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As women’s rights are increasingly depleted in the US, journalist Rebecca Kelliher dives into the radical history of the abortion pills from invention to distribution to today
Spanning decades and continents with a tenacious cast of doctors, activists, politicians, drug suppliers, and everyday women, Just Pills tells the gripping, little-known history of mifepristone and misoprostol, better known as the abortion pills.
The abortion pills are a safe, cheap, clinic-less means of ending a pregnancy, and these drugs have been quietly—yet steadily—spreading around the world. These pills are already changing the fight for abortion access as we understand it. Rebecca Kelliher dives into the history of the pills’ invention in the 1970s and 80s, unpacks government battles around their approval in the 1990s, and deftly weaves together several perspectives to move beyond the pills’ origin story.
As women’s rights are increasingly infringed upon in the US, this history of radical invention and persistent distribution of a life-saving drug will remind us of the work we’ve already done and inspire us to continue to pursue a world where women are free.
“Just Pills is an incredible and meticulous account of abortion pills around the world and in the United States. Rebecca Kelliher’s research and journalism shine bright as she details the long history of abortion pills and tells the stories of the women who made it possible along the way. Just Pills is an impressive record of how abortion pills came to be, how they are impacting abortion pills now, and what’s possible for the future.”
—Renee Bracey Sherman, author of Liberating Abortion: Claiming Our History, Sharing Our Stories, and Building the Reproductive Future We Deserve
“Just Pills tells the little-known story of the development and use of abortion medications, beginning long before the US Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973 with Roe v. Wade. In this fascinating and well-written account, Rebecca Kelliher tells a global story of abortion pills up to the present day. It is a story that is as relevant today as it was half a century ago, as women are again fighting for the right to control their own bodies. This book could not be more timely and important.”
—Elaine Tyler May, author of America and the Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation
“Just Pills is a revelatory work of cultural history, deeply researched and gracefully written. With the battle raging over women’s rights to control their own bodies, this important story could not come at a better time.”
—Jonathan Eig, author of The Birth of the Pill and winner of the Pulitzer Prize
“The history of abortion pills is a fascinating—sometimes hopeful, often terrifying—tale of unlikely scientific breakthroughs and fierce societal backlash. But as Kelliher brilliantly teaches us in Just Pills, it’s about so much more than that too. It’s about the fight against systemic abuses of privilege; it’s about entrenched inequality; it’s about deep-rooted misogyny and medical paternalism; and it’s about coercion and control. Perhaps above all else, though, it’s also about bravery, resolve, and the power of community. At a time when reproductive rights are under severe threat in many parts of the world, Just Pills—through masterful storytelling and impressive research—is both a timely and astute reminder of the hurdles so many individuals have overcome to safeguard these collective rights and a fiery appeal for none of us to give up hope, however bleak things might seem.”
—Josie Cox, author of Women Money Power: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality
“Just Pills is essential reading for anyone who cares about the attacks on our bodies and freedoms. Rebecca Kelliher’s exacting history of abortion medication doesn’t just give us the information and context we need to fight back but also reminds readers that the courage behind this struggle is nothing new.”
—Jessica Valenti, author of Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win