Alias Grace; Not of Woman Born: Representations of Caesarean Birth in Medieval and Renaissance Culture; Abortion Politics; Mothering Rhetorics

On June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, effectively overturning 1972’s Roe v. Wade decision, which had guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion. Trigger laws regarding the procedure sprang up in several states. These recent events have profoundly impacted my present article, which in many ways is a personal reflection, but the termination of pregnancies and debates of when life begins and ends are not new. Rather, they have existed for centuries. As such, this review essay explores a play and three books attempting to disentangle fact from fiction surrounding these and other maternity-focused situations. In the play Alias Grace, written by Jennifer Blackmer and adapted from the novel by Margaret Atwood, supporting character Mary Whitney dies from an abortion. This play has particular resonance for me, since I directed a production of the play in Oklahoma in the fall...