The A Word

A Global History of the Abortion Struggle

in English, 168 pages,
University of Regina Press, October 21, 2025
Order here

The A Word provides a feminist perspective on the history of abortion, working to end the taboos that surround this procedure–and the word itself.

The A Word champions the women advocating for free and legal access to the seventy-three million abortions performed around the world every year, more than half of which require women to resort to underground procedures that put their lives at risk. This global history defines the term and the practice of abortion as it exists today and tells the stories of women all over the world engaged in the fight to take back control of their bodies.

From the Indigenous use of abortive plants before colonization to the complicated legacy of Margaret Sanger, to modern advocates like Maria Antonieta Alcalde Castro, Wendy Davis, and Simone Veil, the book shines a light on pivotal moments and figures of the abortion struggle and asks: Why do poor women fare worse when trying to access abortion? How was abortion criminalized? Who profits from its illegality?