Your reproductive justice reading list

Buttons featured in Shout Your Abortion with art by Tatiana Gill and Andrew Lamb
On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. This ruling will decimate access to safe and legal abortions across the South and Midwest, with at least 10 states moving quickly to effectively ban the procedure and more to follow.
This is the culmination of a decades-long conservative campaign to gut reproductive healthcare and control women's bodily autonomy. Reproductive rights are everyone's issue. With nearly 1 in 4 women in the U.S. expected to get an abortion at some point in their lives, and low-income and people of colour first in line to bear the brunt of an abortion ban, it's more important than ever to understand that reproductive justice sits squarely at the intersection of anti-colonial, anti-racist work.
The reading list below pulls on diverse voices in the fight for reproductive justice, from its history in Toronto to critical calls to action throughout North America.
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Historian Ian Radforth brings to life an era in which abortion was illegal, criminal proceedings were a spectator sport, and coded advertisements for back-alley procedures ran in the margins of newspapers. Part gripping procedural, part meticulous autopsy, Jeannie’s Demise opens a rare window into the hidden history of a woman’s right to choose.
Shattering the myth that the battle for reproductive rights has already been won, Fired Up about Reproductive Rights shows us the many ways our reproductive lives remain subject to state control. Engaging with the reproductive justice framework advanced by women of colour, Jane Kirby presents an illuminating and accessible primer that everyone can learn from.
With women’s anger, empowerment, and the critical importance of intersectional feminism taking center stage in much of the dialogue happening in feminist spaces right now, an anthology like this has never been more important. This anthology is for seasoned feminists and young feminists alike—anyone looking to find inspiration in radical activism, creativity, healing, and more.
Following the U.S. Congress’s attempts to defund Planned Parenthood, the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion became a viral conduit for abortion storytelling. Shout Your Abortion is a collection of photos, essays, and creative work inspired by the movement of the same name. This book illustrates the profound liberatory and political power of defying shame and claiming sole authorship of our experiences.
The right to parent is a pillar of the reproductive justice framework. This anthology places marginalized mothers of color at the center of a world of necessary transformation. Revolutionary Mothering is a movement-shifting anthology committed to birthing new worlds, full of faith and hope for what we can raise up together.
Marilyn Churley, former member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, was engaged in the long and difficult battle to reform adoption disclosure laws in Ontario. Both a personal and political story, Shameless is a powerful memoir about a mother’s struggle with loss, love, secrets, and lies—and an adoption system shrouded in shame.