Product Description
A powerfully empathetic and impeccably researched look at abortion clinic escorting
Abortion has been legal for nearly fifty years in the United States, but with a new conservative majority on the Supreme Court and an emboldened opposition in the street, the threat to its existence has never been more pressing. Clinic escorts—everyday volunteers—are prepared to stand up and protect abortion access, as they have for decades, even in the face of terrorism and violence. They have lived, and sometimes died, to ensure that abortion remains not only accessible but also a basic human right. Clinic escorts have fought the "abortion wars" on the front lines, and it is clinic escorts who will win it, by replacing hostility with humanity.
Collecting the stories of these brave volunteers from around the country—including the author's own—interviews with clinic staff and patients, and research and input from abortion rights experts, Bodies on the Line makes a clear case for the right to an abortion as a fundamental part of human dignity, and the stakes facing us all if it ends. Bodies on the Line is a celebration of the crucial, often unsung heroes of abortion access and an inspiring call to defend this basic health care before it's too late.
Abortion has been legal for nearly fifty years in the United States, but with a new conservative majority on the Supreme Court and an emboldened opposition in the street, the threat to its existence has never been more pressing. Clinic escorts—everyday volunteers—are prepared to stand up and protect abortion access, as they have for decades, even in the face of terrorism and violence. They have lived, and sometimes died, to ensure that abortion remains not only accessible but also a basic human right. Clinic escorts have fought the "abortion wars" on the front lines, and it is clinic escorts who will win it, by replacing hostility with humanity.
Collecting the stories of these brave volunteers from around the country—including the author's own—interviews with clinic staff and patients, and research and input from abortion rights experts, Bodies on the Line makes a clear case for the right to an abortion as a fundamental part of human dignity, and the stakes facing us all if it ends. Bodies on the Line is a celebration of the crucial, often unsung heroes of abortion access and an inspiring call to defend this basic health care before it's too late.
Reviews/Praise
“A powerful tribute to abortion clinic escorts . . . Lucidly written and sharply argued, this is a sobering and timely dispatch from the fight to preserve abortion rights.” —Publishers WeeklyStarred Review
"Writer and activist Rankin presents a fervent abortion-rights history from the clinic escort’s perspective . . . An ode to her fellow volunteers and a rallying cry for the fundamental rights that now hang so perilously close to abolition." —Booklist
"Important reading with the current challenges to Roe v. Wade." —Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal