The Abortionist
- London: Gollancz, 1962
London: Gollancz, 1962. First U.K. Edition. First Impression. Octavo (22cm). Publisher's maroon cloth, titled in gilt to spine; dustjacket; 220pp. Tight, clean copy; about Fine. In the original dustwrapper, price-clipped, slightly rubbed on rear panel, else crisp, clean example, Very Good or better. Simultaneously published in the U.S. by Doubleday.
Pseudonymously published tell-all memoir of Dr. Nathan Rappaport, a New York City physician who, beginning in the Great Depression, provided illegal (but safe) abortions to thousands of clients, performing as many as 27 procedures in a single day before finally going to prison in 1950, after being ratted out by a mobster to whom he'd refused to pay blackmail. Includes case studies (somewhat dramatized) and a lengthy, cogent, pre-Roe argument for legalizing abortion. Following his parole from prison in 1966, Rappaport became an above-ground spokesman for legal abortion, beginning with a lengthy Village Voice profile in 1966. Susan Brownmiller later called him "America's most loquacious abortionist," and he was the subject of an episode of Slate's "Slow Burn" podcast in 2022. For predictable reasons, the book was not a huge seller for either Doubleday or Gollancz, and well-preserved copies are very hard to find.
Pseudonymously published tell-all memoir of Dr. Nathan Rappaport, a New York City physician who, beginning in the Great Depression, provided illegal (but safe) abortions to thousands of clients, performing as many as 27 procedures in a single day before finally going to prison in 1950, after being ratted out by a mobster to whom he'd refused to pay blackmail. Includes case studies (somewhat dramatized) and a lengthy, cogent, pre-Roe argument for legalizing abortion. Following his parole from prison in 1966, Rappaport became an above-ground spokesman for legal abortion, beginning with a lengthy Village Voice profile in 1966. Susan Brownmiller later called him "America's most loquacious abortionist," and he was the subject of an episode of Slate's "Slow Burn" podcast in 2022. For predictable reasons, the book was not a huge seller for either Doubleday or Gollancz, and well-preserved copies are very hard to find.