Prof. Parkin Interviewed About New Book, ‘The Abortion Market’

Katherine Parkin, Ph.D., Jules Plangere, Jr., Endowed Chair in American Social History and professor in the department of History and Anthropology, is featured on an episode of the "New Books with Miranda Melcher" podcast to discuss her new book, "The Abortion Market: Buying and Selling Access in the Era Before Roe," published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Parkin asserts that the abortion market was a powerful economic force in American life, and that before legalization lowered the cost, one million women each year collectively paid upward of $750 million for abortions. Parkin reveals the strength of a massive consumer market that involved loans, advertising, and travel, the costs associated with the procedure itself, and the extent to which businesses and businessmen openly selling abortion access shaped the experience of buying abortions for millions of women.

"Male entrepreneurs emerged to capitalize on the booming market and profit from the incredible demand. Advertising on billboards and in college newspapers, men profited by providing the phone number, getting kickbacks for delivering patients, and arranging for women's travel to Mexico, Puerto Rico, England, and Japan. Students demanded abortion access and organized when it came at a steep cost, especially to the poorest among them. Abortion providers in Kansas, California, and Washington, D.C., attracted out-of-state consumers, with some women aided by their universities or by medical insurance. Between 1970 and 1973, entrepreneurs, providers, and hundreds of thousands of women seeking to buy abortions headed to New York City, heralded by some as the 'abortion capital of the world.'"

Listen to the podcast episode online.