Reproductive Rights in the USA: Read, Understand, Be Informed

The Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade in June 2022 means that abortion will no longer be protected under the US constitution. At least half of all American states are now set to outlaw abortion (if they haven’t already done so).

Following this landmark reversal, we here at the American Library in Paris have curated a selection of digital and physical reading material designed to give you a 360 view on reproductive rights in the USA from past to present.

From history and non-fiction, to memoir and novels, our carefully curated selection is intended to provide information about and contextualize what’s happening right now in the United States.

And whichever side of the debate you sit on—or if you simply want to learn more—you can read about the history of reproductive rights in the USA in the following books: 

• Abortion and the Law in America: Roe v. Wade To The Present by Mary Ziegler
• Divided We Stand: The Battle over Women’s Rights and Family Values that Polarized American Politics by Marjorie Julian Spruill 
• Hard Choices, Lost Voices: How the Abortion Conflict has Divided America, Distorted Constitutional Rights, and Damaged the Courts by Donald P. Judges

If you want to read more about the debate between pro-life and pro-choice campaigners, then these books are for you:

• The Ethics of Abortion: Pro-Life! Vs pro-choice! by Robert M. Baird and Stuart E. Rosenbaum  
• Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights by Katha Pollitt

To gain insight into how abortion and the choices around it affect people from a personal point of view, the following novels and memoirs feature abortion as a key theme:

• Mercy Street by Jennifer Haigh
• Ghost Children by Sue Townsend 
• I Know You Rider: A Memoir by Leslie Stein

We also have a wealth of e-books, e-newspapers and e-magazines which contain more information so that you can approach the topic in the most well-informed way possible: 

• A Spark of Life by Jodi Picoult tackles a complicated issue in the format of a gripping and nuanced novel. How do we balance the rights of pregnant women with the rights of the unborn they carry? What does it mean to be a good parent? Available to read on OverDrive/Libby.
• Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall is a potent and electrifying critique of today’s feminist movement announcing a fresh new voice in black feminism. Available to read on OverDrive/Libby.
• Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay is a collection of funny and insightful essays in which Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman (Sweet Valley High) of color (The Help) while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years (Girls, Django in Chains) and commenting on the state of feminism today (abortion, Chris Brown). Available to read on OverDrive/Libby.
• The Guardian weekly. Available to read on OverDrive/Libby.
• The Week magazine. Available to read on OverDrive/Libby.

To stay up-to-date with the latest news concerning the overturning of Roe v Wade, you also have digital access to the New York Times with your American Library in Paris membership. Click here for more information.

As always, you can make suggestions for books to add to our collection if you’re a member by filling in this short form here.