Before Roe v. Wade: Voices that Shaped the Abortion Debate Before the Supreme Court’s Ruling

During the 1960s, “a conversation about the legitimate grounds for abortion” turned into “an argument about the legitimacy of government control over abortion,” while support for decriminalizing the procedure continued to increase. The Pulitzer-Prize winning Greenhouse (Becoming Justice Blackmun) has covered the Supreme Court for nearly 30 years; together with Yale Law professor Siegel (Processes of Constitutional Decision Making) she has compiled a compelling review of the societal changes, incidents, and cases that led to the Supreme Court’s historic decision. Readers today will likely be shocked by the conditions that women experienced before 1973: trips to Japan for abortions; the need to lie at every step; even the possibility of forced sterilization. The authors provide commentary and context on an impressive collection of documents, moving chronologically through every stage of abortion reform to create a compilation that will engage anyone with an interest in women’s rights or judicial history. (June)