Book Review: The Last Safe Abortion by Carmen Winant
Book Review: The Last Safe Abortion by Carmen Winant
Winner of THE AUTHOR BOOK AWARD at the Rencontres d’Arles Book Awards, 2024
Having previously reviewed Carmen Winant’s striking photo book My Birth, I was eager to engage with her latest work, The Last Safe Abortion. Known for her ability to blend profoundly personal subject matter with broader feminist and sociopolitical concerns, Winant’s work consistently challenges the way we view intimate yet universal experiences. While My Birth explored the raw and transformative act of childbirth through over 2,000 archival photographs, The Last Safe Abortion shifts focus to the quiet, often invisible world of abortion care and its importance as a feminist and human right.
All images – Courtesy of the artist and MACK.
To purchase this book, please go here.
This new work reaffirms Winant’s status as a pioneer in using photography to interrogate complex themes while creating space for empathy and understanding. By documenting the unspectacular but essential work of abortion clinics and their staff, she sheds light on a subject that remains as contentious as it is vital, particularly in the wake of increasing restrictions on reproductive rights globally.
A Humanising Lens on Abortion
Much like My Birth, The Last Safe Abortion employs a mix of archival and contemporary photographs, but this time, the focus is on abortion clinics and the people who sustain them. The book captures the daily realities of these spaces: waiting rooms, medical instruments being sterilised, bulletin boards, and moments of solidarity among staff. These images demystify and normalise abortion, presenting it as not only a medical procedure but also an act of care.
Winant’s lens is deeply compassionate, emphasising the feminist principles that underpin these clinics. The spaces’ nonhierarchical, community-focused ethos is palpable in her photographs, highlighting the clinical tasks and the human connections within them. Staff are shown supporting each other and their patients, celebrating birthdays, and engaging in mundane yet meaningful acts that sustain these vital services.
Context and Urgency
While the project began years before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, that ruling has made The Last Safe Abortion feel painfully timely. The book now serves as a record of resistance in an era when abortion rights are under sustained attack. Winant, who lives in Ohio—a state with some of the most restrictive abortion laws—imbues her work with the urgency of lived experience.
For British readers, the book offers a stark reminder that reproductive rights, while more secure in the UK, are far from universally protected. The stigma surrounding abortion remains prevalent, and debates over access and funding persist. Winant’s work challenges us to reconsider the humanity and necessity of abortion care, regardless of the political or cultural landscape.
A Radical Visual Approach
One of the most compelling aspects of The Last Safe Abortion is its challenge to dominant visual narratives surrounding abortion. Historically, anti-abortion campaigns have employed shocking and graphic imagery to provoke outrage and fear. Winant’s photographs, by contrast, focus on the everyday reality of abortion care, reasserting its normalcy and importance. Her images are unassuming but deeply powerful, capturing moments of tenderness, solidarity, and quiet resistance.
This approach recalls the visual ethos of My Birth, which also reframed a profoundly personal experience through a feminist lens. However, The Last Safe Abortion extends this project into activism, using photography as an art form and a tool for social change. It is a deliberate counter-narrative, one that seeks to shift the cultural perception of abortion from controversy to care.
Artistic and Political Resonance
Winant’s ability to balance artistry with advocacy is perhaps what makes her work so impactful. The book is a beautifully crafted photobook and a call to action. By documenting the lived experiences of clinic workers and the environments they create, Winant highlights the resilience and compassion that sustain these spaces. Her photographs testify to the enduring struggle for reproductive justice and are a tribute to the individuals who make that struggle possible.
Conclusion
Building on the success of My Birth, Carmen Winant’s The Last Safe Abortion is a powerful exploration of abortion care as a feminist and human right. It challenges entrenched narratives through its focus on routine acts of care, offering a compassionate and deeply human portrayal of abortion clinics. For British readers, the book serves as both a reminder of the universality of reproductive struggles and an invitation to reflect on the importance of preserving and normalising these rights.
Winant’s latest work is timely as necessary, a testament to her ability to engage with pressing social issues through photography. Much like My Birth, The Last Safe Abortion combines artistry, activism, and empathy to create a moving and provocative work. This photo book is essential for those invested in feminist politics, reproductive rights, and the power of visual storytelling.
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Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
