Coercion: Surviving and Resisting Abortion Bans

Outspoken

by Kylie Cheung

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the horrors inflicted by abortion bans began immediately and haven't stopped. These laws have become a tool for abusers, as pregnant people face legal harassment, reproductive coercion, and life-threatening medical trauma.

Through biting analysis, Kylie Cheung argues that these aren’t unintended consequences, but deliberate acts of state-perpetrated violence inflicted on women and pregnant people, particularly those with the least resources and agency under capitalism and white supremacy.

Capitalism has always consciously decided whose lives are expendable. This book is for everyone coming to terms with this fact in the era of the rollback of our bodily autonomy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Politics

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2025

About the author

hi hi i apologize for everything logged before 2026 i made this account in middle school <3

Reviews

[Alwynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Activist and journalist Kylie Cheung’s overview of the impact of the continuing attack on reproductive rights and freedoms is both timely and chilling. Cheung carefully details the appalling aftermath of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, with a particular emphasis on its effect on the marginalised and vulnerable: from women in prison to women forced to endure, and sometimes die from, pregnancy-related illness or complications. In numerous states many are being tricked into continuing a pregnancy by anti-choice clinicians who advertise free scans and other medical treatments. These anti-choice clinics often overwhelm desperate patients with false claims about psychological or physical abortion risks. Hospitals with religious affiliations may do similar or make it difficult for patients to self-discharge to seek treatment elsewhere.

In America, a country where the leading cause of death for pregnant people is homicide, anti-choice legislation has also been a gift for abusers. Pregnancy can, for example, delay finalising a divorce tying women to coercive partners; or make it physically or economically impossible to escape a violent relationship - one of the reasons vehemently anti-choice states like Texas have seen a surge in pregnant women and women with newborns entering shelters, that’s if they can find one with the resources to take them. Rape victims, like the recent case involving a 12-year-old in Mississippi, can effectively end up forced to remain pregnant and carry to term. So-called rape exception clauses are often convoluted and deliberately daunting to navigate, add to that victims commonly end up paying for treatment for rape-related injuries and pregnancy. If they do pursue the right to an abortion via rape exclusion clauses, they still have to find a way to have their rape legally recognised in time to qualify. If they go on to have a child, they may then find themselves tied to their rapists through custody suits or access agreements.

Cheung’s compelling account of the perilous state of reproductive rights in America, and how to fight back, should be required reading for anyone who cares about these issues. Even if you live in a country where the right to choose is still upheld, this is well worth reading. There’s no room for complacency, as Cheung painstakingly documents, rights can all too easily be removed. Many of the campaigning organisations agitating against choice in America are seeking to influence policy in other countries, often spreading misinformation to do so – it’s not uncommon to find direct links between anti-choice lobbies in the U.K. and American equivalents, or to find American activists travelling to work with local groups in England.

Thanks to Edelweiss and publisher Pluto Press for an ARC

[Karolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo lubię serię Outspoken za to, jak systemowo opisuje różne palące nasze społeczeństwa kwestie. Tym razem tematem jest aborcja, a konkretnie zaostrzenie prawa aborcyjnego w USA po uchyleniu wyroku Roe vs. Wade z 1973 roku.

Nie jest to opis tego, jak i dlaczego się to zmieniło, choć jest to też częściowo naszkicowane. Cheung opisuje zamiast tego, jak państwo za pomocą swoich narzędzi kontroli dopuszcza się przemocy na osobach, które mogą zajść w ciążę, głównie na kobietach - ta systemowa przemoc nieproporcjonalnie dotyka Czarnych i Rdzennych Amerykanek.

