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A Woman's Life Is a Human Life: My Mother, Our Neighbor, and the Journey from Reproductive Rights to Reproductive Justice
Published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade , this urgent book
from historian Felicia Kornbluh reveals two movement victories in New York that forever changed the politics of reproductive rights nationally Before there was a “Jane Roe,” the
most important champions of reproductive rights were ordinary people working in
their local communities. In A Woman’s Life Is
a Human Life , historian Felicia Kornbluh
delivers the untold story of everyday activists who defined those rights and
achieved them, in the years immediately before and after Roe
v. Wade made abortion legal under federal
law. A Woman’s Life Is a Human Life is
the story of two movements in New York that transformed the politics of
reproductive the fight to decriminalize abortion and the fight against
sterilization abuse, which happened disproportionately in communities of color
and was central to an activism that was about the right to
bear children, as well as not to. Each initiative won key
victories that relied on people power and not on the federal courts. Their
histories cast new light on Roe and
constitutional rights, on the difficulty and importance of achieving a truly
inclusive feminism, and on reproductive politics today. This is a book full of drama. From
dissident Democrats who were the first to try reforming abortion laws and
members of a rising feminist movement who refashioned them, to the nation’s largest
abortion referral service established by progressive Christian and Jewish
clergy, to Puerto Rican activists who demanded community accountability in
healthcare and introduced sterilization abuse to the movement’s agenda, and
Black women who took the cause global, A Woman’s Life
Is a Human Life documents the diverse ways activists
changed the law and worked to create a world that would support all people’s
reproductive choices. The first in-depth study of a
winning campaign against a state’s abortion law and the first to chronicle the
sterilization abuse fight side-by-side with the one for abortion rights, A
Woman’s Life Is a Human Life is rich with firsthand
accounts and previously unseen sources—including
those from Kornbluh’s mother, who wrote
the first draft of New York’s law decriminalizing
abortion, and their across-the-hall neighbor,
Dr. Helen Rodríguez-Trías, a Puerto Rican
doctor who cofounded the movement against
sterilization abuse. In this dynamic, surprising,
and highly readable history, Felicia Kornbluh
corrects the record to show how grassroots
action overcame the odds to create policy
change—and how it might work today.
from historian Felicia Kornbluh reveals two movement victories in New York that forever changed the politics of reproductive rights nationally Before there was a “Jane Roe,” the
most important champions of reproductive rights were ordinary people working in
their local communities. In A Woman’s Life Is
a Human Life , historian Felicia Kornbluh
delivers the untold story of everyday activists who defined those rights and
achieved them, in the years immediately before and after Roe
v. Wade made abortion legal under federal
law. A Woman’s Life Is a Human Life is
the story of two movements in New York that transformed the politics of
reproductive the fight to decriminalize abortion and the fight against
sterilization abuse, which happened disproportionately in communities of color
and was central to an activism that was about the right to
bear children, as well as not to. Each initiative won key
victories that relied on people power and not on the federal courts. Their
histories cast new light on Roe and
constitutional rights, on the difficulty and importance of achieving a truly
inclusive feminism, and on reproductive politics today. This is a book full of drama. From
dissident Democrats who were the first to try reforming abortion laws and
members of a rising feminist movement who refashioned them, to the nation’s largest
abortion referral service established by progressive Christian and Jewish
clergy, to Puerto Rican activists who demanded community accountability in
healthcare and introduced sterilization abuse to the movement’s agenda, and
Black women who took the cause global, A Woman’s Life
Is a Human Life documents the diverse ways activists
changed the law and worked to create a world that would support all people’s
reproductive choices. The first in-depth study of a
winning campaign against a state’s abortion law and the first to chronicle the
sterilization abuse fight side-by-side with the one for abortion rights, A
Woman’s Life Is a Human Life is rich with firsthand
accounts and previously unseen sources—including
those from Kornbluh’s mother, who wrote
the first draft of New York’s law decriminalizing
abortion, and their across-the-hall neighbor,
Dr. Helen Rodríguez-Trías, a Puerto Rican
doctor who cofounded the movement against
sterilization abuse. In this dynamic, surprising,
and highly readable history, Felicia Kornbluh
corrects the record to show how grassroots
action overcame the odds to create policy
change—and how it might work today.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 17, 2023
19 people are currently reading
2426 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 29, 2024
This is an important read for any (such as myself), unfamiliar with the immense efforts for grassroots organizations committed to ending sterilization abuse, efforts that were at odds with abortion rights groups in the early days. Many lessons to learn here!
