Every woman and girl should have the right to make decisions about her own body and health. Yet millions are denied this right, often forced to seek unsafe abortion care. The consequences are devastating: maternal mortality, preventable injuries and countless futures cut short. This study uncovers the barriers women face, amplifies victim-survivors’ voices and provides evidence to inform policies and interventions that make safe, accessible care a reality.

The study was done by Rutgers and CERRHUD in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Cameroon.

When Roe fell, millions were left scrambling for clarity, direction, and hope. Reproductive Justice offers a way forward grounded in dignity, equity, and real freedom.

Beyond Choice is a workbook that helps you move beyond the old, narrow “pro-choice” framework to a more comprehensive understanding of reproductive freedom. This guided workbook shows what Reproductive Justice truly means, how it impacts your daily life, and what you can do right now to create meaningful change.

Written by award-winning physician and Reproductive Justice advocate Dr. DeShawn Taylor, Beyond Choice turns reflection into action. Through practical exercises, case studies, and thoughtful prompts, you’ll explore your beliefs, values, experiences, and power. You’ll see how reproductive freedom intersects with faith, culture, identity, healthcare, and policy – and how your story can become a catalyst for justice.

Dr. Lincoln: “The Birth Book is filled with what you’d expect: evidence-based answers to questions about epidurals, pushing positions and postpartum recovery. But it’s also a book about bodily autonomy, informed consent and the right to make decisions about your own body. That is exactly why it includes information about abortion laws, the religious affiliations of hospitals and what happens when pregnancy complications arise in states with restrictive legislation.”
https://msmagazine.com/2026/03/17/pregnancy-women-health-birth-book-abortion-laws-emergency-care/

This book explores the seismic shift brought about by the 2022 US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which dramatically changed the constitutional standing of abortion decisions set in place by Roe v. Wade 50 years earlier. The authors describe the history of US Supreme Court’s decision-making around abortion and some of its attendant considerations, including the constitutional right to privacy, moral obligations to protect life, and determinations about when life begins.

This text is designed for undergraduate students across a range of academic disciplines. It lays bare the complicated moral dimensions of the competing arguments about abortion and how these considerations have fared in legal decisions, so students can make sense of them for themselves.

Abortion Is Everything speaks directly to five to eight-year-olds about what abortion is, how it might feel, and why people have abortions. With accessible, inclusive language, Abortion Is Everything frames abortion as the actualization of a uniquely human superpower: our capacity to imagine the future and make choices that lead us towards the life we envision. Abortion is a tool that allows human beings to shape our destinies, and which has shaped the entire world around us.

Whether you’re planning to have an abortion soon or you had one thirty years ago, whether you’re feeling relief or grief (or both!), and even if you haven’t decided yet and just want to untangle how you feel about it, this book is a safe and supportive resource.

With an emphasis on self-compassion, it collects reflection prompts, affirmations, conversation scripts, logistical info, self-care tips, and much more to validate and support you no matter where you fall in the full spectrum of experiences of people who have abortions. Bolstered by beautiful illustrations and the caring, confident support of author and reproductive rights advocate Becca Rea-Tucker, this book will meet you wherever you are and offer guidance for every step of your journey.

The Public Leadership Institute developed this playbook to serve as a practical resource for policymakers, advocates, and community leaders seeking to hold unregulated pregnancy clinics (UPCs)—also known as crisis pregnancy centers—accountable. These facilities often present themselves as legitimate providers of reproductive health care while operating without basic medical standards and oversight, a lack of financial transparency and accountability, inadequate protections for private information, and deceptive practices intended to discourage people from seeking abortion care.

Drawing on expert legal and policy analysis, real-world case studies, and input from advocates and experts, this playbook equips you with the tools needed to regulate UPCs. Inside you’ll find:
– Model legislation that can be adapted to state and local needs
– Strategic messaging guidance to support public engagement
– Policy implementation tools grounded in legal and real-world experience

Featuring week-by-week photos of procedural products of conception. The content in this book is informed by over 10 years of research with independent clinics in the US and dozens of clinic visits across the US for patient-centered tissue viewing best practices. This book is the only resource known to exist with week-by-week, size-accurate drawings and photos of in-clinic products of conception from 5-32w LMP. It has been successfully used for internal development, staff training, and values clarification for providers who see, handle, and discuss pregnancy tissue. For non-clinics, the guide helps staff understand fetal development–especially as gestation increases– and destigmatize seeing and discussing fetal remains.

