Back Rooms: Voices from the Illegal Abortion Era

by Ellen Messer

Women share their experiences with backroom abortions, forced adoptions and marriages, in an attempt to explain the need for legal abortion

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Feminism, Gender, Medical

234 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1988

Reviews

[Lori]

Anyone who doesn't understand the importance of Roe vs. Wade should read this book, and so should those trying to repeal it. We women are more than just an incubator. ALL babies deserve to be wanted, and ALL women deserve to have the choice as to whether or not they want to be a mother. "To me it's simple. It's a matter of life and death. If we don't help women they will die. They will suffer. I take offense at any anti-abortionist being called pro-life. I am pro-life. I've saved the lives of women."

[Eve]

Originally published in 1988, this is a collection of oral histories mostly from women who got pregnant before abortion was legal. Some obtained illegal abortions, some married their boyfriends and kept the babies, some gave the babies up for adoption. It's amazing what they went through to get what is now a safe and relatively easy procedure. All the cloak-and-dagger shenanigans that were needed at the time, and the fear of being caught, and the money they had to pony up, and the uncertainty; not to mention a real risk of infection, sterility, or death. Also in an environment where abortions were criminalized even a spontaneous miscarriage was met with suspicion on the part of medical professionals. Let's not go back to that.

[Graceann]

I say "history," though this era is in serious danger of returning in the United States. My mother grew up in the era of wire hangers and back room abortions, and lost one of her friends, who tried to end a seventh pregnancy from an abusive husband in her apartment's bathtub. Those book had particular resonance for me based on this knowledge, and I learned a great deal.

[no elle]

bloop, another book i picked up for free.

similar to patricia g. miller's the worst of times, which you should also read.

i mean, idek what to say. it's compelling.

i don't know how anyone can read it and take something about personal responsibility out of it. but i'm not a 35 y/o serbian dude so what do i know.

[The_Coat Hanger_Project]

A must read for anti-choicers. This book tells the disturbing, tragic stories of women who sought abortions before Roe vs. Wade was legalized and endured procedures from unlicensed, dirty, back alley hacks or worse.

[Redpoet]

FOR SURE, this book is for those of you who weren't around when abortion was illegal!

For those who were, prepare for some bad memories...

I remember.

[Kaion]

This book is feeling depressingly relevant.

[Ann]

This book deals with the woman had to struggle with an unwanted pregnancy. This would be excellent reading, for anyone into women’s history.
You can find this book on Bookshare, and national Library service.

[Bookewyfe]

It is sad that these stories must be told in an effort to fight back against the war on womxn and bodily autonomy. We are tired of telling them but we do it. We scream at the top of our lungs, begging them to listen. PLEASE LISTEN.

[Reah]

Moving, personal looks into the importance of abortion laws. I really enjoyed the oral history elements

[Milan/zzz]

Well what to say about the book? I've read these very touching stories I didn't change my mind - I'm against abortion as a method of planning family! Of course I'm not against abortion per se (not to mention cases such as malformations of the fetus or pregnancy after raping). There's much more better, easier and surely more responsible ways to plan the family.
here, abortion is presented precisely as a method for planning a family. Because here are sentences like ... neither of these girls knew anything about birth control or rhythm but then many of "these" girls have found their way to do abortion and that more than once!
I'm not conservative or anti-feminist; on the contrary. I consider myself a feminist, I'm all pro gender equality! I'm talking about responsibility! And here there is no any! So I'm criticizing lack of responsibility, abortion is just its consequence.

[Kelsey]

I'm very glad that someone has written this compelling and eye-opening book. It records dozens of oral interviews with people who either had illegal (i.e. pre-Roe v. Wade) abortions, those who helped in underground networking, activists and doctors. While the writing itself isn't always that great (due to the fact that the book is essentially transcribing interviews), the content is absorbing. It's shocking and scary to hear these true stories. A sometimes upsetting, but necessary read for anyone who thinks that women's lives and personal freedoms are important.

[Rachel]

Very powerful real stories of what it was like to be faced with an unintended pregnancy -- ESPECIALLY in a time when women were supposed to be sexy, but not into sex and men were supposed to get the woman to have sex with them even though they weren't using any protection. Though we've come a long way in educating young people about birth control, there is and will always be a need for being open and honest about sex, sexuality, birth control, and abortion.

[HeavyReader]

This book contains really intense stories about women having abortions when abortion was illegal. It is vital that this history is not lost, and this book does a good job of reminding us of how bad things were when women were not allowed to control their own bodies.

[Lady Makaveli]

This is a tragic read but a truthful one.... And a prime example as to why we must fight for our rights to abort now more than ever...