Liberating Abortion

“A gift to future generations.”—Cecile Richards, author of Make Trouble“Our storytellers meet the moment with powerful insight and testimonials.”—Congresswoman Ayanna PressleyA 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. 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, Liberating Abortion will change how you think about abortion forever.

Renee Bracey Sherman is a reproductive justice activist, abortion storyteller, and writer. She is the founder and co–executive 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.