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Don't Breed on Me: A Short History of Abortion
Humans have always loved to fuck!
Don’t Breed on A Short History of Abortion is a defiant, funny, and unflinching dive into the millennia-long story of abortion—a practice as old as humanity and as contested as ever. From medieval Europe to Ming Dynasty China, from women enslaved in the American South to German nuns smuggling herbs, abortion has always been here. And so have the people who provided it.
Rooted in global history, folklore, and fierce scholarship, Quasebarth’s book is as joyful as it is furious. She opens with a bang and doesn’t let up, threading together ancient remedies (like crocodile dung pessaries), feminist saints, lost abortifacients, and the enduring power of reproductive autonomy. Want to meet a medieval Italian surgeon who secretly performed abortions in a city that banned women from medicine? Or a Qing Dynasty widow who casually asks her lover for “red flower medicine” after a scandalous affair? Or a granny midwife dedicated to ensuring reproductive control for herself and her community? They’re here, and so are dozens of stories like them—buried, distorted, or erased by colonialism and patriarchy.
Don’t Breed on Me is not just a book about abortion—it’s a call to remember, reclaim, and reframe. For students, activists, and anyone with a uterus (or who knows someone with one), this book is both an accessible introduction and a vital tool in the fight for reproductive justice. Abortion is care. Abortion is power. Abortion is joy.
Don’t Breed on A Short History of Abortion is a defiant, funny, and unflinching dive into the millennia-long story of abortion—a practice as old as humanity and as contested as ever. From medieval Europe to Ming Dynasty China, from women enslaved in the American South to German nuns smuggling herbs, abortion has always been here. And so have the people who provided it.
Rooted in global history, folklore, and fierce scholarship, Quasebarth’s book is as joyful as it is furious. She opens with a bang and doesn’t let up, threading together ancient remedies (like crocodile dung pessaries), feminist saints, lost abortifacients, and the enduring power of reproductive autonomy. Want to meet a medieval Italian surgeon who secretly performed abortions in a city that banned women from medicine? Or a Qing Dynasty widow who casually asks her lover for “red flower medicine” after a scandalous affair? Or a granny midwife dedicated to ensuring reproductive control for herself and her community? They’re here, and so are dozens of stories like them—buried, distorted, or erased by colonialism and patriarchy.
Don’t Breed on Me is not just a book about abortion—it’s a call to remember, reclaim, and reframe. For students, activists, and anyone with a uterus (or who knows someone with one), this book is both an accessible introduction and a vital tool in the fight for reproductive justice. Abortion is care. Abortion is power. Abortion is joy.
- GenresPolitics
219 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 23, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy
Okay. First of all, I did not actually receive an advanced copy , I found this on Libby and have no clue why its on here as not yet published... But I want to review the book before returning it, so here we are.
This book made for a very interesting read, and while some parts of it were centered very much on the american view on abortion, I still found it a good read with many good points and nice quotes.
One of the quotes being: "Restrictions around abortion have often been shrouded in morality, wrapped up in preserving the perceived personhood of the fetus. Yet it has never truly been about God's will; it has always been about those in power" .
This quote highlights one of the central points of the book for me; that abortion, and the regulations around it, are always tied to who is in power and their wish to control the people (/woman) they hold power over.
The book states that abortion is a part of human existence, and has also been a way to reclaim power and autonomy in situations were people are being oppressed by others. Like slaves chewing or brewing teas on cotton root so they could refuse the plantation owners more slaves, and spare their kids from a life of slavery.
The book also dives into the fact that "...often abortion access becomes an issue of class rather than law(...) the reality of abortion access boils down to the simple fact of wealth" . That the people who was most often in desperate need of access of intimate healthcare, was those who had the hardest conditions and the least amount of money.
But it is also here that intimate healthcare, abortions being just one part, continued to happen even in the hidden. That abortions were a form of liberation and provided bodily autonomy to lots of people.
That abortions is not just healthcare but also a vital part of reproduction and human life.
So yes, I found this book very interesting and would definitely recommend others to give it a read. This book is not just for those capable of giving birth, but for all humans who would like to know more about human existence through the ages.
Happy reading
~Ali
This book made for a very interesting read, and while some parts of it were centered very much on the american view on abortion, I still found it a good read with many good points and nice quotes.
One of the quotes being: "Restrictions around abortion have often been shrouded in morality, wrapped up in preserving the perceived personhood of the fetus. Yet it has never truly been about God's will; it has always been about those in power" .
This quote highlights one of the central points of the book for me; that abortion, and the regulations around it, are always tied to who is in power and their wish to control the people (/woman) they hold power over.
The book states that abortion is a part of human existence, and has also been a way to reclaim power and autonomy in situations were people are being oppressed by others. Like slaves chewing or brewing teas on cotton root so they could refuse the plantation owners more slaves, and spare their kids from a life of slavery.
The book also dives into the fact that "...often abortion access becomes an issue of class rather than law(...) the reality of abortion access boils down to the simple fact of wealth" . That the people who was most often in desperate need of access of intimate healthcare, was those who had the hardest conditions and the least amount of money.
But it is also here that intimate healthcare, abortions being just one part, continued to happen even in the hidden. That abortions were a form of liberation and provided bodily autonomy to lots of people.
That abortions is not just healthcare but also a vital part of reproduction and human life.
So yes, I found this book very interesting and would definitely recommend others to give it a read. This book is not just for those capable of giving birth, but for all humans who would like to know more about human existence through the ages.
Happy reading
~Ali
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A spectacular micro-history of abortion in various cultures throughout human history. Madeline Waugh Quasebarth writes about the power of reproductive choice with such joy and enthusiasm. This book is a powerful reminder that humans have always found ways to choose when and how to bring new life into this world, and they always will. I want everyone to read this book.
August 2, 2026
A great overview of not just the history of abortion and contraception from Ancient Egypt onward, but also a great example of how pop history can use historical nuance and theory in a way non- academic readers can still understand.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews