Abstract
Since Roe, abortion rights have been restricted in a multitude of ways, denying reproductive healthcare to some of the most vulnerable among us. But in the 2 years since Dobbs, what had been a slow and steady slide instantly turned into a free fall. At the time of this writing, in spring 2024, many of us are scared and disoriented because we can foresee the impact and consequences of a complete ban on abortion in the United States.
If you want to learn more about this terrifying reality, read Fighting Mad, edited by Krystale E. Littlejohn and Rickie Solinger. This masterfully edited collection is comprised of 52 essays written by some of the most brilliant abortion experts across the country. The editors have achieved an exceedingly difficult feat. The essays are short, most only six pages long, and despite the seriousness of the topic and wealth of information, they contain little to no academic jargon. For this reason, students will enjoy, learn from, and actually read it.
The essays in Fighting Mad are not light. Littlejohn and Solinger sought to create an “artifact of this tumultuous period and [ . . . ] a record of the tremendous work people are doing in this crisis” (p. 5). As such, the essays contain stories of people desperate for medical care—bleeding out from miscarriages, without electricity during disasters, experiencing deportation from self-managed abortions, and facing hurdles to medical care while incarcerated. But where academic books on these subjects might be less appealing to non-academic readers, Fighting Mad is a successful crossover.
The diversity of voices represented here, including some of the most influential people and organizations in the Reproductive Justice movement, is astonishing. For instance, the authors include medical professionals; clergy; attorneys; Black, Native, Asian, Appalachian, disability, immigrant, and LGBTQIA2S+ activists; artists; and several authors who mention their own abortions. There are voices from at least seven states where situations are dire, as well as from Kansas, a red state where voters rejected an abortion ban thus providing not only a glimmer of hope but possibly also strategic insight. These voices sing different parts, but they all sing in concert: White supremacy, colonialism, and patriarchy are systematically dismantling the reproductive autonomy of “women and pregnant-capable people” (p. 261) in a historically patterned shift away from democracy and toward authoritarianism.
A number of critical organizations and topics come up throughout Fighting Mad and suggest pathways for additional resources, both activist and academic. Some well-known organizations are featured, such as If/When/How, Medical Students for Choice, and The Brigid Alliance. Several topics critical for any activist to know about are addressed, such as Crisis Pregnancy Centers, Texas SB8, Kansas “Value Them Both” amendment, the GRACE Act, The Turnaway Study, and Confronting Pregnancy Criminalization.
One topic that comes up repeatedly is self-managed, or medical, abortion, that is, the combination of mifepristone and misoprostol pills that can be taken at home to terminate a pregnancy. Inventive Brazilian women realized a side effect of ulcer drug misoprostol was miscarriage, and now this method is common in many parts of the world, often available over-the-counter.
But not so in the United States. Still, there are organizations connecting people to the pills online, for instance, Plan C, Women on Web, and Aid Access. In Jill Filipovic’s interview of Rebecca Gomperts, Gomperts suggests to all readers, “Get as many pills as you can, I would say. And buckle up” (p. 256).
Another topic that comes up repeatedly is “Roe Was Never Enough.” It becomes a through line that many of our parachutes—like abortion funds, employer-based paid leave, and contraception—were not enough to stop the fall. These are critical but not enough. Pregnant people need access to abortion close to home, without restrictions or financial burden.
Littlejohn and Solinger have created far more than an artifact, they have created a teaching tool as well as several roadmaps. In a classroom, many of the essays in Fighting Mad could make terrific paired readings. For a law and society class, several essays laud selective prosecution, whereas others critique prosecutorial overreach. For a religion class, there are essays featuring clergy and advocates from Muslim, Christian, and Jewish faiths, arguing Dobbs violates religious freedom. Attorneys and doctors can read a primer on novel legal strategies being attempted in different jurisdictions. Voters in states with Medicaid expansion are urged to lobby their states to raise reimbursements to providers. There is even a syllabus guide for faculty to support students seeking abortions, informed by disability activism.
Altogether, Fighting Mad is a hopeful book, and I highly recommend it. There are a lot of us. We have a lot of work to do.