Dr. Brenna McCaffrey (Ph.D. ’22), today Assistant Professor in Anthropology at SUNY Geneseo, publishes her first book titled Pills and Protest: Abortion Access in Ireland based on her dissertation with Bloomsbury Publishing.

Drawing on three years of ethnographic research and interviews with activists, doctors, and policymakers, McCaffrey shows how Irish activists turned abortion pills into what she calls “technologies of protest.” Before Ireland legalized abortion in 2018, these pills quietly helped thousands of people get safe access to abortion. At the same time, they became potent tools in demonstrations that challenged legal bans and cultural stigma.

The book explores how the pill’s symbolic power influenced legislation, divided activist groups, and continues to shape health care delivery. McCaffrey also connects Ireland’s experience to global reproductive justice movements, including those in the United States, where abortion access is increasingly under threat.