Abortion is health care, and children should learn about it in age-appropriate ways as they do other health topics. And with abortion rights making headlines right now, children may have questions about it. Here are three queer-inclusive books by queer authors that may help them understand.
What’s an Abortion, Anyway? by Carly Manes, illustrated by Emulsify (self published), offers children of picture-book age a simple, thoughtful, and gender-inclusive look at what it means to have an abortion. Manes, a queer, full-spectrum doula, does not touch on any of the political debates around abortion, which feels like an age-appropriate approach; adults can go into that with their children as desired, using this book as a launching point. The book also does not go into how pregnancy happens in the first place, and recommends Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth’s What Makes a Baby? for that. (I do, too!) Images throughout are of people diverse in racial/ethnic and gender identities, and were inspired by real people who have shared their stories through We Testify, a group dedicated to elevating the voices of people (particularly people of color) who have had abortions. Full review.
My Body My Choice: The Fight for Abortion Rights, by Robin Stevenson (Orca) is both a history and a call to action for grades 8 through 12. Combining text, images, quotes, maps, charts, and more into an engaging package, this readable volume offers a look at what abortion is, how it became criminalized, and the generations of activists who have fought for reproductive freedom. It gives us an overview of laws in both Canada and the U.S. (prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022), and profiles many activists, organizations, and grassroots movements working to help people access safe abortions. “Wherever there is oppression, there is resistance,” she observes.
Stevenson uses transgender-inclusive language throughout when referring to those who may be pregnant or have abortions (except when she is using historical or other source material that refers only to women). She says that she hopes the book starts conversations, although she adds that “no one should feel pressured to speak out about their own experience.” At the same time, she asserts, “When basic rights are threatened, it is vital that people speak up and resist.” Her book should help young readers do that—and even we adults may find much useful information and inspiration in it. Full review.
You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things, by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth (Triangle Square), is not primarily about abortion, but discusses abortion among many other topics for ages 10 and up. Importantly, it presents sex education within a positive, empowering, all-gender-inclusive framework grounded in social justice and body autonomy—a framework that is fundamental to abortion rights and much more. Ideas of respect, trust, power, choice, joy, and justice underlie discussions of bodies, gender, feelings, consent, talking about sex, stigma, relationships, reproduction, families (formed in many ways), touching, online and in-person safety, and more. Silverberg and Smyth convey better than anyone that sex ed isn’t just about facts, but also about feelings and values, which in turn are informed by a person’s family, community, and culture. “Learning about sex means learning about who you are,” they tell readers. “And no one can do that better than you.” Full review.
Additional note: I’ve also seen the bestselling It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, Gender, and Sexual Health, by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley (Candlewick) mentioned as a sex-ed book for tweens that discusses abortion—and it is. But while the latest edition of this book is more LGBTQ inclusive than earlier ones, it still comes up short in a few ways, as I discuss in my full review. If you like Harris’ style from her earlier books, then this one is worth picking up as a step forward, but you may want to supplement it with some other books on gender, sex, and puberty that more fully discuss and depict LGBTQ lives and bodies.