by Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone
Amistad Press
10/1/2024, hardcover
SKU: 9780063228153
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 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. You'll find rigorous research, never-before-heard stories, and eye-opening interviews with over 50 people of color who've had abortions, including activists, actresses, television writers, politicians, and the 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:
"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 care--for 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
About the Contributors:
Renee Bracey Sherman is a reproductive justice activist, abortion storyteller, and writer. She is the founder and co-executive director of We Testify, an organization dedicated to the leadership and representation of people who have abortions and share their stories at the intersection of race, class, and gender identity. She is also an executive producer of Ours to Tell, an award-winning documentary elevating the voices of people who've had abortions, and co-host of The A Files: A Secret History of Abortion, a podcast from The Meteor. She lives in Washington, DC.
Regina Mahone is a writer and editor whose work explores the intersections between race, class, and reproductive rights. As a senior editor at The Nation magazine, she edits articles on a range of topics, including national politics, and runs Repro Nation, a monthly newsletter about global efforts to protect reproductive freedom. She and her co-author, We Testify Founder and Executive Director Renee Bracey Sherman, are co-hosts of the podcast The A Files: A Secret History of Abortion from The Meteor. Regina has written for publications including Cosmopolitan, Elle, Rewire News Group, Romper, The Nation, and Truthout. She lives in New Jersey with her partner and two children.