Coming from Hachette Books 7.13.2021
One of LitHub's Nonfiction Books You Should Read This Summer
A Newsday Summer Beach Read
The definitive account of the battle for reproductive freedom and a bold new strategy to safeguard our rights, from two legal titans at the forefront of the movement.
Reproductive freedom has never been in more dire straits. Roe v. Wade protected abortion rights and Planned Parenthood v. Casey unexpectedly preserved them. Yet in the following decades these rights have been gutted by restrictive state legislation, the appointment of hundreds of anti-abortion judges, and violence against abortion providers. Today, the ultra-conservative majority at the Supreme Court has activists, medical providers, and everyday Americans worried that we are about to lose our most fundamental reproductive protections.
When Roe is toppled, abortion may quickly become a criminal offense in nearly one-third of the nation. Today, 89 percent of US counties do not have a single abortion provider, in part due to escalating violence and intimidation aimed at disrupting services. Everyone should be free to make the personal and private decisions that affect our lives and well-being without government interference or bias, but we can no longer depend on Roe and the federal courts to preserve our liberties.
“A knowledgeable, essential reframing of an incendiary issue based on common sense, historical fact, and simple decency.”
Kathryn Kolbert and Julie F. Kay share the story of one of the most divisive issues in American politics through behind-the-scenes personal narratives of stunning losses, hard-earned victories, and moving accounts of women and health-care providers over five decades of legal battles. At this make-or-break moment for legal abortion, Kolbert and Kay propose audacious new strategies inspired by medical advances, state-level protections, human rights models, and activists around the globe whose courage and determination are making a difference.
No more banging our heads against the Court’s marble walls, they urge. It is time for a new direction.
“This impassioned and well-argued rallying cry rings loud and clear.”
Kathryn Kolbert has had a long and distinguished career advancing women’s rights. In 1992, she made her second appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the landmark case that has been widely credited with saving Roe v. Wade. A co-founder of the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Athena Film Festival, she also created NPR’s Justice Talking and the Athena Center for Leadership at Barnard College.
Julie F. Kay began her legal career at the Center for Reproductive Rights and has spent the ensuing decades developing innovative legal and policy initiatives to advance gender equality and religious freedom in the U.S. and internationally. She helped lay the groundwork for the legalization of abortion in Ireland through the first direct challenge to the country's absolute ban before the European Court of Human Rights and has fought for legal reform to protect the parenting rights of people leaving ultra-religious communities.
To PREORDER, VISIT CONTROLLING WOMEN. For publicity inquiries, please email Lauren.Rosenthal@hbgusa.com. For all other book-related inquiries, please email jtutela@dblackagency.com.