Author: Jessica Valenti
Rating: 5/5 stars
Genre(s): Nonfiction, Politics, Feminism
Publication date: October 1, 2024
Jessica Valenti’s voice in “Abortion” is as full of rage as the millions of women impacted by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Her expertise is on clear display with over 20 years of experience in the field of feminism, but she still manages a conversational tone that is accessible for the everyday reader. You do not need to be an academic to understand the information Valenti is reporting on. Plus, she has a trustworthy history of reporting with her writing appearing in The New York Times, The Washington Post and on CNN just to name a few.
One of the common critiques I’ve seen for “Abortion” is that it isn’t sharing anything “new.” However, I learned a lot from reading this book and before reading it I would have considered myself fairly educated on the topic. If you have time to keep up with every news story about abortion, then maybe this book doesn’t hold much new information, but if you have more general knowledge, Valenti packs every page with relevant facts. For example, I didn’t know that pro-life groups were behind writing many of the bills Republican politicians endorse.
She also points out how important language is when discussing abortion and how Republicans have used this to their advantage. Abortion bans have never polled well, and legislation frequently fails when the word “ban” is used because the majority of U.S. citizens don’t like how restrictive the term feels. Now, Republicans are using phrases like “national abortion standards” and “reasonable limits” to appear more moderate without actually changing their stances.
And if you are someone who is upset about how the Democrats have handled discussions on abortion (claiming to care about the issue while failing to enact protections), Valenti calls out this practice as well. She writes, “We should be raising the alarm again and again about how exceptions aren’t real […] Reproductive rights and justice isn’t about who ‘deserves’ care, or who has endured enough suffering to have ‘earned’ an abortion.”
Overall, I felt seen by Valenti’s writing and I feel better equipped to talk about abortion with people in my life. She doesn’t shy away from calling out how shady our government has been in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade being overturned. She isn’t afraid to say that without abortion, her life would not be what it is today.
