Just Pills

Just Pills tells the little-known story of the development and use of abortion medications, beginning long before the US Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973 with Roe v. Wade. In this fascinating and well-written account, Rebecca Kelliher tells a global story of abortion pills up to the present day. It is a story that is as relevant today as it was half a century ago, as women are again fighting for the right to control their own bodies. This book could not be more timely and important.', Elaine Tyler May, author of America and the Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation

'Just Pills is essential reading for anyone who cares about the attacks on our bodies and freedoms. Rebecca Kelliher's exacting history of abortion medication doesn't just give us the information and context we need to fight back but also reminds readers that the courage behind this struggle is nothing new.', Jessica Valenti, author of Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win

'Just Pills is a revelatory work of cultural history, deeply researched and gracefully written. With the battle raging over women’s rights to control their own bodies, this important story could not come at a better time.', Jonathan Eig, author of The Birth of the Pill and winner of the Pulitzer Prize

'Just Pills is an incredible and meticulous account of abortion pills around the world and in the United States. Rebecca Kelliher’s research and journalism shine bright as she details the long history of abortion pills and tells the stories of the women who made it possible along the way. Just Pills is an impressive record of how abortion pills came to be, how they are impacting abortion pills now, and what’s possible for the future.', Renee Bracey Sherman, author of Liberating Abortion: Claiming Our History, Sharing Our Stories, and Building the Reproductive Future We Deserve

'The history of abortion pills is a fascinating—sometimes hopeful, often terrifying—tale of unlikely scientific breakthroughs and fierce societal backlash. But as Kelliher brilliantly teaches us in Just Pulls, it’s about so much more than that too. It’s about the fight against systemic abuses of privilege; it’s about entrenched inequality; it’s about deep-rooted misogyny and medical paternalism; and it’s about coercion and control. Perhaps above all else, though, it’s also about bravery, resolve, and the power of community. At a time when reproductive rights are under severe threat in many parts of the world, Just Pills—through masterful storytelling and impressive research—is both a timely and astute reminder of the hurdles so many individuals have overcome to safeguard these collective rights and a fiery appeal for none of us to give up hope, however bleak things might seem.', Josie Cox, author of Women Money Power: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality

'This beautifully written, meticulously researched book tells readers all they need to know about the crucial role abortion pills have come to occupy in today’s abortion landscape, both in the United States and globally. Drawing on interviews with nearly two hundred individuals, Rebecca Kelliher takes the reader through the fascinating and extremely complex history of the development and approval of mifepristone, one of the drugs used in the medication abortion regimen. She also tells the story of the dramatic increase in the use of the ulcer drug misoprostol for abortions, either in combination with mifepristone or used alone. In each instance, these ostensibly medical events were inextricably bound up with abortion politics, and the author details the painstaking efforts of advocates over many years to push these advances forward. Just Pills is medical journalism at its best.', Carole Joffe, author of After Dobbs: How the Supreme Court Ended Roe but Not Abortion

'Issue: September 1, 2025
Just Pills: The Extraordinary Story of a Revolution in Abortion Care.
By Rebecca Kelliher
Sept. 2025. 263p. Beacon, $28.95 (9780807012703); e-book (9780807012734). 363.46
Kelliher digs deep into the invention and use of so-called abortion pills and the political obstacles
to their distribution. Mifepristone (better known as RU-486 or Mifeprex) and misoprostol (Cytotec)
expanded women’s ability to more easily and privately end early-stage pregnancies. In fact, in
2023, pills made up at least 63 percent of abortions, up from 39 percent in 2017. Kelliher weaves
in many historical details, including how colonial women could get legal abortions before
“quickening” (fetal movements), how the first birth control pill hit the U.S. market around 1960,
and how an underground feminist group established in 1969 in Chicago and known as the Janes
helped 11,000 women get abortions until the procedure was legalized in 1973. After interviewing
nearly 200 people, Kelliher offers comprehensive first-hand reports from key figures. When she
started this project, abortion was legal in the U.S. When she finished, abortion was no longer
available in half of the country. An important and clarifying look at two crucial medications in the
wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, endangering reproductive
rights and women's health.
— Karen Springen', Karen Springen, Booklist