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A TRUE STORY OF RACE, SEX AND REVENGE IN A BOSTON COURTROOM.
The extraordinary story of the first battle to restrict a woman’s right to choose after the historic Roe v Wade decision legalized abortion, has just been released in a new book.
Broken Justice is the story of Dr. Kenneth C. Edelin, a young black doctor who was an early victim of the abortion wars of the 1970s. Today, with bans on a woman’s right-to-choose looming in 25 states, this cautionary tale provides a harrowing glimpse into the strategy of harassing, prosecuting and intimidating doctors in an effort to restrict a woman’s right to choose.
Dr. Edelin was three months away from completing his residency in obstetrics and gynecology when he was indicted on a charge of manslaughter by a secret Grand Jury. This jury had been convened by the District Attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, and the alleged victim was an aborted fetus. The trial was conducted before an all-white, mostly male and Catholic jury, and resulted in a unanimous verdict of guilty.
“I was found guilty for performing a safe, legal abortion and faced the loss of my medical license and imprisonment,” says Dr. Edelin. “My book reveals, for the first time, the motives and tactics of the prosecutor and his witnesses as they pursued my indictment, trial and conviction.”
Broken Justice is high drama in four parts. In it Dr. Edelin describes:
· Boston City Hospital, where poor patients, especially black and Hispanic women, came for health care and how they were treated in open wards and clinics with little or no privacy. As a young resident he listened to the stories of his patients and became part of their lives. Some rejoiced in their pregnancies while others were devastated by them.
· His indictment for a legal, safe abortion by a secret tribunal
· His conviction by an all-white, overwhelmingly male and Catholic jury, in historically racist Boston
· The courtroom manipulations of the jury by a rabid, inquisitorial, anti-abortion prosecutor and Dr. Edelin’s appeal and eventual exoneration by the supreme court of Massachusetts.
Dr. Edelin is Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston University and the former Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston University School of Medicine. He was also Chair of the Board of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. He has been a practicing physician for nearly forty years.
“With the recent Supreme Court ruling restricting the choices of women and their doctors and with the presidential election process already begun, maintaining reproductive rights will be an issue of increasing importance in the months to come,” says Dr. Edelin. “The tactics the anti-choice zealots used to convict me are the same tactics they are using today to restrict women’s choices and doctors’ abilities to provide safe and compassionate care.”
(Broken Justice. A True Story of Race, Sex, and Revenge in a Boston Courtroom, by Kenneth C. Edelin, M.D.; ISBN: 0-9792060-0-6; $17.95; soft cover; 5½ x 8½; 320 pages; PONDVIEW PRESS.)
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COMMENTS FROM EARLY READERS OF BROKEN JUSTICE
“Dr. Edelin is one of the heroes of our times. He withstood with dignity the furious, anti-choice backlash that targeted him soon after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade. His telling of this powerful and profoundly moving story shines a harsh light on the kind of 20th-century, anti-choice malice that threatens the lives and safety of women and their families worldwide.”
—Cecile Richards, president, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
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“Dr. Edelin’s book, Broken Justice, is a tour de force…a fascinating page turner that graphically and powerfully describes an African American physician protecting a woman’s right to choose…One man’s courage in respecting his client’s right to privacy helped to change not only a community, but a whole nation in regard to the vital roles that doctors play as advocates for their patients.”
—Charles Ogletree, professor of law, Harvard Law School
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“Broken Justice is a dramatic and thought-provoking commentary and memoir that begins in the era before Roe v. Wade. It is a first-hand prospective on an issue that remains challenging and divisive. Edelin has written a remarkable book…which will forever stand as a critical juncture in the judicial history in this country. It is a must-read!”
—Judge Glenda Hatchett
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“Those who opposed Roe v. Wade…tried an end run around the Court’s ruling by indicting Dr. Edelin for manslaughter in the death of a fetus after a legal abortion he performed nine months after Roe was decided. Many of us in the medical profession are proud…Edelin has finally published his book, to remind us all of the struggle that continues and the need for us to be ever vigilant against those who would deny women the legal right to choose to terminate a pregnancy.”
—Allan Rosenfield, M.D., dean, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
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“Dr. Edelin has written a gripping must-read. This is the story of his heroic commitment to a woman’s right to choose. Despite legal persecution, he persevered. This captivating account is a reminder that the struggle must continue.”
—Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D., professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
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“This is required reading for anyone who cares about improving the lives and health of women. Edelin was trying to do just that when he got caught up in a political maelstrom that led to a manslaughter indictment…With the Supreme Court turning away from a woman’s right to choose and a doctor’s right to provide legal and safe care, we can all learn about courage under fire and be inspired by Ken’s story.”
—Dianne Luby, president, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts
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