September 27, 2024
‘Fighting Mad’ Tackles Reproductive Justice
Krystale Littlejohn, a sociology associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, has worked to make significant strides in the field of reproductive health, rights, and justice.
In Littlejohn’s latest book, Fighting Mad: Resisting the End of Roe v. Wade, she addresses the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion in the US.
Littlejohn’s interest in contraception was sparked during her undergraduate years in Los Angeles, where peer discussions about birth control side effects piqued her curiosity. This led to graduate study focusing on fertility and eventually to her first book, Just Get on the Pill, which delves into power and gender expectations of birth control use in relationships. Her research led her to explore abortion and dive deeper into women’s reproductive experiences.
The urgency to address abortion rights intensified with the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs case, which eventually led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as Littlejohn details in her new book.
“The goal with the book was to shed light on things that are oftentimes lost to history because things are moving so quickly,” Littlejohn explains. “It’s hard to capture for the historical record what’s happening in the aftermath of watershed moments like this.”
Fighting Mad is a collection of essays that offers an accessible, comprehensive look at the immediate responses to the Dobbs decision from different perspectives, including medical, legal and educational. The short-essay format makes it easy for readers to understand the multifaceted efforts to resist the erosion of reproductive rights and justice.
Throughout the creation of the book, Littlejohn worked with co-editor Ricky Salinger and more than 50 other contributors, an experience she described as rewarding and inspirational.
“Making this book felt creative in a very different way than writing my first book, where I just got feedback,” Littlejohn says. “Creating a vision with my coeditor and then working with so many other people to make this work come together was a fantastic experience.”
Littlejohn hopes readers of Fighting Mad will feel inspired by the collective efforts to preserve abortion rights documented within the book. She aims to highlight the challenges as well as the resilience and determination of those fighting for reproductive justice.
“I hope that people feel as inspired as I was in putting the book together,” she says, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the ongoing efforts to support abortion access despite the daunting legal landscape.
Looking ahead, Littlejohn remains committed to research and advocacy to better understand the barriers that people face and ensure that they have the resources that they need to achieve their fertility goals. She plans to continue her exploration of contraceptive use with a new project focusing on how couples navigate risk perceptions and tolerance of risk when making decisions about contraception. She recently received a $706,921 K01 grant from the National Institutes of Health as principal investigator to support this work.
As we head into another presidential election, Fighting Mad stands as a testament to the resilience and dedication of those fighting to preserve reproductive rights in the face of adversity. Littlejohn’s work not only contributes to the historical record but also serves as a call to action, encouraging readers to stay informed and involved during the ongoing struggle for reproductive justice.
—By Codi Farmer, College of Arts and Sciences