When Abortion Was a Crime, Leslie J. Reagan
When Abortion Was a Crime, Leslie J. Reagan
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When Abortion Was a Crime
Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867-1973

Author: Leslie J. Reagan

Narrator: Rosemary Benson

Unabridged: 13 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/08/2022

Synopsis

When Abortion Was a Crime is the must-listen book on abortion history. Originally published ahead of the thirtieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, this award-winning study was the first to examine the entire period during which abortion was illegal in the United States, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century and ending with that monumental case in 1973. When Abortion Was a Crime is filled with intimate stories and nuanced analysis, demonstrating how abortion was criminalized and policed—and how millions of women sought abortions regardless of the law. With this edition, Leslie J. Reagan provides a new preface that addresses the dangerous and ongoing threats to abortion access across the country, and the precarity of our current moment.

While abortions have typically been portrayed as grim "back alley" operations, this deeply researched history confirms that many abortion providers—including physicians—practiced openly and safely, despite prohibitions by the state and the American Medical Association. With the right to abortion increasingly under attack, this book remains the definitive history of abortion in the United States, offering vital lessons for every American concerned with health care, civil liberties, and personal and sexual freedom.

About Leslie J. Reagan

Leslie J. Reagan is professor of history, law, gender and women's studies, and media studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Author of the award-winning Dangerous Pregnancies: Mothers, Disabilities, and Abortion in Modern America and public intellectual, Reagan has written for the Washington Post, Time, Ms. Magazine, and Huffington Post and has appeared on numerous national and international media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, CBC Radio, and NPR. She is currently completing Toxic Legacies: Agent Orange in the United States and Vietnam.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Keith on April 08, 2013

There are several things that make this book stand out: its unique subject matter, its overall tone and the high quality of original research that obviously went into it. When Abortion was a Crime deals with the period of just over 100 years when abortion was prohibited by law in most circumstances......more

Goodreads review by Leah on December 27, 2022

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, I came across some social media posts that suggested some books to read, and this one was included on a list. While I kind of expected this one to be a bit dry and boring, I gave it a chance anyway. And I'm so glad I did, because this was anything but. Reagan managed......more

Goodreads review by LauriAnn on March 05, 2011

Great feminist read. It really helped me understand the arguments behind legalizing abortion much better. This book also also changed my perceptions about women, sexuality, motherhood, and the pervasiveness of abortion in the past.......more

Goodreads review by Lindsay on November 23, 2012

The demand for abortion has always existed and has never waned, but has experienced varying degrees of criminality, legality, and stigma. Reagan's book is testament to the hard truth that abortion has and always will be needed and is a fundamental reproductive right. One of the few books chronicling......more

Goodreads review by Brad on December 06, 2008

This was an excellent look into the history of abortion. Reagan successfully debunks a number of the myths surrounding the history of abortion, and illustrates how abortion in recent years has distorted the truth regarding its past. An excellent and well-balanced book.......more

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