You Must Stand Up

THE INSPIRING, ON-THE-GROUND STORY OF THE RISING GRASSROOTS LEADERS IN THE ABORTION RIGHTS MOVEMENT DURING THE PIVOTAL FIRST YEAR AFTER DOBBS

When the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion care by way of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the country was thrown into chaos. Abortion providers and their patients faced sudden closures, new restrictions, and rapidly changing rules as nearly half of the states moved quickly to ban or severely curtail abortion access. Against this backdrop, an army of healthcare providers, lawyers, activists, and everyday people mobilised to protect what a majority of Americans want: legal abortion.

In You Must Stand Up, veteran political correspondent and Nieman Fellow Amanda Becker provides a real-time portrait of the creative resistance that unfolded in America’s first year without the protections of Roe v. Wade. Amid daily shifts in healthcare access, new legal battles coming before partisan courts, and up-for-grabs state constitutions, Becker follows the leaders figuring out how to best meet these challenges: doctors and staffers turning to new financial and medical models to remain open and provide abortions; volunteers campaigning against anti-abortion ballot initiatives; and medical students fighting to learn to provide what can be lifesaving care.

In depicting the splintered reality of post-Dobbs America, and in revealing the creative strategies Americans have developed at every level to protect their constitutional rights, for oneself and for each other, Becker ultimately shows how outrage can beget hope, and give rise to a new movement.