Carole Joffe

How hard-working individuals have kept abortion afloat in the wake of Roe v. Wade's destruction, and the continued help needed if we want to sustain it When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, many feared it meant the end of abortion access in the United States. Yet the courageous work of people on the ground has allowed abortion to survive post-Dobbs in ways that no one predicted. In After Dobbs, law professor David S. Cohen and sociologist Carole Joffe interview 24 people across all different fields in abortion and in different state political environments to uncover how the abortion providing community and its allies prepared for, and then responded to this momentous event. Taking place across three intervals throughout 2022--pre-Dobbs in early 2022, right after Dobbs, and then six months later--these interviews showcase how nimble thinking on the part of providers, growth and new delivery models of abortion pills, and the never-ending work of those who help with abortion travel and funding have ensured most people who want them are still getting abortions, even without Roe. But, as much as this is cause for celebration, the work required to make abortion possible is difficult and costly--in time, money, and emotion. There may soon come a time when the overturning of Roe means a much more severe decline in the number of people able to obtain the abortions they seek. But because of the work of the people in this book and those like them, even though Roe is dead, abortion is not . . . yet.

The governments of many industrialized societies have developed extensive childcare facilities and services to meet the needs of young children and their working parents, but no such program on a national scale has yet evolve in the United Staes. Some who oppose federal aid or control believe that mothers should remain at home with their preschool children rather than turn them over to childcare professionals--the "friendly intruders" of the titels--and that any other policy is a threat to the moral climate and stability of family life. However, since the demand for childcare services is very great, and since Congress has previously passed relevant legislation (which was vetoed by President Nixon), the issue of childcare will surely rise again soon. In this study, based upon direct observation of a local childcare program in California, the author examines several pof the practical policy issues concerning childcare which have not yet been resolved. Who will control such programs in the future, public school systems or others? Which agencies or institutions will certify the competence of childcare personnel? To what extent will parents contribute to the content of the programs provided for their young children? A major part of Professor Joffe's study is concerned with the emerging professionalism of early childhood educators. In a pattern now understood to be classic, such persons seek status and recognition through education, certification, and membership in professional associations. However, what happens when parents and professional disagree about values, behavioral norms, and the educational content of a nursery school program? Who is the "expert" in such a confrontation? The author observed profoundly different orientations to childcare not only between professionals and parents, but also among different groups of parents, especially along racial and class lines; how can professionals accommodate such differences? The author's conclusions emerge from careful study of day-by-day encounters between staff, parents and supervisors, giving to her book a sense of immediacy and well-focused understanding that is rarely achieved in academic studies. Parents, educators and policy analysts concerned with the subject will find it indispensable. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977.

The governments of many industrialized societies have developed extensive childcare facilities and services to meet the needs of young children and their working parents, but no such program on a national scale has yet evolve in the United Staes. Some who oppose federal aid or control believe that mothers should remain at home with their preschool children rather than turn them over to childcare professionals--the "friendly intruders" of the titels--and that any other policy is a threat to the moral climate and stability of family life. However, since the demand for childcare services is very great, and since Congress has previously passed relevant legislation (which was vetoed by President Nixon), the issue of childcare will surely rise again soon. In this study, based upon direct observation of a local childcare program in California, the author examines several pof the practical policy issues concerning childcare which have not yet been resolved. Who will control such programs in the future, public school systems or others? Which agencies or institutions will certify the competence of childcare personnel? To what extent will parents contribute to the content of the programs provided for their young children? A major part of Professor Joffe's study is concerned with the emerging professionalism of early childhood educators. In a pattern now understood to be classic, such persons seek status and recognition through education, certification, and membership in professional associations. However, what happens when parents and professional disagree about values, behavioral norms, and the educational content of a nursery school program? Who is the "expert" in such a confrontation? The author observed profoundly different orientations to childcare not only between professionals and parents, but also among different groups of parents, especially along racial and class lines; how can professionals accommodate such differences? The author's conclusions emerge from careful study of day-by-day encounters between staff, parents and supervisors, giving to her book a sense of immediacy and well-focused understanding that is rarely achieved in academic studies. Parents, educators and policy analysts concerned with the subject will find it indispensable. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977.

It seems unthinkable that citizens of one of the most powerful nations in the world must risk their lives and livelihoods in the search for access to necessary health care. And yet it is no surprise that in many places throughout the United States, getting an abortion can be a monumental challenge. Anti-choice politicians and activists have worked tirelessly to impose needless restrictions on this straightforward medical procedure that, at best, delay it and, at worst, create medical risks and deny women their constitutionally protected right to choose. Obstacle Course tells the story of abortion in America, capturing a disturbing reality of insurmountable barriers people face when trying to exercise their legal rights to medical services. Authors David S. Cohen and Carole Joffe lay bare the often arduous and unnecessarily burdensome process of terminating a pregnancy: the sabotaged decision-making, clinics in remote locations, insurance bans, harassing protesters, forced ultrasounds and dishonest medical information, arbitrary waiting periods, and unjustified procedure limitations. Based on patients’ stories as well as interviews with abortion providers and allies from every state in the country, Obstacle Course reveals the unstoppable determination required of women in the pursuit of reproductive autonomy as well as the incredible commitment of abortion providers. Without the efforts of an unheralded army of medical professionals, clinic administrators, counselors, activists, and volunteers, what is a legal right would be meaningless for the almost one million people per year who get abortions. There is a better way—treating abortion like any other form of health care—but the United States is a long way from that ideal.

It seems unthinkable that citizens of one of the most powerful nations in the world must risk their lives and livelihoods in the search for access to necessary health care. And yet it is no surprise that in many places throughout the United States, getting an abortion can be a monumental challenge. Anti-choice politicians and activists have worked tirelessly to impose needless restrictions on this straightforward medical procedure that, at best, delay it and, at worst, create medical risks and deny women their constitutionally protected right to choose. Obstacle Course tells the story of abortion in America, capturing a disturbing reality of insurmountable barriers people face when trying to exercise their legal rights to medical services. Authors David S. Cohen and Carole Joffe lay bare the often arduous and unnecessarily burdensome process of terminating a pregnancy: the sabotaged decision-making, clinics in remote locations, insurance bans, harassing protesters, forced ultrasounds and dishonest medical information, arbitrary waiting periods, and unjustified procedure limitations. Based on patients’ stories as well as interviews with abortion providers and allies from every state in the country, Obstacle Course reveals the unstoppable determination required of women in the pursuit of reproductive autonomy as well as the incredible commitment of abortion providers. Without the efforts of an unheralded army of medical professionals, clinic administrators, counselors, activists, and volunteers, what is a legal right would be meaningless for the almost one million people per year who get abortions. There is a better way—treating abortion like any other form of health care—but the United States is a long way from that ideal.

Takes us from the most private aspects of sexuality into the arena of public policy and state regulation