Back rooms

de Ellen Messer

Those who came of age after 1973 cannot remember the days before Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Back Rooms presents the moving testimony of women - and men - who cannot forget. This landmark oral history vividly conveys the stark choices women with unwanted pregnancies faced before abortion was legalized. 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. At a time when mounting pressure from anti-abortion activists increasingly challenges the Roe v. Wade decision, this book lends authority and moral clarity to the pro-choice position.