A clinical resource and training guide for staff involved in abortion provision. The content is informed by over 10 years of research with independent clinics in the US and dozens of clinic visits across the US for patient-centered tissue viewing best practices. The book helps clinics strategically shape their tissue-viewing policies and practices. It has been successfully used for internal development, staff training, and values clarification for providers who see, handle, and discuss pregnancy tissue. For non-clinics, the guide helps staff understand fetal development–especially as gestation increases– and destigmatize seeing and discussing fetal remains.

The Abortion Handbook covers herbal abortifacients found in home gardens and public parks to medical/clinical procedures that enable a woman to exercise her freedom of choice by not carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term. The author details the various steps to a safe abortion in plain English as well as the radical religious right’s political agenda to deny women all freedoms by denying a woman’s right to an abortion.

Originally published in 1981, A New View of a Woman’s Body is a women’s health handbook that puts women’s health directly into women’s hands. Learn vital information about: Self Examination including breast self examination, and vaginal self examination using a plastic vaginal speculum, a woman’s reproductive anatomy, analytic tests, common infections, birth control, menstrual extraction, abortion care, menopause surgical procedures and home remedies. Plus the joy, confidence, and pride that come from a thorough understanding of your own body. First published in 1981, A New View of a Woman’s Body is a timeless classic that continues to empower women seeking to be actively involved in their own health caring through self examination, self help and the demystification of women’s bodies and health care.

This textbook is a concise, accessible and engaging introduction to what continues to be a contentious and polorizing topic in the United States. Focussing on the current debates and controversies, myths and realities of reproductive justice, this text seeks to examine the historical, social and cultural forces that shape those politics. Making use of an explicitly feminist framework, the textbook analyzes how the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality and other markers of difference are implicated in protest and policy. This is a primer for Women’s and Gender Studies students, and for those coming to the topic for the first time.

This book dispels all the nonsense that’s thrown out in arguments about reproductive health. It’s not designed for academics; it’s designed for the politician who claimed a woman could swallow a camera to check on a pregnancy. Or the auntie who said eating papaya was as effective as oral contraceptives. This is the book that helps regular people sound smarter when they argue their point about birth control, Plan B, and D&Cs. It has pictures, analogies, and extra question boxes that make you think about your own opinions. To be clear, this book is not an argument for, or against, abortion rights. After all, everyone has seen enough of those. Instead, it’s an explanation of what happens in women’s bodies throughout the month (surprise – it’s ovulation and menstruation!), how contraceptives and emergency contraceptives work (not as abortifacients), and what the term abortion actually means in a medical sense. Written by a medical student and former EMT-B, this book will give you all the information you need to truly understand reproductive topics from a practical medical perspective, without boring you to death in the process.

Accessing abortion services in rural areas under conditions of liberal abortion legislation is neither straightforward nor simple. As the South African example shows, the liberalization of abortion legislation was the first step in granting pregnant persons access to abortion care. Despite this and some progress in implementation, many challenges persist resulting in a lack of services, especially in areas where distances and transport costs are a factor.

Drawing on the findings of a study conducted in three rural districts of the Eastern Cape, the authors highlight the complexities involved in understanding problematic or unwanted pregnancies and abortion services within these communities; the reported barriers to, and facilitators of, access to abortion services among rural populations; and preferences for types of abortion services.

Eugene Glick helped train other physicians in safer, faster and less traumatic techniques that he developed after 1973, and put his knowledge into this book. Dr. Glick reassured patients that the decision to have an abortion was not something to be stigmatized, but was rather a mature, courageous choice.

This book tells the movement and litigation stories behind important reproductive rights and justice cases. The twelve chapters span topics including contraception, abortion, pregnancy, and assisted reproductive technologies, telling the stories of these cases using a wide-lens perspective that illuminates the complex ways law is debated and forged–in social movements, in representative government, and in courts.

