After Roe: The Lost History of the Abortion Debate

by Mary Ziegler

Forty years after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision legalizing abortion, Roe v. Wade continues to make headlines. After Roe: The Lost History of the Abortion Debate cuts through the myths and misunderstandings to present a clear-eyed account of cultural and political responses to the landmark 1973 ruling in the decade that followed. The grassroots activists who shaped the discussion after Roe, Mary Ziegler shows, were far more fluid and diverse than the partisans dominating the debate today.

In the early years after the decision, advocates on either side of the abortion battle sought common ground on issues from pregnancy discrimination to fetal research. Drawing on archives and more than 100 interviews with key participants, Ziegler's revelations complicate the view that abortion rights proponents were insensitive to larger questions of racial and class injustice, and expose as caricature the idea that abortion opponents were inherently antifeminist. But over time, "pro-abortion" and "anti-abortion" positions hardened into "pro-choice" and "pro-life" categories in response to political pressures and compromises. This increasingly contentious back-and-forth produced the interpretation now taken for granted--that Roe was primarily a ruling on a woman's right to choose.

Peering beneath the surface of social-movement struggles in the 1970s, After Roe reveals how actors on the left and the right have today made Roe a symbol for a spectrum of fervently held political beliefs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Womens, History, Feminism, Social Commentary

400 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 2015

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ziegler presents a fascinating look inside the opposing sides of the abortion debate in the immediate aftermath of the 1973 Roe decision. Tracing the origins of both sides from the mid-1960s, she provides readers with a deeper sense of the discussions inside both camps, and a much more nuanced understanding than the current rhetoric belies. Most important is recognizing what was lost: the women in the early "pro-life" movement who understood that without universal healthcare, paid parental leave, affordable childcare, and quality education options, abortion rates would not decline. But those women were pushed out of the movement they started by far-right and "new right" religious men. And 50 years later, we are still fighting for these basic rights.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author did her research and includes a lot of information. Because of that I'm giving this three stars – but she really didn't do a good job of making the material interesting.

[Julia Foliano · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t understand how you can discuss abortion politics without discussing Roe V. Wade or the lives it changed. Parts of this book were fascinating, but I felt unconvinced by the argument at the end

[Patrick Koroly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exceptional account of the abortion debate from the 60's to the early 80's. Great research, nicely presented, exceptionally unbiased.