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Inside the Abortion Underground and the Sixty-Year Battle for Reproductive Freedom
by Rebecca Grant
From the award-winning author of Birth, a comprehensive, eye-opening history of the reproductive freedom movement—a journey into the underground activist networks that have been working to protect women's autonomy over their bodies amidst legal, political, religious, and cultural oppression over the past sixty years.
When it comes to the fight for bodily autonomy and women's rights in America, there are names and stories that we recognize—Gloria Steinem, Flo Kennedy, Norma McCorvey (a.k.a. Jane Roe), and the Janes. We are aware of the legislation, the victories, and the setbacks. But the people and stories that have defined the nearly sixty-year battle over abortion in America has largely been untold, hidden in the shadows and operating between and around changing laws, across digital and physical borders, and even in the liminal space of international waters.
Now, in Access, journalist and award-winning author Rebecca Grant reveals the full scope of the underground reproductive freedom movement in, around, and outside the United States, from the clandestine work of the Janes and referral networks like The List in the second wave women's liberation movement to the modern practice of self-managed abortion with pills through "accompaniment" networks and online platforms like Women on Web and Aid Access. In the wake of the SCOTUS decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Access provides both a historical framework and up-to-date details and stories about how feminist activists have always fought to subvert, undermine, and resist abortion bans by keeping pathways open, beyond the scope of the law.
Told with Grant's trademark blend of expert research and investigative reporting, with deep compassion and humanity, Access celebrates the bravery, ingenuity, and determination of women across decades who have fought for a fundamental human right—and is an inspiring rallying cry for the work that lies ahead.
"A ship in international waters that offers abortions to anyone, underground pill smuggling networks, and global lists of secretive abortion providers are some of the inventive means by which activists thwart abortion restrictions in this defiant history from journalist Grant...With an inspiring focus on ordinary people who risk their livelihoods, freedom, and safety to help others, this rivets." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[A] clear and compelling blend of history and journalism ... [Grant's] interest lies firmly in the above- and underground efforts to provide access to abortion rather than the slower, less reliable march towards enshrining reproductive rights in law...Those seeking a well-researched, galvanizing narrative about abortion access should look no further than this engrossing account." —Booklist (starred review)
"A capable history that foresees a hard fight yet to come in the war for reproductive freedom." —Kirkus Reviews
This information about Access was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Rebecca Grant is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Oregon, who covers reproductive rights, health, and justice. Her work has appeared in NPR, New York magazine, The Atlantic, VICE, The Nation, The Washington Post, Mother Jones, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, HuffPost, and The Guardian, among other publications. She has received grants and fellowships from the International Women's Media Foundation, the International Reporting Project, The Fund for Investigative Journalists, and Type Investigations, reporting stories around the US and the world. Rebecca studied English and art history at Cornell University and served in the Peace Corps in Thailand. Before full-time freelancing, she worked at Washingtonian Magazine and wrote about startups in San Francisco. She is the author of Birth and Access.
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