New Book, Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America

Wash Post, Book Review, Understanding the Real Impact of Abortion Bans, One Woman at a Time, reviewing Shefali Luthra, Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America

For those brave enough to delve into this maelstrom, first-time author and veteran journalist Shefali Luthra’s “Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America” provides a superbly reported account of the past two years. Grounded in conversations with a diverse range of people across the United States, “Undue Burden” showcases Luthra’s expertise in covering health-care policy and abortion rights. But the politics and policies that have created what she calls a “public health crisis” are not her primary topic. “Undue Burden” focuses on the stories of those who are attempting to navigate an unraveling health-care system while pregnant. Luthra brings their voices to life, and she locates her subjects in their larger contexts — socioeconomic, political, religious, historical — thereby exposing how abortion bans disproportionately harm the most vulnerable, including women of color and undocumented women and girls.