The changing composition of the Supreme Court, increased executive and legislative action, and shifting political interests have all pushed issues of reproductive rights and justice to the forefront of contemporary discourse. The volume is suited to a wide range of law school courses, including constitutional law, family law, employment law, and reproductive rights and justice; it could also be assigned in undergraduate or graduate courses on history, gender studies, and reproductive rights and justice.

The first casebook on the subject marks the contours of the field and provides a comprehensive understanding of the law and legal discourse relating to state regulation of sex, bodies, families, and reproduction. This compilation of rich historical and contemporary primary and secondary materials, accompanied by rigorous legal analysis, considers the economic, political, legal, and social factors that influence procreation and parenting. It is attentive to questions of race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and ability. Given that reproductive rights are implicated by different bodies of law, the casebook and teacher’s manual will serve as guides to help balance expertise in one particular area of the law and enable well-rounded engagement with various issues.

A manual of model legislation that mirrors the antiabortion version published by Americans United for Life. The playbook includes bills designed to protect abortion clinics against acts of violence and prevent abortion clinics from having to share medically inaccurate information.

This is the definitive guide that addresses every aspect of reproductive health and abortion both in the United States and worldwide. It also addresses changing contraceptive and abortion practices, and what the future likely holds. No other source provides the comprehensive medical, ethical and legal analyses that this book does.

If you are having a hard time after an abortion experience, there is help for you. This workbook can guide you through some basic steps to feeling better emotionally and spiritually. It can also give you suggestions about further help. It may also be useful if you just want more resolution about an abortion experience.

If you’re here, you are probably pregnant and not sure what to do. You’re in the right place. Read on. The people who put together this workbook support you no matter what you choose. We have done our best to give you a realistic picture of all the choices you can make—abortion, adoption, and parenting. You will find exercises to help you make the best decision for you.

Storytelling has always been a tool for connection and social change since the beginning of time. More and more we’re hearing those who have had abortions share their stories to fight against the pressure to stay silent and isolated. Abortion storytellers are sharing their stories in the media, in their communities, and with loved ones. But how do advocates support public abortion storytellers and what should storytellers consider before sharing their stories? As someone who has both shared her abortion story in public, and an advocate supporting people who’ve had abortions and LGBT young people sharing their stories with lawmakers and the media, I wanted to gather all that I had learned from those experiences in one place.

REVIEWS:
Ava Torre-Bueno has written an essential manifesto on abortion. She powerfully articulates the philosophy that if we don’t have control of our *minds* and our bodies, we have nothing. This brave and inspirational book is a complete, honest, and moving journey into one of the most important issues of our time. — Kathy Najimy, Writer, Director, Actor

Peace After Abortion is a well written, practical and compassionate book, designed to help women who are troubled after an abortion to deal with their feelings. It will also be an invaluanble aid to health care professionals who may be working with those women, and to anyone interested in a self-help approach to issues of guilt, depression, and shame. So far as I know, it is the only book available of its kind, and it is hard to imagine how a better one could be found. — Terry Beresford, former Director of Counseling, Planned Parenthood of Maryland

Les soins réalisés dans le cadre d’un avortement médicamenteux peuvent être dispensés dans différentes situations cliniques, notamment en cas d’avortement spontané, pour un avortement provoqué (grossesse viable ou non), en cas d’avortement incomplet et en cas de mort du foetus in utero ; ils comprennent également la contraception post-avortement.

Les schémas médicamenteux utilisés dans le cadre d’un avortement sont généralement constitués soit d’une association de mifépristone et de misoprostol, soit de misoprostol seul. Le fait de pouvoir fournir un avortement médicamenteux joue un rôle crucial dans l’accès à des soins sécurisés, efficaces et acceptables en cas d’avortement. Que l’on soit dans une situation de ressources limitées ou dans une situation où les ressources sont suffisantes, l’utilisation des méthodes médicamenteuses dans le cadre d’un avortement a contribué au transfert et au partage des tâches et à une utilisation plus efficace des ressources. En outre, un grand nombre des interventions faisant partie des soins médicaux fournis dans le cadre d’un avortement, en particulier en début de grossesse, peuvent désormais être réalisées au niveau des soins primaires ou en ambulatoire, ce qui améliore encore l’accès aux soins. Le recours à un avortement médicamenteux permet de réduire le besoin en personnel qualifié capable de réaliser un avortement chirurgical et d’offrir aux personnes enceintes une option non invasive et d’un haut degré d’acceptabilité.

El tratamiento médico del aborto comprende diversas situaciones clínicas, como el aborto espontáneo e inducido (en embarazos viables y no viables), el aborto incompleto y la muerte fetal intrauterina (MFIU), así como la anticoncepción tras el aborto.

El tratamiento médico del aborto, que generalmente se realiza con una combinación de mifepristona y misoprostol o solo con misoprostol, es fundamental para proporcionar acceso al aborto seguro, eficaz y aceptable. Tanto en entornos con muchos recursos como en entornos con escasos recursos, los métodos médicos para abortar han contribuido a la delegación y reparto de tareas y a un uso más eficiente de los recursos. Además, muchas de las intervenciones médicas para abortar, sobre todo al principio del embarazo, pueden realizarse en el ámbito de la atención primaria y en régimen ambulatorio, lo que facilita aún más el acceso a la atención. El tratamiento médico del aborto reduce la necesidad de personal especializado que requiere el aborto quirúrgico y ofrece a las embarazadas una opción incruenta y muy aceptable.

This new publication by the World Health Organization on self-care can be summarised via four key messages published in the BMJ earlier this year:

– Self-care interventions increase choice, accessibility, and affordability, as well as opportunities for individuals to make informed decisions regarding their health and healthcare
– Self-care interventions may also exacerbate inequalities and therefore need to be monitored and, where appropriate, linked with health systems
– Self-care can be thought of using two complementary frames: people-centred and system-centred.
– Normative guidance will be essential to redraw the boundaries of a stronger healthcare system that includes self-care.

The section on self-care with medical abortion pills is taken from the 2015 publication called Health worker roles in providing safe abortion care and post-abortion contraception and covers self-management of the medical abortion process in the first trimester. There are 4 recommendations, and two additional notes are offered from the 2018 WHO publication Medical management of abortion.

La publicación de Ipas titulada Actualizaciones clínicas en salud reproductiva contiene recomendaciones clínicas actualizadas, basadas en evidencia, sobre la atención integral del aborto, así como nuevos temas y recursos agregados con regularidad. Actualizaciones clínicas en salud reproductiva ofrece información concisa y fácil de leer sobre los servicios de aborto, y combina las evidencias más recientes con lecciones aprendidas de profesionales de la salud a nivel mundial para producir recomendaciones clínicas pertinentes.

Contains up-to-date, evidence-based clinical recommendations on comprehensive abortion care, with new topics and resources added regularly. Provides concise, easy-to-read information about abortion care, combining the latest evidence with lessons learned from health professionals globally to produce relevant clinical recommendations.

First published in 2013, the Clinical Updates in Reproductive Health were designed originally as an up-to-date, evidence-based clinical resource for Ipas staff. Over time, the publication has also been of use to clinicians providing abortion care, clinical and public health professionals working on patient care protocols in public health systems and the private sector, and safe abortion advocates and policymakers creating laws and policies that fulfill women’s and girls’ right to health.

The key aim of this guideline is to present recommendations based on a critical evaluation of the evidence on emerging digital health interventions that are contributing to health system improvements, based on an assessment of the benefits, harms, acceptability, feasibility, resource use and equity considerations.

This guideline urges readers to recognize that digital health interventions are not a substitute for functioning health systems, and that there are significant limitations to what digital health is able to address.

The aim of this guideline is to ensure that all women considering induced abortion have access to a service of uniformly high quality. It is hoped that this guideline will be implemented across all relevant healthcare sectors and will promote a consistent standard regardless of the sectors in which an individual woman is managed.

The guideline has been developed under the auspices of the RCOG for its Fellows and Members practising in Great Britain. The guideline is also intended for other professional groups who share in caring for women considering abortion: primary care teams, sexual health services, gynaecology nurses, staff participating in non-NHS assessment centres and clinics and all those professionals providing abortion counselling.

Medical abortion care encompasses the management of various clinical conditions including spontaneous and induced abortion (both viable and non-viable pregnancies), incomplete abortion and intrauterine fetal demise, as well as post-abortion contraception.

