Dangerous Pregnancies Mothers, Disabilities, and Abortion in Modern America

“Compellingly attentive to medical and legal structures, but also to dramatic human choices, Dangerous Pregnancies provides a boldly argued and carefully documented historical grounding for critical debates in public policy and women’s rights.”—David Roediger, author of How Race Survived U.S. History "Both a gripping story of the activism of middle-class mothers and an insightful study of abortion law reform, Dangerous Pregnancies is a compelling argument about reproductive rights, immunization, and the public health power of the state. A terrific book."—Molly Ladd-Taylor, author of "Bad" Mothers: The Politics of Blame in Twentieth-Century America and Mother-Work: Women, Child Welfare, and the State, 1890-1930. "Accessible and clearly written, Reagan's illuminating account of German measles is immensely valuable both in itself and as a window into larger issues of gender, public health, and bioethics."—Charles Rosenberg, author of The Cholera Years and No Other Gods: On Science and American Social Thought