To, co zostało ze mną z lektury na dłużej:

- Nie da się mówić o zakazie aborcji bez poruszenia tematu przemocy domowej. Cheung przywołuje dane, w których pokazuje, jak drastycznie wzrosła liczba kobiet doświadczających przemocy domowej, w tym seksualnej, w stanach, w których całkowicie zakazano aborcji
- Najczęstszym powodem śmierci ciężarnych kobiet w Stanach jest zabójstwo ze strony partnera
- 90% kobiet w amerykańskich więzieniach to przetrwanki przemocy seksualnej
- Antyaborcyjne organizacje wspierane są milionami dolarów przez rząd, ale też w różnej formie przez wielkie korporacje takie jak Google czy Meta
- Sprowadzanie tego do religii jest zbyt wielkim uproszczeniem - tu chodzi o jeszcze większą i bezwzględną kontrolę nad kobietami (i osobami, które mogą zajść w ciążę)
- Wymuszanie ciąży przez partnera to nie tylko forma przemocy seksualnej, ekonomicznej czy emocjonalnej w danej chwili - to próba kontroli nad kobietą przez co najmniej kilkanaście lat życia dziecka, które się z tej ciąży narodzi. sądy zazwyczaj przychylają się o prośby sądu o "nawiązanie kontaktu z dzieckiem" itd, nawet jeśli mężczyzna ma na koncie udokumentowaną przemoc domową wobec matki
- Koncepcja sprawiedliwości reprodukcyjnej ma swoje korzenie w Czarnym feminizmie i wybielanie aktywizmu pro-choice jest niestety normą
- Potrzebujemy radykalnej zmiany w myśleniu o aborcji, dostępu do aborcji dla wszystkich, za darmo, teraz. walka o wprowadzenie "wyjątków" (np. dozwolenie aborcji tylko dla ofiar zgwałcenia) nie powinna być naszym celem - liberalni politycy, którzy promują tego typu narrację (bez względu na to czy w USA czy w Polsce) robią tylko nam wszystkim krzywdę.
- Zakaz aborcji to także przemoc medyczna. Cheung opisuje przypadki, kiedy odmawiano kobietom pomocy medycznej, gdy te poroniły, bo obawiano się o wyciągnięcie konsekwencji wobec lekarzy, gdyby ci zostali oskarżeni o pomoc w aborcji poza "dozwolonymi" przypadkami.
- Nie da się myśleć o zakazach aborcji w USA, pomijając wątek białej supremacji i kapitalizmu
- Zakaz aborcji to przemoc ze strony państwa: polityków, urzędników, rządu, policji, służby zdrowia
- Normalizowanie "wyjątków" to normalizowanie ograniczeń w dostępie do opieki reprodukcyjnej. To prosta droga do ograniczenia dostępności antykoncepcji (nie tylko tej awaryjnej) i opieki dla przetrwanek przemocy seksualnej
- Zakaz aborcji to przemoc.

[Robby F · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful and compelling book about the current state of reproductive justice in the US, Cheung has a clear understanding of where we are, how we got here, and where we are going.

[Lik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an incredible read. It is clear Cheung did an absurd amount of research and field work and she presented information in such an engaging way. I really appreciated how she mentioned the fails of liberalism and how riding on the public’s fear of losing Roe is what led to its loss, and how Roe was never enough. She centered minority voices, including incarcerated and Palestinians, and I also liked how she ended on a positive note about using community to fight for reproductive justice.

[Imogen Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 ⭐️

‘Abortion bans, abortion restrictions, any amount of state policing of pregnancy is state violence.’

"Abortion is absolutely lifesaving."

‘Denial of health care is innately violent.’

‘…the paradigm of violence the anti-abortion movement is trying to create - one of surveillance, entrapment, and coercion.’

‘Roe was never enough, leaving holes and significant vulnerabilities where abortion could be restricted, and pregnancy policed. As we chart our path forward, Roe shouldn't be our policy aspiration. Nor should it be dangled over our heads like a carrot by politicians each election cycle, as they insist on our donations and unquestioning support so they might restore out rights, which they lost for us in the first place.’

[✰matthew✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really good summary of a horrendous situation in america and more globally.

including some real life experiences and a lot of research by the author.

obviously a very important book to read but about a potentially difficult to read / triggering topic, so be careful as there are many mentions of abuse.

[Andrew Seletsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great summary of where the reproductive justice movement is, how we got here, and what can be done. Really enjoyed the emphasis on how liberalism failed and will not ever adequately address these issues.

[tytoisreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kylie Cheung is the James Harden of talking about US abortion laws

[KT Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh, THIS is the bad place

[Kylie Cheung · Rating 5 out of 5]

ok im like a little biased or whatever but