Medical management of abortion generally involves either a combination regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol or a misoprostol-only regimen. Medical abortion care plays a crucial role in providing access to safe, effective and acceptable abortion care. In both high- and low-resource settings, the use of medical methods of abortion have contributed to task shifting and sharing and more efficient use of resources. Moreover, many interventions in medical abortion care, particularly those in early pregnancy, can now be provided at the primary-care level and on an outpatient basis, which further increases access to care. Medical abortion care reduces the need for skilled surgical abortion providers and offers a non-invasive and highly acceptable option to pregnant individuals.

Since getting an abortion may be daunting in some parts of the country–“84 percent of counties have no provider,” Kaufmann avers–this well-organized book’s advice seems ripe for the times. That counsel includes warnings about fake clinics “run by antichoice organizations for the sole purpose of actively obstructing women’s access to abortion,” the potential for confrontation at clinic sites, and the legal sanctions and hoops one must negotiate in pursuit of an abortion (Kaufmann gives detailed instructions on circumventing parental notification laws, informed consent laws, and waiting periods). Kaufmann says she writes specifically “to provide women with the support and clear practical information they need to get an abortion regardless of their personal situation or the laws, lack of clinics, or level of antichoice violence in their state,” and her writing shares the stridency and clarity of that point of view. Appendixes list pertinent laws and pro-choice organizations state by state and include sample legal forms. Reviewed during the writing by doctors and other professionals, this is an excellent choice on its subject. — Mike Tribby

First published in 1984 by JB Lippincott Company.
Abortion Practice is the only single-author medical textbook concerning abortion. It begins with a comprehensive view in its first chapter of The Epidemiologic Foundations of Abortion Practice. This chapter is a unique in the medical literature in presenting a public health view of pregnancy and abortion. Pregnancy is seen as a biocultural adaptation to the survival needs of the human species, and the management of pregnancy as a biocultural phenomenon that is determined by human culture. In many cultures, pregnancy is defined as a life-threatening illness, but in western culture, pregnancy is defined as normal. This reflects the role of women in western society and it affects the kinds of medical and surgical management of pregnancy that are available. Abortion alters the mortality statistics – the risk of death – for women who are pregnant. The remainder of the book provides a framework for modern abortion practice including evaluation of the patient, operative procedures and techniques, postoperative procedures, management of complications, diagnostic evaluation of pregnancy duration and fetal age, long-term risks of abortion, and program evaluation.

Examines the medical and psychological aspects of abortion, discusses the safety of the various methods, and surveys the abortion services available across the U.S.

This is the first and only publication that discusses the consequences of abortion-related conflict from the perspective of law enforcement. Two thirds of all jurisdictions in the United States with at least one known abortion provider have experienced actual abortion-related incidents – ranging from protests and demonstrations to murder – in the five years preceding publication. But few police departments train their officers or establish guidelines for officers to use when responding to abortion-related conflicts or violence.

The majority of women who have had abortions report feeling happy, satisfied, and relieved following their abortion. Some few women who have had an abortion may experience some feelings of guilt and sadness; however, this rarely lasts longer than a few days. Those very few women who present with prolonged feelings of sadness and mental health problems are women who have either had these problems prior to their abortion, had other risk factors, or were influenced by frightening demonstrations and inaccurate biased information provided prior to the abortion. Through this book the authors hope to train general therapists and counselors in pre- and post-abortion counseling techniques–to avoid women experiencing unnecessary psychological problems created by those who insist that the non-existent “post-abortion syndrome” exists.

This multidisciplinary review of abortion is invaluable reading for clinicians and other care providers in the area of women’s health.

Access to high quality abortion care is essential to women’s health, as evidenced by the dramatic decrease in pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality since the legalization of abortion in the United States, and by high rates of maternal death and complications in those countries where abortion is still provided under unsafe conditions.

Management of Unintended and Abnormal Pregnancy: Comprehensive Abortion Care is the textbook of the National Abortion Federation, and serves as the standard, evidence-based reference text in abortion care. This state-of-the-art textbook provides a comprehensive overview of the public health implications of unsafe abortion and reviews the best surgical and medical practices for pregnancy termination, as well as managing ectopic and other abnormal pregnancies.

Presenting a comprehensive, clinically oriented text covering all aspects of abortion care related to both medical and surgical abortion. Multiple contributors, well recognized for their expertise in abortion and women’s health, contribute to make this a state-of-the-art reference on abortion for students, residents and practitioners involved in women’s reproductive health care.

These 31 case studies, drawn from real-life experiences, are based on simple fact situations, so that readers can address their ethical elements, rather than evade ethical engagements by resort to technical means or development of additional facts. The purpose is not to direct readers to particular conclusions. It is to assist in identification of key ethical considerations of which account must be taken for an adequate ethical assessment of resolutions
of conflicting values in reproductive health care.

Summaries of 45 cases and legal analyses.
Legal Grounds II is a tool for organizations, individuals, and institutions of learning. Though the study of reproductive and sexual health as a human rights discipline on the African continent is still at a relatively young stage, a number of countries, including Nigeria and South Africa, are developing the discipline in their tertiary institutions. This publication is a compelling resource for students in this field. In addition, it is a contribution towards a knowledge base for jurisprudence that bears directly or indirectly on reproductive and sexual health as human rights, and is conducive towards building and entrenching a human rights culture on the African continent.

Summaries of 59 cases.
This publication provides a crucial starting point for women’s rights advocates and jurists who need access to information about courts across the African Commonwealth, which refers to sub-Saharan African countries that were colonized by the British and share a legal system based on English common law. This report should serve as a wake-up call that we must not dismiss the role of the courts and judiciary in furthering women’s rights. Women’s rights activists should feel comfortable borrowing legal strategies from distant jurisdictions to press courts in their area to interpret national and international standards for the benefit of women. In turn, courts will become sensitized and increasingly responsive to these rights as more cases are filed.

The concept of reproductive health promises to play a crucial role in improving health care provision and legal protection for women around the world. This is an authoritative and much-needed introduction to and defence of the concept of reproductive health, which though internationally endorsed, is still contested. The authors are leading authorities on reproductive medicine, women’s health, human rights, medical law, and bioethics. They integrate their disciplines to provide an accessible but comprehensive picture. They analyse 15 cases from different countries and cultures, and explore options for resolution. The aim is to equip readers to fashion solutions in their own health care circumstances, compatibly with ethical, legal and human rights principles.
(Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011)

A Woman’s Book of Choices chronicles the history of ME, the currently accepted standard of ME practice, and its legal ramifications, and offers accounts of actual ME procedures. It also describes the who range of other abortion alternatives, from state-of-the-art clinical abortions to folk remedies, for women who may be considering terminating a pregnancy. In addition, there is a comprehensive chapter that is directed to medical personnel who may be providing abortion care, and a chapter on the French-developed abortion pill, RU-486.

Includes the US Supreme Court cases on abortion. This book presents court cases in edited form for use in the undergraduate and graduate classroom in a variety of disciplines. It provides an introduction to elucidate the complexities of this controversial issue.

Presents both sides of the debate over abortion in the United States in historical, international, and medical contexts, including summaries and excerpts of historical documents, and data on abortion incidences and practice.

This thought-provoking reference work explores the evolution of America’s heated abortion debate in a selection of over 40 primary documents from the 19th century to the present day. The guide includes not only key laws and court cases that have determined abortion policy, but also political speeches, medical essays, theological writings, newspaper advertisements, magazine articles, and popular books that offer insight into America’s changing attitudes towards women, race, the medical field, and the role of government in its citizens’ personal lives. Each document is preceded by an introduction and is followed by analysis to help readers understand its significance and historical context.

Two psychotherapists present a supportive guide to coping with the emotional and psychological aftermath of abortion, offering a step-by-step program that combines information, reassurance, and guidance to help women begin the process of recovery. “This is a book for any women who feels psychological pain from her abortion…this is not a book about judgment, politics, or religion.” –from the authors’ introduction

The Healing Choice breaks the silence surrounding a topic often clouded by debate and focuses exclusively on helping women chart a path toward emotional recovery. Through a step-by-step process, complete with self-tests, exercises, and interviews with women who share their own post-abortion experiences, Dr. Candace De Puy and Dr. Dana Dovitch will help you come to terms with your post-abortion emotions and offer support as you begin the process of healing.