September 12, 2022
The description of this book says, “Published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, this urgent book from historian Felicia Kornbluh reveals two movement victories in New York that forever changed the politics of reproductive rights nationally.”
Given the recent legislative changes governing abortion access in the US, this book is even more harrowing, important, and rage-inducing. In crisp prose, Kornbluh maps the work of grassroots activists who fought for reproductive rights before and just after Roe v. Wade. This read does an excellent job of broadening the conversation to think about reproductive justice and often centers the voices of women of color who pushed back against forced sterilization and the targeting of their communities. A timely read, and one I will be recommending to many people.
Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.
Given the recent legislative changes governing abortion access in the US, this book is even more harrowing, important, and rage-inducing. In crisp prose, Kornbluh maps the work of grassroots activists who fought for reproductive rights before and just after Roe v. Wade. This read does an excellent job of broadening the conversation to think about reproductive justice and often centers the voices of women of color who pushed back against forced sterilization and the targeting of their communities. A timely read, and one I will be recommending to many people.
Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.
April 10, 2023
This book is one of the most important additions to my reproductive rights & health bookshelf -- a must read if you want to better understand how we reached our current situation and where we must go from here.
August 9, 2023
Equal parts fascinating, moving, and infuriating history of the fight for abortion and reproductive rights pre Roe v. Wade. Easily the best thing to come out of And Just Like That (I saw Miranda holding the book and was intrigued).
Read
July 18, 2025Didn’t finish. Very academic
September 9, 2022
I received this book from NetGalley to review.
The facts were interesting, and the parallels between the fight for abortion rights prior to Roe V Wade was similar.
Unfortunately, I cannot give it a higher rating, because it was full of errors. It was so riddled with errors I almost abandoned it. In addition, there were a lot of notes that were at the end, and since it wasn't a printed copy, I couldn't go back and forth. I personally think that the notes should have been footnotes at the bottom of the page.
I hope that all the errors will be corrected in the final version. That way, I can recommend it.
The facts were interesting, and the parallels between the fight for abortion rights prior to Roe V Wade was similar.
Unfortunately, I cannot give it a higher rating, because it was full of errors. It was so riddled with errors I almost abandoned it. In addition, there were a lot of notes that were at the end, and since it wasn't a printed copy, I couldn't go back and forth. I personally think that the notes should have been footnotes at the bottom of the page.
I hope that all the errors will be corrected in the final version. That way, I can recommend it.
November 18, 2022
If you would like to learn how the road to women's reproductive justice started and continues to move forward, this is a must read. This is a book that you will read again.
October 11, 2022
A Woman's Life Is a Human Life, by Felicia Kornbluh, couples personal stories of the pre-Roe (and shortly after Roe) battles with an important broader historical account. With the addition of the Epilogue the work also becomes a call to action for grassroots movements seeking reproductive justice (and healthcare advocates across the board).
The information here is very personal (the two main "characters" are Kornbluh's mother and their neighbor) but with an eye toward emphasizing the tension which has always been a part of feminist activism, especially around health issues. There are certainly some "what if" moments, as in what if some factions had cooperated from the beginning perhaps some of the current setbacks might have been avoided. But the emphasis is not on blaming but on highlighting how these women worked toward, and largely achieved, their goals.
Even with my background in WGS departments I learned quite a bit here I didn't know previously. Aside from learning new facts I think the biggest takeaway from the book is an approach to organizing in the here and now to regain the ground we have recently lost. Not simply grassroots, though that is a necessary aspect, but the inclusiveness. Rights activists of any kind in the last half century owe a great deal to the civil rights movement, yet more often than not the Black and people of color are the ones left out of much of the progress. Again, we must learn from Black activists, namely the concept of reproductive justice. A more comprehensive healthcare position that advocates not just for abortion rights or against forced (or coerced) sterilization, but for the overall health of women, which by extension means the health of everyone as well as a more equitable society, from food and housing to police violence and mass incarceration.
I read an uncorrected proof, which always has some errors. To not recommend this because of that is asinine. The factual content is correct, the ideas are presented very well. As a result, I, and anyone who wants these ideas shared, will have no reservations about recommending this book. Those concerned with errors, well, they must have their own reasons for not wanting these ideas shared, or they have never read an uncorrected proof.
