Jane Against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights

by Karen Blumenthal

Overview

A riveting look at the tumultuous history of abortion rights in the United States leading up to the landmark case of Roe v. Wade, by award-winning author and journalist Karen Blumenthal.

Tracing the path to the 19th century to the pivotal decision in Roe v. Wade and the continuing battle for women's rights, Blumenthal examines, in a straightforward tone, the root causes of the current debate around abortion and its repercussions that have rippled through generations of American women.

This urgent book is the perfect tool to facilitate discussion and awareness of a topic that affects each and every person in the United States.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626721654
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	02/25/2020
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	1,140,202
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Karen Blumenthal (1959-2020) was a financial journalist and editor whose career included five years with The Dallas Morning News and twenty-five with The Wall Street Journal—where her work helped earn the paper a Pulitzer Prize for its breaking news coverage of the September 11, 2001 attacks—before becoming an award-winning children’s non-fiction book writer.

Three of her books, Hillary Rodham Clinton: A Woman Living History, Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different, and Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition, were finalists for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award.

Karen was also the author of Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929 (named a Sibert Honor Book), Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX (winner of the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award), Tommy: The Gun That Changed America, Bonnie and Clyde: The Making of a Legend, and Jane Against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights.

Table of Contents

Prologue Jane 3

Part I Restrictions 8

Madame Restell 11

Margaret Sanger 29

A Crime 39

Sherri Chessen 53

Estelle Griswold 63

Part II Reform 78

Clergy 81

Right to Life 93

Repeal 107

Courts 125

Jane Roe 139

Jane Hodgson 149

Federal Court 157

Jane 165

Part III Roe v. Wade 176

Appeal 179

Briefs 189

Oyez, Oyez, Oyez 201

Deliberations 217

Roe, Again 235

Opinions 245

The Decision 257

Part IV After Roe 272

Politics 275

The Supreme Court, Again 279

Pushback 293

Restrictions 301

Epilogue 311

Glossary of Legal and Medical Terms 321

Timeline 325

Significant Supreme Court Cases on Abortion and Reproductive Rights 329

Acknowledgments 333

Bibliography 335

Notes 347

Photo Credits 369

Index 371

Editorial Reviews

…gripping…Blumenthal writes with a strong, clear and engaging tone, and I found myself swept up in the back story of Roe…Jane Against the World reads, at times, like a legal thriller. I kept reminding myself, "Wait, I know how this ends"…Blumenthal has done her job well: presenting the history, and leaving readers to wrestle with what the future may hold for families facing unwanted pregnancies.

The New York Times Book Review - Elizabeth Rusch

12/16/2019

In comprehensive detail, Blumenthal (Bonnie and Clyde) traces the complicated battle for reproductive rights in the U.S. from the late 1830s to today’s continued challenges. The centerpiece of the book is a scene-by-scene exposition of both hearings by the Supreme Court of the landmark Roe v. Wade case, in which Blumenthal sensitively illuminates the Supreme Court Justices’ struggles with the moral, medical, and legal aspects of abortion. The author also brings to life key figures in many arenas, including women faced with unwanted pregnancies who agreed (sometimes anonymously) to enter the legal fray, as well as doctors, clergy, and lawyers who actively helped or hindered either side. Closing chapters, entitled “Pushback: 1992–2000” and “Restrictions 2000-2016,” and the epilogue note the many ways in which reproductive rights continue to be vigorously contested. Written in clear, accessible language, as lively as it is thorough, the book presents the issue as far more nuanced and complex than the often sharply divided “pro-choice” and “pro-life” stances it is often boiled down to. Extensive back matter includes a glossary, timeline, wide-ranging bibliography, and notes. Ages 12–up. (Feb.)■

Publishers Weekly

01/01/2020

Gr 9 Up—Blumenthal provides a forthright deep dive into the history of reproductive rights from the 1800s until modern times. She relays details about the legal cases that helped change the way women could make choices about their bodies. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of the history of women's health and also obtain insight into the lives of the women who braved it all. The author discusses exactly how limiting reproductive rights impacted women of color and women living in poverty, including information about the horrors of forced sterilization. The more sordid histories of some reproductive rights advocates are also not glossed over, such as Margaret Sanger's support for eugenics. Short vignettes cover a fact, person, or short history previously mentioned in the chapter. The closer looks at statistics, time lines, and injustices flow with the overall narrative structure. Photographs put faces to the names of those mentioned. A glossary of legal and medical terms, a time line of events, a list of significant Supreme Court cases on abortion and reproductive rights, a bibliography, and an extensive list of source notes round out this methodically researched work. VERDICT An excellent purchase for public and high school nonfiction collections.—Molly Dettmann, Norman North High School, OK

School Library Journal

★ 2020-02-17
An account of the tumultuous struggle for abortion rights in the United States.

Blumenthal kicks off her narrative with a thrillerworthy scene: the 1972 raid by Chicago police on the eponymous “Jane,” an underground abortion referral service. The book then pulls back to offer an engaging history of developments in reproductive rights that contributed to the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Along the way there are brief biographies of key figures—some as famous (or infamous) as Anthony Comstock and Margaret Sanger, some virtually unknown but no less fascinating—placed within a nuanced context and punctuated by “Pregnant Pause[s]”: occasionally humorous, sometimes infuriating, often poignant sketches detailing the history of biological knowledge, birth control techniques, legal issues, popular opinion, and religious proclamations. A deep dive into the circumstances, personalities, deliberations, and compromises involved in Roe v. Wade (along with the frequently overlooked companion cases) takes up a dozen chapters, followed by a brief consideration of the consequences, backlash, and steady succession of laws and court cases chipping away at the decision. An epilogue brings the discussion up to the appointment of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Blumenthal’s bibliography demonstrates the depth of her research, including online, archival, and primary sources. This riveting book, enhanced by historical photographs, also addresses racial bias, the eugenics movement, and other critical related subjects.

Gripping reading; necessary for every library serving teens. (glossary, timeline, significant Supreme Court cases, bibliography, notes) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews

"Jane Against the World reads, at times, like a legal thriller. I kept reminding myself, “Wait, I know how this ends."...Blumenthal has done her job well: presenting the history, and leaving readers to wrestle with what the future may hold for families facing unwanted pregnancies."—The New York Times

A Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 2022 Book List Selection

*"An account of the tumultuous struggle for abortion rights in the United States...Gripping reading; necessary for every library serving teens."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*"This essential guide, which gives voices to vulnerable populations, demands to be heard."—Booklist, starred review



" An excellent purchase for public and high school nonfiction collections."—School Library Journal

" Blumenthal’s impeccable research is revealed in the extensive back matter (including documentation, a subject bibliography, a timeline, and a glossary) that completes this compelling book."—The Horn Book

"Written in clear, accessible language, as lively as it is thorough, the book presents the issue as far more nuanced and complex than the often sharply divided “pro-choice” and “pro-life” stances it is often boiled down to."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher