A Woman's Life Is a Human Life: My Mother, Our Neighbor, and the Journey from Reproductive Rights to Reproductive Justice
Felicia Kornbluh
(Author)
Description
Published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, this urgent bookfrom historian Felicia Kornbluh reveals two movement victories in New York that forever changed the politics of reproductive rights nationallyBefore there was a "Jane Roe," the
most important champions of reproductive rights were ordinary people working in
their local communities. In A Woman's Life Is
a Human Life, historian Felicia Kornbluh
delivers the untold story of everyday activists who defined those rights and
achieved them, in the years immediately before and after Roe
v. Wade made abortion legal under federal
law.A Woman's Life Is a Human Life is
the story of two movements in New York that transformed the politics of
reproductive rights: the fight to decriminalize abortion and the fight against
sterilization abuse, which happened disproportionately in communities of color
and was central to an activism that was about the right to
bear children, as well as not to. Each initiative won key
victories that relied on people power and not on the federal courts. Their
histories cast new light on Roe and
constitutional rights, on the difficulty and importance of achieving a truly
inclusive feminism, and on reproductive politics today.This is a book full of drama. From
dissident Democrats who were the first to try reforming abortion laws and
members of a rising feminist movement who refashioned them, to the nation's largest
abortion referral service established by progressive Christian and Jewish
clergy, to Puerto Rican activists who demanded community accountability in
healthcare and introduced sterilization abuse to the movement's agenda, and
Black women who took the cause global, A Woman's Life
Is a Human Life documents the diverse ways activists
changed the law and worked to create a world that would support all people's
reproductive choices.The first in-depth study of a
winning campaign against a state's abortion law and the first to chronicle the
sterilization abuse fight side-by-side with the one for abortion rights, A
Woman's Life Is a Human Life is rich with firsthand
accounts and previously unseen sources--including
those from Kornbluh's mother, who wrote
the first draft of New York's law decriminalizing
abortion, and their across-the-hall neighbor,
Dr. Helen Rodríguez-Trías, a Puerto Rican
doctor who cofounded the movement against
sterilization abuse. In this dynamic, surprising,
and highly readable history, Felicia Kornbluh
corrects the record to show how grassroots
action overcame the odds to create policy
change--and how it might work today.
Product Details
Price
$20.00
$18.60
Publisher
Grove Press
Publish Date
January 16, 2024
Pages
432
Dimensions
5.4 X 8.2 X 1.3 inches | 0.9 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9780802162663
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About the Author
Felicia Kornbluh is Professor of History at the
University of Vermont with a secondary appointment in Gender, Sexuality and
Women's studies, and an affiliated faculty member in Jewish Studies, at the University
of Vermont. She is the author of The Battle for Welfare Rights: Politics and
Poverty in Modern America and coauthor, with Gwendolyn Mink, of Ensuring
Poverty: Welfare Reform in Feminist Perspective. She is a former board
member of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and current board vice
president of the Planned Parenthood of Vermont Action Fund. Kornbluh lives in
Williston, VT, with her spouse and two black cats.
University of Vermont with a secondary appointment in Gender, Sexuality and
Women's studies, and an affiliated faculty member in Jewish Studies, at the University
of Vermont. She is the author of The Battle for Welfare Rights: Politics and
Poverty in Modern America and coauthor, with Gwendolyn Mink, of Ensuring
Poverty: Welfare Reform in Feminist Perspective. She is a former board
member of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and current board vice
president of the Planned Parenthood of Vermont Action Fund. Kornbluh lives in
Williston, VT, with her spouse and two black cats.
Reviews
Praise for A Woman's Life Is a Human Life: "[A]
comprehensive, compelling chronicle of activists who fought to change New
York's abortion laws both before and after Roe v. Wade . . . 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."--Mira Ptacin, New
York Times"Eye-opening. . . Kornbluh makes public policy and legal history
come alive by demonstrating the power of women's collective action. The result
is an inspiring study of how progress happens."--Publishers Weekly"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."--Kirkus Reviews
"This
long-needed essential history fills our gap of understanding of how the concept
of reproductive rights, a recognition of the multiple issues that women need in
order to have reproductive control over our lives, grew from grassroots
movements in the creative and dynamic environment of New York City in the
1970's and 80's. This expansion of understanding on a big-tent political model,
was ultimately defeated by the rise of the religious right and its coalition
with economic conservatives, colliding with the personal limits of the
individuals who created a radical alternative to single issue abortion rights
politics. However, they won significant victories to combat sterilization abuse
and expanded the collective analysis for the future. Felicia Kornbluh makes
an important and enlightening contribution to the history of American
radicalism and social movements."--Sarah Schulman, author of Let
the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP, NY 1987-1993 "At a time when
reproductive justice is once again elusive, Felicia Kornbluh shows us that the
catalyst for change may lie in the unexplored stories of our past. Compelling
and urgent, A Woman's Life makes clear the power of women's
activism--then and now."--Melissa Murray, Frederick I. and Grace Stokes
Professor of Law, NYU
"Felicia
Kornbluh's deeply original and important history highlights how much more
complex reproductive rights issues once were than most proponents now realize.
