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The history of abortion decriminalization and critical advocacy efforts to improve access in Canada deserve to be better known. Ordinary people persevered to make Canada the most progressive country in the world with respect to abortion care. But while abortion access is poorly understood, so too are the persistent threats to reproductive justice in this country: sexual violence, gun violence, homophobia and transphobia, criminalization of sex work, reproductive oppression of Indigenous women and girls, privatization of fertility health services, and the racism and colonialism of policing and the prison system. This beautifully illustrated book tells the empowering true stories behind the struggles for reproductive justice in Canada, celebrating past wins and revealing how prison abolitionism is key to the path forward.
“This critical reading offers insight into Canadian histories of reproductive health access and the manifold violence of Canada’s carceral system, while communicating the vital hope embedded in politics and action at the intersection of reproductive justice and abolition.”
— Dr. Catherine Bryan, Dalhousie University
“In Abortion to Abolition, Martha Paynter unflinchingly names the carceral state as the foremost threat to reproductive justice in so-called Canada. Paynter takes great care to expose prisoners’ experiences of carceral maternity, demonstrating that incarceration (particularly of Indigenous women) enables the continued separation of parents from their children, a fundamental design element in any colonial project. After decades of frontline nursing and advocacy, Paynter deftly illuminates that fight for reproductive justice doesn’t end with abortion access and must include the fight to abolish the violence of prisons.”
— Meenakshi Mannoe, Vancouver Prison Justice Day Committee, Pivot Legal Society
“This book sews together all of the various threads of reproductive justice work in the medical professions, academia, and advocacy into one comprehensive and accessible collection. The stories that are told throughout remind us of our shared humanity and demonstrate clearly the impact that interlocking systems of oppression have on our society. This book is a comprehensive, powerful, and essential resource for all of us working toward liberation.”
— Emilie Coyle, Executive Director CAEFS
In her new book - illustrated by Nova Scotia artist Julia Hutt - Paynter, tells stories of ordinary people who pushed for abortion access and care in Canada and traces the changes to reproductive health and justice in the country. She argues that “…ending the incarceration of pregnant people, parents and primary caregivers — of people, period — is essential for reproductive health and justice.” Paynter, who provides abortion and postpartum care in Halifax, started advocating for people in prison in 2012.
— Allison Lawlor, Saltwire, June 12, 2022 (full review)
What makes Paynter’s series of profiles so powerful is that she’s not writing about her observations from the bleachers; she’s also documenting experiences from people she has carefully taken the time to get to know. Whether it’s through providing a prison workshop, providing reproductive care, or by researching the pioneers of the reproductive rights movement, Paynter honours the subjects of her book while giving their stories a face. Nearly two dozen stories connecting the intersections of reproductive justice are intertwined by beautiful illustrations by artist Julia Hutt.
— Stephen Wentzell, Rabble, June 24, 2022 (full review)
