No book is the work of one person, and I am indebted to many who shared with me their memories and information and gave me advice, encouragement, and support. I did not always take the advice I was given, and any mistakes are entirely my own.
I am especially indebted to Virginia Whitehill, for her historian’s eye and sensitivity, access to her personal archive on abortion reform in Texas, her marvelous ability to facilitate. She pointed me toward persons she thought I should interview and, in turn, prodded those who were reluctant about being interviewed into talking with me. And not least, she arranged a sizable dose of Texas hospitality for me when I visited Dallas.
I must thank Doris Middleton, who graciously opened her home to me and gave me a lovely, quiet place to do research while I was in Dallas.
Another person who was especially helpful to me was Norman Dorsen, who talked with me at length about the legal aspects of the book, but whose greater function was to make sure I stayed on course and told the story as even-handedly as possible.
One friend, Susan Mason, spent many hours serving as a sounding board in the early stages of the book when many of my ideas were beginning to take shape; I am grateful for her probing, incisive mind and thought-provoking ideas.
I am grateful to others who also gave generously of their time and shared their memories of the abortion movement and their ideas about abortion reform: Linda Coffee, Sarah Weddington, Roy Lucas, James and Carolyn Clark, Ellen and Victor Lewis, Justice Irving Goldberg, Harriet Pilpel, Lawrence Lader, Joseph Nellis, Sylvia Law, Jimmye Kimmey, Robert Flowers, John Tolle, Ron Weddington, Rhonda Copelan, Cyril Means, Louise Raggio, and Ruth McLean Bowers.
Of the many interviews I did for this book, a few involved persons who for obvious reasons wished to remain anonymous; I am no less grateful to them for their help.
Special thanks to my readers Kathryn Stechert and Barbara Bean, who saw the manuscript in its initial rough stages and offered excellent advice; Nan Bases, for reading the manuscript with special attention to the legal details; Joy Willig, who answered many legal questions for me and provided me with access to Lexis; Mark Satloff, for his legal research.
I am grateful to the institutions and the people there who helped me: the librarians at the James Madison Law Library, Library of Congress; the New York Bar Association Library; the New York Law School Library; and the New York Public Library; Kathy Arburg at the Supreme Court Public Information Office; Gilbert Ganasheau, at the Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans.
Out of the mountain of information that must be consumed to write a book, at least one source usually proves to be especially influential or inspirational. I was fortunate in having three such books to shape my thinking: Woman’s Body, Woman’s Right by Linda Gordon; Our Right to Choose: Toward a New Ethic of Abortion by Beverly Wildung Harrison; and Abortion and Woman’s Choice by Rosalind Pollack Petchesky.
I am grateful to my editors at Macmillan, Ned Chase and Dominick Anfuso, and copy editors Sona Vogel and Sharon L. Gonzalez for their excellent ideas and editorial insights.
I could not conclude without thanking several friends who listened, stood by, and were invaluable sources of support: Stephen Breskin, Richard Foster, Sharon Mcintosh, Shelly and Tom Martin, Marilyn Miller, Tom and Barbara Moore, Jonathan Schwartz, Lisa Sheiman, Katherine Goldring, and Joan Iaconetti.
In this new edition, I am grateful to Rosemary Nossiff, at Yeshira University, an expert on abortion reform and a good colleague, for pointing me toward research materials that helped me write this introduction and for her belief that this book should be returned to print.
I am, of course most indebted to my husband, William Willig, who lent not only his emotional support, but also his keen editorial eye.