Review
“The future without Roe is coming straight at us. This is the roadmap you need for the tough times ahead.”
—Katha Pollitt, author of Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights
“Robin Marty is a leading writer and advocate who has spent a decade reporting on abortion in the U.S., and the practical support her book offers is unmatched. This resource guide covers the likely state-by-state legal landscape if Roe is overturned, how to prevent a pregnancy, how to self-manage your own abortion, direct actions you can take to support access to care, and much more.”
—Andrea González-Ramírez, The Cut
“This isn’t The Handmaid’s Tale, this is real life. In Handbook for a Post-Roe America, Robin Marty outlines the grim possibilities of President Trump’s conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court, positing, 'When we say abortion will be illegal in half the states in the nation, we are no longer talking about some hypothetical future—we are talking about just years down the road.' In chapters such as 'Planning For Your Own Emergencies' and 'So, You Want to be the Next Jane,'Handbook is a clear-eyed guide to protecting access and providing support—with or without the government’s consent.”
—Rachel Leibrock, Sacramento News & Review
“In her new book Handbook for a Post-Roe America, Robin Marty provides a blueprint for accessing reproductive healthcare and fighting for your rights in a country where abortion has become a crime.”
—Glyn Peterson, The Nation
“Activist and writer Robin Marty breaks it down by walking readers through worst-case scenarios of a post-Roe America, and offering individualized, pragmatic paths to join the fight no matter what you’re working with. Marty doesn’t shy away from topics like self-managed abortion care, and how to avoid surveillance if you or someone you know is accessing abortion outside of federal regulation. The book includes an extensive resource guide with clinics, action groups, abortion funds, and practical support groups in each state.”
—Amelia Bonow, Electric Literature
“Our present dystopian truth is scarier than fiction. Marty’s timely book empowers readers with the wide-reaching wisdom and practical guidance needed to govern and care for ourselves (and each other) in the midst of uncertainty. Marty anchors us with tools and resources that help light our way back to freedom as we navigate through the shadows of attacks on reproductive justice.”
—Jamia Wilson, executive director and publisher of the Feminist Press
“Handbook for a Post-Roe America is the survival guide American women will need to carry around like a Bible if we’ll ever survive the GOP’s rigid rule over US—er, the US. This book has everything a pro-choice woman needs to know about Roe, including what’ll make it go away, how to resist, and what to do if she gets pregnant while abortion’s either completely or nearly illegal in the States.”
—Crystal Erickson, Bust
“Robin [Marty] has been the writer I turn to for accurate, practical, and optimism-free information about reproductive rights since I started working in the field. She was the first person I asked to spell out the future for abortion after the 2016 election, and now she's done it again in generous detail for all of us. Are you a person who may become pregnant, or do you maybe know a person who fits that description? This book is essential for anyone looking to understand and navigate a world without legal abortion.”
—Jess McIntosh, co-host Signal Boost on SXM Progress
“As crucial as the practical advice is, the most valuable thing Handbook offers may be the simple reassurance that you can do something. At a time when proponents of abortion rights feel frightened and overwhelmed, Marty reminds readers that this struggle is not new, and precedents for facing it exist ... [Handbook for a Post-Roe America is] an indispensable response to a looming threat, offering everything from model legislation to instructions on protecting your privacy in the event of an extralegal abortion.”
—Lindsay King-Miller, Rewire News
“In Handbook for a Post-Roe America, Marty walks readers through the various futures of abortion rights in the U.S. and provides advice on how to plan ahead.”
—Melissa Jeltsen, Huffington Post
“An essential tool to contend with the Court’s possible overturning—if not further restricting—of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.”
—David Rosen, New York Journal of Books
“Handbook is a road map toward an uncertain future, offering not only proactive measures that advocates can take to protect abortion access, but also insight into how to stay on the offensive when it comes to anti-choicers. Marty’s extensive background on the topic makes this book a critical read for anyone new to abortion politics; those who have been in the fight, meanwhile, will find specifics and helpful tools to share with other advocates. Whether it’s figuring out how to protect ourselves online, or navigating what kind of reactive activism is most productive (spoiler: it’s not counterprotesting at clinics), readers will find an accessible guide for all abortion-advocacy levels.”
—Caroline Reilly, Bitch Media
“Invaluable information useful both for an individual woman seeking an abortion and for those seeking to politically organize and fight the injustices of the anti-abortionists. Marty provides information ranging from the current legal situation women face in each state as well as about how to secure a medical abortion and commercially-available abortion-inducing pills and herbs, if needed. She even includes a working budget of the costs associated with an out-of-state medical procedure so a woman can financially plan for it.”
—David Rosen, Counterpunch
“A useful guide, complete with contact information of helpful organizations across the country and even how to self-induce abortion in your own home.”
—Pro-Choice Ohio
“If to be forewarned is to be forearmed, Robin Marty’s Handbook for a Post-Roe America is an essential tool for anyone worried about losing access to abortion in the US of A. Practical and straightforward, the book outlines numerous what-ifs. And while it highlights a worst-case scenario in which the Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade, taking away the constitutional right to abortion, it also makes clear that this will not stop the practice. This fact-of-life makes the Handbook a somewhat grim read. At the same time, it’s also a thoughtful call to action.”
—Los Angeles Review of Books
“This book is very practical, and, unfortunately, absolutely necessary. It’s a comprehensive manual for how to get the care you need, including how to find financial support, create and use networks, plan for emergencies, find care outside legal systems, and more. It has information on resources and opportunities for involvement in each state. It’s an essential resource.”
—Bookriot
“A necessary primer on organizing, fundraising, and avoiding legal trouble when and if you must break an unconstitutional law.”
—Bustle
About the Author
ROBIN MARTY is the Communications Director for the Yellowhammer Fund, an abortion fund and reproductive justice organization serving Alabama and the surrounding region. A former freelance reporter, she spent a decade tracking abortion restrictions, visiting current and former clinic sites and interviewing activists on both sides of the abortion divide. Marty is also the co-author of the 2019 book "The End of Roe v. Wade: Inside the Right's Plan to Destroy Legal Abortion" with legal analyst Jessica Mason Pieklo. Marty is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, a Women's Media Center SheSource expert on reproductive rights, and an IFund investigative reporter for The Nation Institute. Her work can be found in Cosmopolitan, Politico, the Guardian, Time, and other outlets. Marty spent five years as the senior political reporter for Rewire News, a reproductive health and justice news site, where she covered state-based abortion bans and other assaults on reproductive rights. She lives in Minneapolis, MN.
