the past and the future, Liberating Abortion challenges us all to look past the buzzwords and political rhetoric to the humanity." Mikki Kendall, author of Hood Feminism "In a deeply consequential moment in our struggle for abortion justice, our Liberating Abortion storytellers, Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone, meet the moment with powerful insight and testimonials. Abortion care is health care. And together, we will work to build a nation where anyone who seeks abortion care can receive that care with dignity and support." Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley "Open and inclusive dialogue is necessary to continue the fight for true reproductive freedom. Liberating Abortion is a timely and necessary account that rightly centers the abortion experiences of Black and Brown women in this country. Access to abortion impacts every single person; and every single person deserves to have their voice heard. This book brilliantly couples research with lived experiences of so many whose voices have been silenced for far too long." Congresswoman Barbara Lee "To read this book is to be invited into a conversation with Black and Brown activists, artists, leaders, scholars, people who have had abortions, and people who have unapologetically provided this essential care throughout history. Liberating Abortion skillfully weaves together personal stories, political analysis, and practical advice to tell a story that's both unflinchingly candid and fiercely hopeful. In writing the book they wish they'd had, Renee and Regina have given a gift to future generations." Cecile Richards, author of Make Trouble "Part manifesto, history lesson, and urgent call to action, Liberating Abortion is a powerful and razor-sharp roadmap to a just, liberated future where abortion is for all." Karlie Kloss, model, entrepreneur, and advocate "Liberating Abortion helps contextualize the moment were currently facing in this country and provides an in depth look at the history of abortion which recenters the experiences of people of colorwhich is beyond important for all of us to understand as we collectively look to the future of reproductive justice. Renee and Regina use their unique voices to bring to life in depth research and stories of abortion and share a powerful vision for what will be possible once abortion is liberated for all. This book is vital reading for everyone who cares about the future of bodily autonomy!" Busy Philipps, actor, author, and abortion activist "Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone do the urgent work of mapping out history that many of us have never been taught, weaving in representational, familial, religious, racial and sexual analysis that is in turns surprising, enraging and hopeful. Centering voices who have too often been silenced, Liberating Abortion provides a generously corrective view of our past and a compassionate glimpse of what a freer and more collective future might look like." Rebecca Traister, New York Times bestselling author of Good and Mad and All the Single Ladies "A visionary must-read for people who have abortions and the people who love us. Using intersectional framework of reproductive justice, this book combines comprehensive structural level analysis with a wealth of abortion stories told with unwavering care and respect. It is a balm against abortion stigma, and an antidote to white supremacist myth-making that ignores the vast wisdom and myriad experiences of the majority of people who have abortions. By centering Black and Brown people, Liberating Abortion replaces false histories and offers a clear vision for what people who have abortions should and can have, instead of what we cant." Becca Rea-Tucker, abortion storyteller, author of Baking By Feel, and creator of @TheSweetFeminist "Liberating Abortion combines experience and history, research and personal narrative. It gives its readers an honest understanding of human nature and leaves us hopeful. A must-read." Molly Jong-Fast, author, special correspondent for MSNBC and Vanity Fair, and host of Fast Politics "Liberating Abortion is a refreshingly bold blend of personal storytelling and retelling of historical narratives to open a new conversation about abortion that will leave readers with a deep sense of knowing, affirmed in their own stories and an expanded vision for a new and abundant future centered in reproductive justice. A future within our reach. The vision Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone lay out is awe-inspiring and visionary, yet clear-eyed enough to move you to action. This book is a reset for abortion activism." Cameron Russell, model, organizer, and author of How To Make Herself Agreeable to Everyone "Liberating Abortion is a pathbreaking book and a work that we most need now. With great sensitivity, depth, and compassion, Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone do the finest story-telling by lifting up voices of those seldom heard. They are masterful. In doing so, they are building the future of reproductive justice by reframing the cultural narrative and setting forth a new agenda. In the process, they are reclaiming history and reigniting the power of storytelling." Michele Goodwin, author of Policing the Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood "Prescient and beautifully written, this is the book we need at just the right time. Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone have created an accessible text that addresses the void often created by the pro-choice movement. This book is a primer on abortion and reproductive justice, a sex-education manual, and history book all in one. This remarkable book is one of a kind and should be on your reading list." Alicia Gutierrez-Romine, Ph.D., author of From Back Alley to the Border: Criminal Abortion in California, 1920-1969 "In a crowded field of books about abortion after Roe, Liberating Abortion offers something totally new. Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone tell the whole history of abortion and reveal the racism behind anti-abortion, and even pro-choice, political movements. The experiences and contributions of black women and other people of color haven't been fully recognized and appreciated until now." Dr. Diana Greene Foster, author The Turnaway Study "Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone have given us a beautiful, and crucial history of abortion, told through the stories of Black women and people of color.By honoring the abortion experiences of Black and Brown folks, Liberating Abortion also serves as a glaring reminder that the predominant abortion experience we have been taught, is from a white, often privileged perspective. By giving us this rich history, this book offers the education and compassion we desperately need to achieve true reproductive justice." Lizz Winstead, author of Lizz Free or Die and founder of Abortion Access Front "Liberating Abortion shows us how to claim our bodies and our history through the essential lens of reproductive justice, even (or especially) now. It's a crucial map to living out the value of kavod habriyot (dignity for all people) and honoring the inherent autonomy and sanctity of each human being." Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, author of On Repentance and Repair "Liberating Abortion is an essential and transformative read that delves into the untold history and ongoing struggle for abortion rights among people of color. Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone's rigorous research and poignant storytelling bring to light the systemic racism and stigmas that have long plagued our communities. This book is a clarion call for justice, empowering readers to understand and fight for reproductive freedom. It is a crucial addition to the conversation on abortion rights and an inspiring guide for building a more equitable future." Carmen Perez-Jordan, civil and human rights activist and Chicana feminist "A breathtaking manifesto and a warm hug of a self-help book all rolled into one. Reading it healed things in my heart. Bracey Sherman and Ma

Author Bio

Renee Bracey Shermanis a reproductive justice activist, abortion storyteller, and writer. She is the founder and coexecutive director of We Testify, executive producer of the award-winning documentary Ours to Tell, and cohost of the podcast The A Files: A Secret History of Abortion. In 2022, she made history as the first person to testify to the self-managed abortion protocol before Congress. She lives in Washington, DC. Regina Mahone is a writer and editor whose work explores the intersections between race, class, and reproductive rights. She is a senior editor at The Nation magazine, where she runs the monthly Repro Nation newsletter, and cohost of the podcast The A Files: A Secret History of Abortion. She lives in New Jersey with her partner and two children.