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“Ilyse Hogue provides a brilliant, systematic takedown of the extremist, hypocritical forces that seek to control women’s bodies. The Lie that Binds is a clarion call for renewed American activism to protect a woman’s right to determine her own health care, including her right to abortion, at a time when those rights are more at risk than at any point in the last 45 years.”

— Stacey Abrams, Founder & Chair, Fair Fight

 

“In vivid detail, Hogue lays out exactly how the Radical Right infected our democracy and our institutions to reverse social progress – and in doing so, teaches us how to most strategically fight back. This is a must-read for every legislator who is serious about protecting their constituents' civil and reproductive rights.

— Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

The Lie that Binds recounts the widely misunderstood history of the anti-abortion movement's origins with the right wing compulsion to resist social change and instead strengthen the system of white male religious control. In this precarious and eruptive American moment, it could not be more timely in its exploration of fear, resentment, prejudice and the drive to cling to power in the face of righteous fights for freedom.”

— Rebecca Traister, Bestselling Author, Writer-at-large New York Magazine

The Lie that Binds is an unflinching look at the true origins of the right wing obsession with keeping half of the population “in their place.” From the very beginning, the purpose of anti-choice movement was to maintain and consolidate power in the hands of a few white men. Hogue sticks to the facts and lays out the only effective path forward. Fight like hell!”

— Zerlina Maxwell, author of The End of White Politics; MSNBC Political Analyst, SiriusXM host

This is a must read account of how the Radical Right’s quest for domination ultimately led to the country electing a race baiting, misogynist in Donald Trump. Hogue unravels for the reader decades of careful machinations of a movement hell bent on keeping women in their place and using abortion as a weapon to do so. To all feminists who dream of overthrowing the patriarchy: start here.”

—Alyssa Mastromonaco, NYT Best Selling author and co-host of Crooked Media’s #Hysteria podcast

"Ilyse Hogue makes a powerful and disturbing contribution to the literature on historical links between the domination of women and protecting white supremacy. The story of the origins of the "culture war" the evangelical right has mounted around abortion has its origins as a wedge issue to protect a privilege rooted in racial segregation. As we know, women of color, and low income women are the most vulnerable to the abuses of both. It is an important read that reminds us that the original sins of our founding will harm us all until they are repented."

—Maya Wiley, NBC News and MSNBC Legal Analyst

 

“Hogue lays bare how far-right extremists have taken over our government all while hiding in plain sight. This untold history details years of insidious schemes that enabled a creeping right-wing corruption of our political system, court system, and information systems and ultimately gave us a reality TV star in the White House. This book speaks to the true endgame of the forces opposing reproductive freedom so that we know exactly how to arm ourselves and, ultimately, win our country back."

—Joe Lockhart, CNN political analyst

About the Book

Public support for the legal right to abortion in the United States is at an all-time high. Yet we’re in the midst of an all-out assault on reproductive freedom, and Roe v. Wade is hanging on by a thread.

The Lie that Binds is the indispensable account of how the formerly non-partisan, back-burner issue of abortion rights was reinvented as the sharp point of the spear for a much larger reactionary movement bent on maintaining control in a changing world. Written by NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue with research by Ellie Langford, The Lie that Binds traces the evolution of some of the most dangerous and least understood forces in U.S. politics, offering an unflinchingly incisive analysis of the conservative political machinery designed to thwart social progress — all built around the foundational lie that their motivations are based in moral convictions about individual pregnancies.

This book introduces the colorful cast of characters behind the Radical Right — from anti-ERA protesters to men’s rights activists — and explains how conservative political operatives intentionally targeted abortion as a rallying cry for their followers as their other prejudices fell from favor. Abortion acted as a Trojan horse to move a deeply unpopular, regressive policy agenda.

Hogue and Langford’s deeply-researched investigation is an essential primer for political observers, journalists, and engaged citizens, pulling back the curtain on how this extremist operation drives our politics and threatens our democracy. Read it and learn the truth behind the lie that binds the radical right together.

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