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June 24 marks two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, making abortion a state’s issue. As of this writing, abortion is banned or severely restricted in 21 states. That means that entire areas of the country are without adequate abortion care.

However, abortion is just one part of the larger landscape of Reproductive Justice and reproductive health. Reproductive Justice is a term coined by a group of Black women in 1994 ahead of the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo. It is the “human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.”

Reproductive health encompasses contraception, sex education, sexuality, pregnancy, miscarriage, and other related topics. Information access can be part of Reproductive Justice and reproductive health. The American Library Association (ALA) has released a statement supporting information access on reproductive health.

However, providing abortion and reproductive health information may be complicated depending on your state’s laws. For example, “aiding and abetting” laws have been introduced in some states and could potentially be used against individuals for helping someone procure an abortion. This may or may not include information about abortion. In an NPR article, Kimberley Harris, a constitutional law and reproductive rights professor at Texas Tech University School of Law, explained that even without aiding and abetting in the state statute, it can still be precarious: “If abortion is a crime, it would be illegal to aid and abet someone in procuring an illegal abortion.” Such laws are further complicated by book challenges and laws that threaten librarians, educators, and administrators if material is deemed “harmful” or “explicit.”

Whether you are providing reproductive health information, especially abortion information, in your collections, at the reference desk, or through programming, consult with a legal expert about your options. This may include what type of information you can provide and where in your collection it’s located. They may also help you with language in how to handle reference questions. As information professionals, we should never give out medical advice or interpret health information. But speaking with a legal expert can help you feel confident moving forward in providing reproductive health resources. You can also consult ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom for guidance on library policies and confidential support.

If you want to update your collection or host a book discussion about Reproductive Justice, here are some books that you may want to add:

NONFICTION

These books provide a strong overview of the history of abortion and Reproductive Justice in the United States, including inequities in reproductive health care, and stories from people who have had abortions.

● When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867-1973, by Leslie J. Reagan

● The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having―or Being Denied―an Abortion by Diana Greene Foster

● The New Handbook for a Post-Roe America by Robin Marty

● Reproductive Justice: An Introduction by Loretta Ross and Rickie Solinger

● Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty by Dorothy Roberts

● You’re the Only One I’ve Told: The Stories Behind Abortion by Meera Shah

FICTION

These books explore the complexities of abortion access and the emotions behind abortion care.

● All You Have to Do is Call by Kerri Maher

● A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

● Mercy Street by Jennifer Haigh

● My Notorious Life by Kate Manning

No matter what books you add to your collection, consider some of these collection development guidelines:

• Books about abortion that were published prior to the 2022 decision may be outdated. Replace them with more current material based on your state’s laws.
• If budget allows, create a reference collection that does not circulate, in addition to circulating materials. Some people may not feel comfortable checking out books on abortion or Reproductive Justice topics, but would like to reference them at the library.
• Share online resources available through your library databases or freely available online. You can use QR codes to publicize these resources. You can also create LibGuides or an online resource page at your library’s website that links to sites like your state’s health department, the Guttmacher Institute, and the Kaiser Family Foundation. These can provide accurate and updated information about abortion and reproductive health services.

A new analysis by the Guttmacher Institute found that 1 in 4 women are expected to have an abortion in their lifetime. This statistic does not include trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people who also have abortions. As we round out two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned, we can consider how our collections can reflect the real reproductive health needs of people throughout the country.

Barbara Alvarez is the author of The Library’s Guide to Sexual and Reproductive Health Information with ALA Editions. She is a 2022 LJ Mover & Shaker. Barbara has a PhD in Information Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.