Back Rooms: Voices from the Illegal Abortion Era [Paperback]

Ellen Messer (Author), Kathryn E. May (Author), May. Kathryn E. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1994 | ISBN-10: 0879758767 | ISBN-13: 978-0879758769

Those who came of age after 1973 cannot remember the days before Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion. "Back Rooms" presents the moving and graphic testimony of women - and men - who cannot forget. This landmark history vividly conveys the stark choices women with unwanted pregnancies faced before abortion was legalised. Here are poignant stories of illegal "back room" abortions and harrowing accounts of self-induced miscarriages, as well as the testimony of women who were forced to give birth on society's terms, not their own. The chapters are individual stories of women facing difficult circumstances in desperate need of solutions - from fleeing the country to secure a safe abortion to searching in a back alley for a dangerous one. The book highlights the attitudes about abortion before the Roe v. Wade decision, as well as views of the doctors who performed the procedures and the activities of advocates for abortion rights.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Testimony by women who confronted unwanted pregnancies before Roe v. Wade.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In recounting the stories of women who sought abortions before the procedure was legalized, the authors hope to thwart the impetus of the "Right to Life" movement. The women tell horrifying stories of desperate searches and encounters with sleazy "doctors." Also told are the experiences of those women who were unable to obtain an abortion. As a postscript, Lawrence Lader, Bill Baird, and Robert Hare explain their decisions to become involved in the abortion rights' lobby. Moving, but not for the squeamish. For libraries wishing to purchase another "pro choice" title. Florence Scarinci, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, N.Y.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (April 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879758767
• ISBN-13: 978-0879758769
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,040,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for anti-choicers, June 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Back Rooms: Voices from the Illegal Abortion Era (Paperback)

I bought this book many years ago while doing my never ending research about abortion and the law. This book presents the stories of real people who suffered through unwanted pregnancies because abortion wasn't a legal or safe option, those who had illegal, painful abortions, and even medical professionals who argued for the option of a choice for women. There were even stories of men who stood by the side of thier loved ones during those immpossible times. I think it is what I liked about this book. It was very personal and touching. But it really made me sad to think that there was a day when women had two choices when facing an unwanted pregnancy: death and/or mutilation or parenthood against thier will. This should be required reading in high school so that everyone is aware of how barbaric the US was and could be again if we don't assert the desire to treat women with dignity and respect.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening (and Disturbing), June 7, 2005

By 

The Dog Ate My Homework "the_dog_ate_my_homework" (Orlando, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back Rooms: Voices from the Illegal Abortion Era (Paperback)

Up until my early adulthood, I was very opposed to abortion for almost all circumstances. I attribute this to my upbringing. While I still have respect for my parents, I began to seriously rethink my stand on this issue (and others). I had decided to seriously study and try to understand "the other side" of this issue (and others), and this was one of the first books I read during my own independent research. I had checked it out from the library.

It was some very disturbing reading. The accounts of real people, ranging from the common working-class girls to high-profile celebrities, was suprising. I had been taught not to believe accounts of "back alley abortions," and to ignore the warnings of those old days (more by example than by direct command). From the proverbial coat-hangers to lysol lavages to sexual humiliation by providers, it kept going over and over again in my head, "I never wanted it to come to this. I just wanted to save a kid's life but I do not want it to come to this."

I also must state for the record that I was very embarassed by the behavior of those who, at that time, were supposed to be on "my side" with their crude comments they had written in this library book. >:(

While it did not immediately "convert" me to the other side, it was a first big step in softening my stand on the issue. I think what finally helped me reason through it and change my stand on this issue were the eloquent words by Sarah Weddington in her Roe v Wade arguments (and her book) along with a lesser-known book titled "Stalking the Wild Taboo." Plain old logic. But I digress.

This book is a real eye-opener for the complacent and brutally uninformed who need to see real stories of what actually happened in the past before abortion was legalized.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for any feminist and pro-choicer!, September 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Back Rooms: Voices from the Illegal Abortion Era (Paperback)

This book shows exactly what can happen if the religious right is successful in criminalizing abortion. The back alley and back room abortionists will be back in business and women will once again die. Abortion rights is something that no one can ignore. The banning of abortion can happen to us in the U.S. if we aren't paying attention and remaining active. Women will have abortions regardless of the laws. It is every woman's right to control her own body.