Emma Gill died after seeking an abortion from Dr. Nancy Guilford in 1898. Emma found herself in a sexual relationship with a man above her social class. The pair wanted to terminate the pregnancy. Unfortunately, as abortion was illegal in the United States, they traveled around to find someone willing to covertly perform the procedure. Equally as unfortunate, they found Dr. Guilford, who had skipped bail and was hurting for money. She agreed to perform the procedure on Emma for a stiff fee, despite the advanced stage of pregnancy. Emma contracted an infection, killing her. Her body was dismembered and dumped. The whole story was tragic and avoidable. Access to sterile medical environments, with qualified medical professionals, and the legal right to access medical care would have prevented Emma's death...and so many others.
 
This is a very relevant book to our current time where women's right to access medical care and reproductive issues are being undermined by men with no business commenting, those who have no concept of science and biology, and those pushing one religious agenda. It is easy to see how dangerous the criminalization of abortion can be. Making access to medical procedures will not stop the medical procedures. It will simply kill women. Women will be regulated to seeking black market medical care from unqualified people, just like Emma Gill did. I was pleased with this book, which is less than 300 pages and only about six hours to listen to on Audible.