Obstacle Course: The Everyday Struggle to Get an Abortion in America

296 Pages·2020·1.793 MB·English

by  David S. Cohen, Carole E. Joffe

Obstacle Course

Obstacle Course
the everyday struggle to get an
abortion in america
David S. Cohen and Carole Joffe
university of california press
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2020 by David S. Cohen and Carole Joffe
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Cohen, David S., 1972- author. | Joffe, Carole E., author.
Title: Obstacle course : the everyday struggle to get an abortion in
America / David S. Cohen and Carole Joffe.
Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2020] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: lccn 2019031072 (print) | lccn 2019031073 (ebook) |
isbn 9780520306646 (cloth) | isbn 9780520973725 (ebook)
Subjects: lcsh: Abortion—United States. | Abortion services—United
States.
Classification: lcc hq767.u6 c65 2020 (print) | lcc hq767.u6 (ebook) |
ddc 362.1988/800973—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019031072
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019031073
Manufactured in the United States of America
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To the abortion patients who navigate an obstacle
course to obtain the health care they need, and to the
providers and allies whose work is essential in
overcoming these barriers.

Contents
1. Introduction: The Turbulent State of Abortion in
America 1
2. Making the Decision: Coping with Roadblocks,
Deception, and Lies 26
3. Finding and Getting to a Clinic: Hard to Find,
Harder to Reach 54
4. Coming Up With the Money: The Biggest Barrier 84
5. Getting In: Chaos at the Clinic Door 110
6. Counseling at the Clinic: Government-Mandated
Deceit 146
7. Waiting Periods: Logistical Nightmares, Potentially
Serious Delays 172
8. The Procedure: Politics Overrides Medical Expertise 190
9. An Alternate Vision: Abortion as Normal Health Care 216
Notes 237
Acknowledgments 271
Index 273

praise for Obstacle Course
“ A disturbing account of the impact on women and their medical providers of
the unremitting attacks on the right to abortion. There are many books about
abortion politics, but none that makes such powerful use of real women’s voices to
show us what happens when a constitutional right becomes an obstacle course.”
Linda Greenhouse, author of Becoming Justice Blackmun
“ T he book makes a valuable addition to scholarship on abortion, offering a gripping
look at how abortion restrictions actually operate.”
Mary Ziegler, Professor of Law, Florida State University College of Law