Access: Inside the Abortion Underground and the Sixty-Year Battle for Reproductive Freedom

by Rebecca Grant

From the award-winning author of Birth, a journey into the underground activist networks that have been working to protect women’s autonomy over their bodies amidst legal, political, religious, and cultural oppression over the past sixty years.

In this definitive, eye-opening history, award-winning author Rebecca Grant charts the reproductive freedom movement from the days before Roe through the seismic impact of Dobbs. The stories in Access span four continents, tracing strategies across generations and borders. Grant centers those activists who have been engaged in direct action to help people get the abortions they need. Their efforts involve no small measure of daring-do, spy craft, sea adventures, close calls, undercover operations, smuggling, sequins, legal dramas, victories, defeats, and above all, a deeply held conviction that all the risks are worth it for the cause.

In Access, we meet a cast of brave, bold, and unforgettable the founders of the Jane Collective, a group of anonymous providers working clandestinely between Chicago apartments to perform abortions in the pre-Roe years; the originators and leaders of the abortion fund movement; Verónica Cruz Sánchez, a Mexican activist who works to support self-managed abortion with pills and fights to free women targeted by the criminalization of abortion; and Rebecca Gomperts, a Dutch doctor who realizes that there is one place abortion bans cannot international waters.

Post-Dobbs, activist groups have once again stepped up and put themselves on the line to resist. Building on the work of their feminist forebearers and international allies, they are charting new pathways for access in the face of unprecedented acts to subjugate and control half of America’s population. Working above ground, underground, and in legal gray areas, they’ve helped people travel across state lines for care, established telehealth practices, and formed community networks to distribute pills for free to people who needed them.

Drawing on expert research and investigative reporting, told with deep compassion and humanity by a journalist who has spent her career on the frontlines of the fight, Access celebrates the bravery, ingenuity, and determination of women across decades who have fought for a fundamental human right—and serves as an inspiring rallying cry for the work that lies ahead.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Feminism, Politics, Historical, Womens

480 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 24, 2025

Reviews

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be one of the most informative books I have ever read! It was heartbreaking to read about all of the women who have been in harms way because of the world around them, laws, men, etc. On the other hand, I did not know about all of the current underground movement for abortion, in the U.S. and other countries with restrictive laws. I have been so inspired by the women whose stories are told in this book and I hope to make half the difference they have in my life.

I received this as a digital ARC, even though I read after its publication day. Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

[Heather G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

This book was so much more than I anticipated. So informative and at times tragic. But inspiring too. Also, scary.

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. this was a well researched comprehensive recent history of abortion rights both in the US and abroad. I learned more about abortion in one chapter than I have heard in my whole life (I am a cis woman well into my reproductive age) which is the point, not enough women are aware of their choices and those that are face criticism, harassment, obstacles to access and even legal ramifications. please get this book, read it, share it, get it into as many hands as possible and help make a change.

[Sophie Schott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Went to a talk Rebecca Grant gave at Politics&Prose in DC about this book. Loved how the story centered on activists working to protect women outside of the medical and legal systems. Especially enjoyed reading about Dr. Abigail Aiken and Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, both lectured in a class I took in college and it was fun to read this as a call back.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A necessary read for everyone. Gonna be yapping to all my people about this one for a while

[Kemlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, especially the first and last parts. The list of resources, extensive notes, and bibliography at the end of the book are particularly helpful.

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspiring book I am better for having read. Could be a little tighter in some chapters but has reminded me of what’s at stake and what people are already sacrificing - I am called to take action.

[Venneh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big props for being sure to include current best practices for self managed abortions in the back of this book. This looks at the long term history of how people actually access abortions across multiple countries around the world, and how this kind of thing can be coordinated internationally. Because of when it was published, it cuts off right at the start of Trump's second term, which is really just a huge cliff drop and scream, but this helps you remember that there will always be ways to access abortion, and gives you current best practices if you end up needing one.