The Story of Abortion in America

Tracing the History of Abortion in America by Looking beyond the Laws to the Dramatic Stories and Colorful Personalities of the People They Touched

Fifty years ago, the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion-on-demand sparked nationwide tensions that continue to this day. In the decades since that ruling, abortion opponents and proponents have descended on the Capitol each year for marches and protests. But this story didn’t begin with the Supreme Court in the 1970s; arguments about abortion have been a part of American history since the 17th century. So how did we get here?

The Story of Abortion in America traces the long cultural history of this pressing issue from 1652 to today, focusing on the street-level activities of those drawn into the battles willingly or unwillingly. Authors Marvin Olasky and Leah Savas show complex lives on both sides: Some sacrificed much to help the poor and others sacrificed the helpless to empower themselves. The Story of Abortion in America argues that whatever happens legally won’t end the debate, but it will affect lives.

1. Opening Credits
2. Dedication
3. Foreword by Robert P. George
4. Introduction: The Life or Death of Innocent Life
5. Chapter 1: Street Level vs. Suite Level
6. Section 1: Unsafe, Illegal, and Rare, 1652–1842
7. Chapter 2: Common Law, Common Sense
8. Chapter 3: Murder of a Man Child
9. Chapter 4: Pressuring the Father
10. Chapter 5: Bitter Execrations
11. Chapter 6: An Oath for Midwives
12. Chapter 7: Double Robbery of Life
13. Chapter 8: A Fallen Pro-Life Founder
14. Chapter 9: Laws and Scofflaws
15. Chapter 10: Insufficient Protection for Women
16. Section 2: Specialization Begins, 1838–1878
17. Chapter 11: A Fatal Needle
18. Chapter 12: The Welfare of Two Patients
19. Chapter 13: Madame Restell
20. Chapter 14: An Unstoppable Force?
21. Chapter 15: A Moral Maelstrom
22. Chapter 16: The Unwelcome Child
23. Chapter 17: Doctors Push Back
24. Chapter 18: Massacres
25. Chapter 19: Compassion vs. Abortion
26. Chapter 20: Thugs of Society
27. Section 3: Supply and Demand, 1871–1940
28. Chapter 21: A Much Pulverized Reporter
29. Chapter 22: The Victims Are...
30. Chapter 23: So Much Rascality
31. Chapter 24: Horror Stories at Century's End
32. Chapter 25: Medical Heroines
33. Chapter 26: The Erring Women’s Refuge
34. Chapter 27: Weak-Kneed Enforcement
35. Chapter 28: Old-School Abortionists
36. Chapter 29: Twentieth-Century Compassion
37. Chapter 30: Million-Dollar Hands
38. Section 4: Seeing Life, 1930–1995
39. Chapter 31: Linkages
40. Chapter 32: Complicated Lives
41. Chapter 33: Losing the Baby
42. Chapter 34: Playing the Danger Card
43. Chapter 35: The Father of Abortion Rights
44. Chapter 36: Eroded Ethic
45. Chapter 37: On the Disassembly Line
46. Chapter 38: Pro-Life Frustration
47. Chapter 39: Pictures Seen and Unseen
48. Chapter 40: Cacophony and Compassion
49. Section 5: Still Unsettled, 1995–2022
50. Chapter 41: Window to the Womb
51. Chapter 42: Loving Your Unborn Neighbor
52. Chapter 43: Sensational Facts
53. Chapter 44: A Sanitized Image
54. Chapter 45: Aborting Alone
55. Chapter 46: Incremental vs. Radical
56. Chapter 47: The Abortion-Industrial Complex
57. Chapter 48: A New Enforcement Mechanism
58. Chapter 49: Their One Person
59. Chapter 50: Egregiously Wrong
60. Epilogue
61. Closing Credits