Once upon a time there was a young girl who was raised to believe she could be whatever she wanted to be when she grew up.

As such, she worked hard, studied hard, made it into the college of her choice, and focused on achieving the goals that would allow her to pursue her dream career.

It wasn’t until she’d been out on her own for a few years that she began to notice some odd things. Mechanics and car salesmen treated her as though she were not capable of driving a car, much less making big purchase decisions without consulting with a male relative. The career she wanted was highly competitive and male-predominated, and she was frequently told she should try for something else, like being a teacher. She began running into young men with outdated ideas about the roles women should play, especially in relationships. She was offered salaries a fraction of that of her male cohorts, and many times they took all the credit for work she did as well.

She naively believed that the battle for women’s rights had been fought and won before her time.

Then she came across a fascinating book titled The Mercury Thirteen: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight. (If you haven’t read it, you should)

The Mercury Thirteen told the story of thirteen women–pilots and patriots who in many cases gave up their jobs and families for a chance to be one of the first US women in space. Despite their sacrifices, despite passing the same battery of advanced testing that the men of the Mercury 7 team passed, these women were shut out of the astronaut program by the boys club at NASA and Capitol Hill. That alone would have made for fascinating reading, but there was one statement that stood out among the others: at the time of the program, a woman in the US was incapable of opening a bank account, obtaining a credit card, or renting a car without the permission of a male relative.

The thing is, that wasn’t all that long ago. Neither was the passing of Roe v. Wade. Those battles that the young woman had assumed were over and done with had been fought by her grandparents and parents, not by some unknown agents in the mists of time. Those battles had been fought to grant her the choice of growing up to be whatever she wanted to be. It was just by luck that she’d entered into a world where choice was even an option for people such as her.

It’s all about choice. It’s about agency: over your life, over your finances, over your body.

Here’s the funny thing about civil rights. These battles aren’t something that you fight for and cease to worry about once that victory has been achieved. They are something that needs to be defended every single day or someone may try to take them away.

To that effect, I’m proud to stand with 35 other romance authors in offering stories as part of the Our Choice Anthology.

Says Jackie Barbosa, who spearheaded the Romance for Roe project, “The Supreme Court’s rejection of an emergency injunction against S.B. 8 (in Texas) means that abortion access is now in jeopardy in every state. As romance authors, we believe all people deserve happy endings, including pregnant people who decide to terminate a pregnancy for any reason. That’s why we are raising funds for PPFA and NARAL Pro Choice, leaders in the national legal fight to protect the reproductive rights of all Americans.”

Since Sept. 1, S.B. 8 has decimated abortion access in Texas, forcing the overwhelming majority of patients to either travel hundreds of miles out of state to exercise their constitutional right to an abortion. Politicians in Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, South Dakota, Idaho, Indiana, Montana, and Oklahoma are currently pushing “copycat bills” to their citizens of constitutionally protected rights—which disproportionately impacts women; Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other people of color; members of the LGBTQ+ community; and those with lower incomes.

According to its website, Planned Parenthood and its litigating partners have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider intervention in the federal case against S.B. 8 brought by abortion providers, funds, and supporters, which won’t be heard by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals until December.

For all the details on how to donate and get your anthology, go to romanceforroe.com

Romance for Roe Fast Facts

• 36 authors
• 6,418 pages
• 1.57 million words
• 20 contemporary, 8 historical, and 8 speculative romances
• 4 USA Today Bestselling authors
• supporting two national charities
• 100% donation based
• Running for 9 months

 

Author and Anthology Fun Facts

• 4 USA Today Bestselling authors contributed to the anthology: Zoe York, Eva Leigh, Susannah Nix, and Elizabeth Bright
• There is a husband and wife team who both have romance stories in the anthology – Nico Rosso and Eva Leigh
• The stories by Liz Crowe, Carrie Lomax, and Elizabeth Bright all feature a person having an abortion and living HEA (happily ever after – the defining feature of the romance genre); all three stories have also never been published before
• Most of the stories are full length (>50,000 words or 200 page) novels, but there are also short stories and novellas
• Nearly all of the stories are by Americans, but there are international authors from the UK and beyond
• Not all romance authors are women – male and non-binary authors have also contributed stories
• The anthology covers much of the spectrum of romance currently available, with gay, lesbian, poly, bisexual, and straight characters
• The stories range from ‘sweet’ kisses-only to erotic. All the stories have their heat level listed, so readers can *choose* what they’d like to read.

 

FAQs

 

Q: What is Romance for Roe?

A: The Romance for Roe charity anthology project was organized by author Jackie Barbosa, with support and assistance from Eve Pendle, Zoe York, and Carrie Lomax. Participating authors responded to a call on social media to contribute a story to this charity anthology in late summer 2021.

Q: Who are the participating authors?

A: Please see the list at the bottom of the Home page.

Q: Is Romance for Roe a charitable organization under the U.S. tax code?

A: No. Do not send money to Romance for Roe; we are not a charitable organization, and it will not be accepted. Donate directly to the organization of your choice, PPFA or NARAL .

Q: What is your affiliation with PPFA and NARAL?

A: None. Romance for Roe has no legal relationship with either PPFA or NARAL Pro Choice America. The charity anthology is a voluntary collaboration organized by author Jackie Barbosa.

Q: What will I receive when I submit my donation receipt?

A: You will receive an email with a link to download the anthology via Bookfunnel. Bookfunnel is a paid vendor and is not affiliated with the Romance for Roe project, Planned Parenthood, or NARAL Pro Choice.

Q: Can I submit a donation receipt for other abortion funds?

A: Romance for Roe is supporting PPFA and NARAL at this time, to counter the legal threat to Roe v. Wade and Griswold v. Connecticut. Other organizations are raising funds for direct abortion access, and we encourage you to support them if it is financially feasible for you.

Q: Who retains the copyright to the books?

A: Each contributing author retains all rights to their intellectual property.

Q: How do I get in touch with the Romance for Roe organizers?

A: You can contact Jackie Barbosa at romanceforroe@gmail.com.

Q: I donated and forwarded the receipt, but I haven’t got the download link. Help!

A: First check your spam folder. Most likely the receipt and reply with the download link are there. If you received two receipts, please try the other one. If it still doesn’t work, please contact us directly and we’ll try to sort it out.

Q: I donated $10 cash in person / have a photograph/scan of the receipt, can I still get the ebook?

A: Unfortunately not. We’re only able to process digital donations at this time.

Q: Can I buy the ebook from my preferred book retailer?

A: Retailers take a cut of 30 – 65% of the price of all books they sell and charge a download fee dependent on the size of book, but we wanted all the money you donate to go towards increasing access to abortion. Therefore, we are not making this available on retailers.

Q: Will there be a paperback of this anthology?

A: There would need to be about 15 large volumes for the anthology to be in paper, so we don’t feel that’s feasible. Sorry!

 

Whoa, that’s a LOT of stories! I hope you’ll join me and these talented storytellers in raising money to support the defense of a person’s right to choose.