Languages: English, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian

Since first publication of this guidance in 2003, a considerable amount of new data have been produced and published, relating to epidemiological, clinical, service delivery, legal and human rights aspects of providing safe abortion care. This new edition provides policy-makers, programme managers and health-service providers with the latest evidence-based guidance on clinical care. It includes information on how to establish and strengthen services, and outlines a human-rights-based approach to laws and policies on safe, comprehensive abortion care.

In today’s contentious political environment surrounding abortion, clinicians, counselors and social workers need a clear framework for providing skilled, compassionate decision counseling. They need help working with the hard stuff: “What do I do when my patient asks me if God will forgive her?” or “What do I say when a woman says that she feels like she’s killing her baby?” These are the questions asked by clinicians and mental health professionals everywhere; these are also the questions for which this book offers answers. The fields of healthcare and counseling psychology have long-awaited a manual for conducting pregnancy decision counseling across the spectrum of patient issues, employee skill levels, and clinic resources.

Using case examples, individual and group exercises, guided self-reflection, and values clarification, the reader will develop the necessary skills to provide compassionate and informed pregnancy decision counseling. This book will define the gold standard for decision assessment and counseling for all pregnancy options and will be cited as the definitive guide for learning, teaching, and providing high-quality, compassionate counseling in abortion and family planning clinics nationwide.

The Clinical practice handbook for safe abortion care is intended to facilitate the practical application of the clinical recommendations from the second edition of Safe abortion: technical and policy guidance for health systems (World Health Organization [WHO] 2012). While legal, regulatory, policy and service-delivery contexts may vary from country to country, the recommendations and best practices described in both of these documents aim to enable evidence-based decision-making with respect to safe abortion care. This handbook is oriented to providers who already have the requisite skills and training necessary to provide safe abortion and/or treat complications of unsafe abortion. It is neither a substitute for formal training, nor a training manual.

Written by a psychiatrist, this book discusses 78 reliable resources and asks essential questions about single motherhood, adoption, and abortion to help you carefully think through your decisions about your unplanned pregnancy. You could use its balanced, factual information and comprehensive questions to start a conversation with parents or partner, then link directly to the resources to help you pursue the decision that is best for you.The single motherhood resources discuss such things as calculating costs, lists of how-to books, support-groups, money management, government programs, and housing options.The adoption resources address adoption law, types of adoption, adoption agencies, how to establish a continuing relationship with the adoption family and adopted child, and so on.The abortion resources talk about contraception, gestational age, medical abortion, each surgical abortion type, abortion law, finding providers, funding, talk-lines, and the ACOG’s FAQ site. More information is available on the book’s website.

Planned and regulated task shifting and task sharing can have a range of benefits. It can ensure a rational optimization of the available health workforce, address health system shortages of specialized health-care professionals, improve equity in access to health care and increase the acceptability of health services for those receiving them. This guideline provides a range of options for expanding of health worker roles in the provision of safe abortion care, the management of complications of abortion (also known as post-abortion care in some settings and provided as part of emergency obstetric care) and for post-abortion contraception provision.

(for Inroads, the International Network for the Reduction of Abortion Discrimination and Stigma. Also available in French and Spanish)

This resource paints a picture of how stigma appears in different geographic regions, and across the different levels of the ecological model. The authors specifically examined peer-reviewed articles that addressed abortion stigma, employed qualitative methods, and reported thematic findings on abortion stigma. They found that stigma, not surprisingly, is socially constructed, culturally and socially embedded and is influenced by social and cultural mores. Without cultural norm transformation, stigma continues to manifest in multiple ways, across a variety of contexts.

Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts is the expanded third volume in a series originally conceived by Kibrom Isaak, LL.M., a graduate of the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, who organised and wrote the prototype, and drafted most of the first two volumes.

Reproductive and sexual rights, which are guaranteed in constitutions and in international and regional human rights treaties, have no impact if they are not recognized and enforced by national-level courts. Legal Grounds: Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts Volume III continues to provide much-needed information about whether and how national courts of African countries apply constitutional and human rights to protect reproductive and sexual rights. The case summaries, significance sections, and thematic highlights serve as useful resources for those seeking to further develop litigation, advocacy, and capacity building strategies.