History of reproductive justice reading list

The fight for reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy continues

Karla J. Strand

30 Mar 2025 — 8 min read

This installment in my Women's History Month series is focused on reproductive justice, contraception, and abortion histories from around the globe.

I'm not going to provide a long introduction here because the following books can provide more information than I ever could. I'm only the curator, not the expert.

I encourage you to pick and choose from the resources on this list how you are interested and able. Share the list far and wide, and if you know of books I haven't included, please let me know.

If you're familiar with my work, you'll know I always favor highlighting creators writing about the areas or communities of which they are a part. I feel this is important because there are always experts in every community and every part of the world doing this work; unfortunately, they are not always the ones getting the book deals. So, in a reading list like this, I will include resources written by white, Western creators as opposed to not including any resources from this part of the world at all.

The fine print: The books are listed in alphabetical order. Some entries I annotate, but often I don't. I may even come back and add to this list once in a while. Please note that if you purchase the books from my Bookshop links below, you'll get a great book at a fair price, support an independent bookseller, and, as a Bookshop affiliate, I'll get a small commission at no additional cost to you. Win, win, win!

Abortion and Contraception in Modern Greece, 1830-1967: Medicine, Sexuality and Popular Culture
By Violetta Hionidou