Published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, this book from historian Felicia Kornbluh reveals two movement victories in New York that forever changed the politics of reproductive rights nationally.
Comprehensive, compelling ... A Woman’s Life is a Human Life offers insights into how we can form genuine alliances in order to continue making changes that align with the feminist values of compassion, fairness and care: by consolidating ranks, listening to one another in order to understand our differences while simultaneously identifying our commonalities. Changes come from people power, not self-portraits; systems of self-sovereignty achieved by many.
Despite the author’s best intentions, this book skews heavily toward abortion rights, sometimes giving short shrift to the broader and more inclusive vision of reproductive justice put forward by activists from marginalized communities. At the end of the book, Kornbluh wonders what might have been achieved if not for racism—a question white proponents of reproductive justice would do well to ponder in the post-Roe era.
Both timely and engaging, this insightful study reveals that the battle for abortion rights must be considered only one part of a much larger, more complex struggle that needs to address the protection of the sexual freedom and choices of all women ... Necessary reading for anyone worried about this post-Dobbs world.
