Abortion Beyond the Law: Building a Global Feminist Movement for Self-Managed Abortion

How feminists across Latin America, Africa, and Europe are making self-managed abortion available to all–and the strong transnational feminist movement they have built along the way

The feminists across Latin America, Africa, and Europe making self-managed abortion available to all - and the transnational movement they have built along the way

Drawing on years of research with activists around the world, sociologist Naomi Braine describes the strategies, politics, and tactics of direct action feminists bringing abortion pills, information, and support to people seeking to end unwanted pregnancies. From combatting the legal strictures of Bolsonaro's Brazil, to navigating the NGO-dominated landscape of Kenya and Nigeria, feminist activists are making safe, accessible abortion care available against the odds.

Even more important, these women are building a robust transnational feminist network. Tactics developed in the Global South - hotlines, practices of accompaniment and peer-to-peer care, and scientific information - are now being shared with activists in Europe and North America, building a new model for international feminist solidarity.

ISBN-13: 9781804292068

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Verso

Publication Date: 11-14-2023

Pages: 240

Product Dimensions: 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.70d

Naomi Braine is a Professor of Sociology at Brooklyn College, CUNY. Prior to joining the faculty at Brooklyn, she worked in the non-profit research sector on issues of drug use and HIV, and consulted for community based organizations. Her political and intellectual work addresses gender, sexuality, reproductive justice, wars on drugs and terror, and health and collective action. Her current work, as an activist and a research investigator, is centered on self-managed abortion.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Abortion Is Unstoppable: The Emergence of a Transnational Movement
2. We Are Everywhere: The Shape of the Global Movement for SMA
3. An Act of Solidarity between Women: Strategies to Share Information and Enable Safe Abortions
4. Being an Activist Is Not Easy: Managing Security and Sharing the Risks
5. We Have Become the Experts: Scientific Research, Medical Protocols, and Movement Knowledge
6. We All Work Together: Building Activist Networks from the Local to the Global
7. In It for the Long Term: The Lives of Committed Activists

Conclusion: Moving Forward

Acknowledgments
Notes
Index Show More