Students from Princeton University's Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies recently devoted three class sessions to After Roe: The Lost History of the Abortion Debate by former guest blogger, Mary Ziegler. As part of their coursework for "Reproductive Politics in the United States and Abroad," the students conducted an interview with Ziegler for NOTCHES, published this week.
Students: Can you recommend three books for those interested in learning more about the history of reproductive politics in the United States?
MZ: It is always hard to pick just three, but here are several that immediately come to mind:
1) Sara Dubow, Ourselves Unborn: A History of the Fetus in Modern America (Oxford UP, 2010). This provocative book offers an important look at how attitudes toward the fetus have evolved, mirroring larger changes to American law and culture.
2) Daniel K. Williams, Defenders of the Unborn: The Pro-Life Movement Before Roe v. Wade (Oxford UP, 2015). This book offers the first meaningful study of the early anti-abortion movement. It is an indispensable read for those interested in the history of opposition to reproductive rights.
3) Linda Gordon, The Moral Property of Women: The History of Birth Control Politics in America (Illinois UP, 2002). Gordon’s classic study offers crucial context for the fight for legal abortion, mapping out the contributions of family planners, feminists, population controllers, and eugenic legal reformers.
