4 minute read
Jennifer Choe-Groves (Ct. Int’l Trade) (2016
NO REAL CHOICE
How Culture and Politics Matter for Reproductive Autonomy
KATRINA KIMPORT
226 pp 5.5 x 8.5 978-1-9788-1791-3 paper $26.95AT 978-1-9788-1792-0 cloth $120.00SU October 2021 Current Affairs • Women’s Studies 188 pp 4 b/w images 6 x 9 978-1-9788-2100-2 paper $26.95AT 978-1-9788-2101-9 cloth $69.95SU September 2021 Environmental Studies
Table of Contents
Acknowledgment 1. No Real Choice 2. Policies, Poverty, and the Organization of Abortion Care 3. Privileging the Fetus 4. Choosing Irresponsibility and Harm 5. Fearing the Experience of Abortion 6. Choosing a Baby 7. Toward Reproductive Autonomy Methodological Appendix Notes References Index
No Real Choice
KATRINA KIMPORT
“No Real Choice offers important insights into the reproductive experiences of women, especially poor women of color. The result is a reframing of the choice for women, from one of deciding between abortion and the continuation of pregnancy to one of deciding whether or not to have an abortion.” —Nazli Kibria, author of Becoming Asian American “No Real Choice marks the definitive end of arguing for a “pro-choice” America by proving how policies, assumptions, and histories of medical injustice often make abortion utterly unchooseable. Collecting voices from those who considered abortion but went to term anyway, Katrina Kimport charts the logistical obstacles to terminating unwanted pregnancies and illustrates the need for promoting the right to parent for low income individuals and people of color. The lived reality of racism shapes these ethnographic stories of struggle over reproductive possibilities and impossibilities to affirm abortion not as an option but as a necessary element of a just society.“ —Carol Mason, author of Killing for Life: The Apocalyptic Narrative of
Pro-life Politics
“For those skeptical that there’s anything new to say about abortion, Kimport’s book is a must-read. Her careful analysis shows—startlingly —that many women give birth because abortion is ‘unchoosable.’” —Lisa Harris, MD, University of Michigan
Based on candid, in-depth interviews with women who considered but did not obtain an abortion, No Real Choice punctures the myth that American women have full autonomy over their reproductive choices. Focusing on the experiences of a predominantly Black and low-income group of women, sociologist Katrina Kimport finds that structural, cultural, and experiential factors can make choosing abortion impossible–especially for those who experience racism and class discrimination. From these conversations, we see the obstacles to “choice” these women face, such as bans on public insurance coverage of abortion and rampant antiabortion claims that abortion is harmful. Kimport’s interviews reveal that even as activists fight to preserve Roe v. Wade, class and racial disparities have already curtailed many women’s freedom of choice.
No Real Choice analyzes both the structural obstacles to abortion and the cultural ideologies that try to persuade women not to choose abortion. Told with care and sensitivity, No Real Choice gives voice to women whose experiences are often overlooked in debates on abortion, illustrating how real reproductive choice is denied, for whom, and at what cost. KATRINA KIMPORT is an associate professor in the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) program in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. Her books include Queering Marriage: Challenging Family Formation in the United States (Rutgers University Press). Families in Focus
Unleaded
How Changing Our Gasoline Changed Everything
CARRIE NIELSEN
“Nielsen has developed a sophisticated analysis of childhood lead exposure. One of the real joys of this book is that it is written in an accessible style and makes an important contribution to the historical literature on childhood lead poisoning.” —Gerald Markowitz, author of Lead Wars
When leaded gasoline was first developed in the 1920s, medical experts were quick to warn of the public health catastrophes it would cause. Yet government regulators did not heed their advice, and for more than half a century, nearly all cars used leaded gasoline, which contributed to a nationwide epidemic of lead poisoning. By the 1970s, 99.8% of American children had significantly elevated levels of lead in their blood.
Unleaded tells the story of how crusading scientists and activists convinced the U.S. government to ban lead additives in gasoline. It also reveals how, for nearly 50 years, scientific experts paid by the oil and mining industries abused their authority to convince the public that leaded gasoline was perfectly harmless.
Combining environmental history, sociology, and neuroscience, Carrie Nielsen explores how lead exposure affects the developing brains of children and is linked to social problems including violent crime, teen pregnancies, and academic failure. She also shows how, even after the nationwide outrage over Flint’s polluted water, many poor and minority communities and communities of color across the United States still have dangerously high lead levels. Unleaded vividly depicts the importance of sound science and strong environmental regulations to protect our nation’s most vulnerable populations. CARRIE NIELSEN is an associate professor of biology and environmental science at Cabrini University in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Her research interests include environmental justice, science pedagogy, interdisciplinary teaching, watershed management, nutrient cycling in forest soils, and faith perspectives on environmental sustainability. She lives in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania with her husband and two daughters.
Table of Contents
Preface 1. Lead in 20th Century America 2. Where the Lead Came From 3. Getting the Lead Out 4. Lead in America’s Children 5. Brains and Behavior and Lead 6. Lead and Violence 7. The Lead Problem Persists 8. Lessons from the Lead Battles Conclusion: Understanding our Leaded World Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography Index About the Author