The body of the book is not particularly long, but there are a lot of endnotes. While I do usually prefer footnotes, I agree with Kornbluh's rationale behind opting for extensive notes but putting them at the end. Since this is not an academic work most readers are more interested in the narrative than verifying each and every fact. Footnotes can disrupt the flow of reading for many readers, so placing them at the end helps to make the book something between a standard popular book (with minimal citing) and an academic book with extensive citing and, often, additional information in the notes. The vast majority of the notes are references, not additional information. If a reader wants to know where something came from, either to verify or to read more, they can refer to the back. There really is no reason to have to check every note, even for research purposes.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
The information here is very personal (the two main "characters" are Kornbluh's mother and their neighbor) but with an eye toward emphasizing the tension which has always been a part of feminist activism, especially around health issues. There are certainly some "what if" moments, as in what if some factions had cooperated from the beginning perhaps some of the current setbacks might have been avoided. But the emphasis is not on blaming but on highlighting how these women worked toward, and largely achieved, their goals.
Even with my background in WGS departments I learned quite a bit here I didn't know previously. Aside from learning new facts I think the biggest takeaway from the book is an approach to organizing in the here and now to regain the ground we have recently lost. Not simply grassroots, though that is a necessary aspect, but the inclusiveness. Rights activists of any kind in the last half century owe a great deal to the civil rights movement, yet more often than not the Black and people of color are the ones left out of much of the progress. Again, we must learn from Black activists, namely the concept of reproductive justice. A more comprehensive healthcare position that advocates not just for abortion rights or against forced (or coerced) sterilization, but for the overall health of women, which by extension means the health of everyone as well as a more equitable society, from food and housing to police violence and mass incarceration.
I read an uncorrected proof, which always has some errors. To not recommend this because of that is asinine. The factual content is correct, the ideas are presented very well. As a result, I, and anyone who wants these ideas shared, will have no reservations about recommending this book. Those concerned with errors, well, they must have their own reasons for not wanting these ideas shared, or they have never read an uncorrected proof.
The body of the book is not particularly long, but there are a lot of endnotes. While I do usually prefer footnotes, I agree with Kornbluh's rationale behind opting for extensive notes but putting them at the end. Since this is not an academic work most readers are more interested in the narrative than verifying each and every fact. Footnotes can disrupt the flow of reading for many readers, so placing them at the end helps to make the book something between a standard popular book (with minimal citing) and an academic book with extensive citing and, often, additional information in the notes. The vast majority of the notes are references, not additional information. If a reader wants to know where something came from, either to verify or to read more, they can refer to the back. There really is no reason to have to check every note, even for research purposes.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
September 27, 2022
Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an eARC of this book.
A Woman's Life Is a Human Life is an overview of the history of American abortion laws - an important topic in every historical instance, but especially in our current reality. It takes us through all the individual efforts that were made in order to make abortion as accessible and kind as possible, and the merging with the fight against forced sterilization.
Despite how much I am interested in the topic, I found the book too technical. I connected with the personal stories and would prefer if there were more of them. As it is, it is sometimes hard to read and hard to catch all the details.
A Woman's Life Is a Human Life is an overview of the history of American abortion laws - an important topic in every historical instance, but especially in our current reality. It takes us through all the individual efforts that were made in order to make abortion as accessible and kind as possible, and the merging with the fight against forced sterilization.
Despite how much I am interested in the topic, I found the book too technical. I connected with the personal stories and would prefer if there were more of them. As it is, it is sometimes hard to read and hard to catch all the details.
April 30, 2023
I struggled to engage with this book but don't know for sure whether the fault lies with the book or myself or perhaps both. Given recent national (and local) events in the United States, I found myself interested in this incredibly well-researched book. Kornbluh lays it on thick with tons of relevant details, most of which if I knew anything about, I knew only the vaguest of details. I appreciated her focus on the broader context of the struggle for reproductive freedom over a history of the court case which so many others have told. Perhaps I will give this book another chance in a different format such as audio and hope for an improved experience.
May 9, 2023
I appreciate this approach and framing of repo justice and the lead up to roe. I think this should be required reading for those of us who work in the repo justice field/orgs. The narrative did feel a little disjointed in how sterilization and abortion were connected ...it felt like they were separate things (which i think the book was trying to get us to think of as part of the same fundamental issue) until the last 50 pages. Overall, very informative and moving. The fight continues !
March 12, 2023
An extraordinary, well-researched, and well-written book about the pendulum swing of history: the painstaking advent of laws protecting a woman's right to control her own body, the undermining of those laws, and the continuing struggle for reproductive justice. A winner!
November 30, 2024
Essential reading for anyone interested in or working on reproductive rights and justice.
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December 12, 2025On 2026 ARC Fiction Book Club List
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews