BODIES ON THE LINE

A history of the abortion-rights movement told through the lens of abortion clinic escorts.

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, women’s reproductive rights have been under attack. Much of the battle has occurred legislatively, particularly through bans at the local level. But as Rankin shows, another danger is the contingent of protestors who attempt to halt abortion by physically blocking access to services and whose ultimate goal is to shut down clinics. “If you live in one of the 10 percent of U.S. counties that still has an abortion clinic,” writes the author, who served as an abortion escort for six years in New Jersey, “there is probably a group of picketers outside of it right now.” As early as 1988, when a group called Operation Rescue “conducted 182 blockades” of clinics, a group of abortion-rights activists began to create the first “clinic defense networks,” which ensured that patients could access important health services. This proved to be the vital beginning of the abortion escort movement. In the years that followed, escorts organized against everything from blockades and clinic closures to the murder of providers. When their local clinics were shut, escorts found new, behind-the-scenes ways to support patients needing abortions, including amassing funding for those who couldn’t afford the procedure. Although the introduction of right-wing judges during the Trump administration has rendered abortion’s legality more tenuous than ever, escorts remain active and ready to fight. Rankin’s passion for women’s health blazes on the page, and she is adept at connecting disparate events to create a cohesive historical narrative. At times, the plethora of profiles makes it difficult to keep track of the principals, but this is an important book nonetheless.

A stunning, compassionate history of an overlooked element within the abortion-rights movement in the U.S.