Ten top books on the legacy of abortion in America

One title on Electric Lit's "literary guide to reproductive rights: where we've been, where we are, and where we are likely headed:"

Bodies on the Line by Lauren Rankin

At the front lines of ensuring abortion access are the escorts who guide patients safely to the clinic, away from screaming protestors who are often belligerent and occasionally violent. In Bodies on the Line, Lauren Rankin delves into the fraught public space that surrounds the American abortion clinic and the “pro-life” disruptors who occupy that small stretch with signs and megaphones in order to manipulate, coerce, and shame women from even entering the clinic: “Their goal? To make it as difficult and traumatic as possible to access an abortion.” Rankin weaves personal testimonies from patients and volunteers with historical research, from the 1970s to the present day, about abortion providers and the violent, deadly attacks on these institutes. A must-read to understand the physical and emotional labor that comes with the fight to ensure that abortion is both accessible and a human right.

Read about the other entries on the list at Electric Lit.

--Marshal Zeringue