Her fascinating and compelling account of how groups such as Planned Parenthood
struggled with the challenges posed by newer activists makes A Woman's Life
essential reading in these harrowing days."--David J. Garrow,
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Liberty and Sexuality""A Woman's Life is a Human Life charts the organizing for legal abortion alongside the work to eliminate sterilization abuse. Kornbluh argues persuasively that activists won legal abortion and regulations to prevent coerced sterilization through intensive, years-long, multi-racial grassroots organizing. At the same time, she reveals the tactics that succeeded as well as the divisions and mistakes that arose from homophobia and white middle-class racial privilege. This detailed and lively history of the New York movement will be an important handbook for today's reproductive rights activists."--Leslie J. Reagan, author of When Abortion Was a Crime"Moving
from the local to the national and from grassroots politics to the legislature
and the courts, this is the first real chronicle of the reproductive rights
movement of the past sixty years. Extremely valuable, lively, and personal,
Felicia Kornbluh's book compares the role of women like her lawyer mother, who
wrote the first draft of a decriminalization bill, with that of Helen
Rodriguez-Trías and her fellow activists, who pioneered expanding reproductive
rights to achieve what today we call reproductive justice."--Linda Gordon,
University Professor of History, NYU"This
illuminating portrayal of the long feminist struggle for reproductive justice
couldn't be more timely. In recounting decades of organized activism to secure
abortion rights and end sterilization abuse, this book provides eye-opening
object lessons for today's activists. Essential history vibrantly told."--Alix
Kates Shulman, author of the classic novel Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen,
and co-editor of Women's Liberation! Feminist Writings that Inspired a
Revolution & Still Can "Felicia
Kornbluh's compelling book demonstrates how forced birth on the one hand, and
sterilization on the other, are linked, and how individual activism turned
personal experience into political change. A deeply interesting history."--Linda
Hirshman, author of Sisters in Law and The Reckoning
comprehensive, compelling chronicle of activists who fought to change New
York's abortion laws both before and after Roe v. Wade . . . 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."--Mira Ptacin, New
York Times"Eye-opening. . . Kornbluh makes public policy and legal history
come alive by demonstrating the power of women's collective action. The result
is an inspiring study of how progress happens."--Publishers Weekly"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."--Kirkus Reviews
"This
long-needed essential history fills our gap of understanding of how the concept
of reproductive rights, a recognition of the multiple issues that women need in
order to have reproductive control over our lives, grew from grassroots
movements in the creative and dynamic environment of New York City in the
1970's and 80's. This expansion of understanding on a big-tent political model,
was ultimately defeated by the rise of the religious right and its coalition
with economic conservatives, colliding with the personal limits of the
individuals who created a radical alternative to single issue abortion rights
politics. However, they won significant victories to combat sterilization abuse
and expanded the collective analysis for the future. Felicia Kornbluh makes
an important and enlightening contribution to the history of American
radicalism and social movements."--Sarah Schulman, author of Let
the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP, NY 1987-1993 "At a time when
reproductive justice is once again elusive, Felicia Kornbluh shows us that the
catalyst for change may lie in the unexplored stories of our past. Compelling
and urgent, A Woman's Life makes clear the power of women's
activism--then and now."--Melissa Murray, Frederick I. and Grace Stokes
Professor of Law, NYU
"Felicia
Kornbluh's deeply original and important history highlights how much more
complex reproductive rights issues once were than most proponents now realize.
Her fascinating and compelling account of how groups such as Planned Parenthood
struggled with the challenges posed by newer activists makes A Woman's Life
essential reading in these harrowing days."--David J. Garrow,
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Liberty and Sexuality""A Woman's Life is a Human Life charts the organizing for legal abortion alongside the work to eliminate sterilization abuse. Kornbluh argues persuasively that activists won legal abortion and regulations to prevent coerced sterilization through intensive, years-long, multi-racial grassroots organizing. At the same time, she reveals the tactics that succeeded as well as the divisions and mistakes that arose from homophobia and white middle-class racial privilege. This detailed and lively history of the New York movement will be an important handbook for today's reproductive rights activists."--Leslie J. Reagan, author of When Abortion Was a Crime"Moving
from the local to the national and from grassroots politics to the legislature
and the courts, this is the first real chronicle of the reproductive rights
movement of the past sixty years. Extremely valuable, lively, and personal,
Felicia Kornbluh's book compares the role of women like her lawyer mother, who
wrote the first draft of a decriminalization bill, with that of Helen
Rodriguez-Trías and her fellow activists, who pioneered expanding reproductive
rights to achieve what today we call reproductive justice."--Linda Gordon,
University Professor of History, NYU"This
illuminating portrayal of the long feminist struggle for reproductive justice
couldn't be more timely. In recounting decades of organized activism to secure
abortion rights and end sterilization abuse, this book provides eye-opening
object lessons for today's activists. Essential history vibrantly told."--Alix
Kates Shulman, author of the classic novel Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen,
and co-editor of Women's Liberation! Feminist Writings that Inspired a
Revolution & Still Can "Felicia
Kornbluh's compelling book demonstrates how forced birth on the one hand, and
sterilization on the other, are linked, and how individual activism turned
personal experience into political change. A deeply interesting history."--Linda
Hirshman, author of Sisters in Law and The Reckoning
