Surgery and Salvation

“Powerful. . . . A pioneering medical history that reveals the importance of Catholicism to obstetric surgical advancements in Mexico and offers a compelling argument about how race and class were pathologized in reproductive medicine.”—American Historical Review

“Superb. . . . Tracing reproductive surgery from the mid-eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, O’Brien demonstrates a pervasive history of devaluing women, their bodies, and their capacity to bear children in ways that doctors found to be acceptable.”—The Americas

“A compelling contribution to the expanding historical study of reproductive health in the Americas. . . . O’Brien opens up new methods and materials for the global history of reproductive health and elucidates complex metaphysical, medical, and legal debates with a clarity and precision that make this book well suited for undergraduate readers as well.”—Hispanic American Historical Review

“O’Brien’s work is thoughtful towards the victims of obstetric and gynecological violence, past and present. This book is an essential addition for readers seeking to understand how a history of religion and politics can lead to coercive medical practices that affect women’s bodies and reproductive liberties.”—Reading Religion

“[O’Brien] underscores . . . the origins and historical development of reproductive (in)justice in Mexico, unveiling the formation and transformation of structural obstetric violence in its profound correlations with the secularism and racism that emerged with nineteenth-century positivist science. . . . Thoroughly researched and deeply insightful, this work will appeal to students and scholars in multiple disciplines, including STS, history of STM, gender and sexuality studies, race studies, and modern Mexican studies.”—Technology and Culture

“A significant and timely intervention in the burgeoning field of Latin American reproductive histories. . . . Absolutely essential reading for students of the Americas and for all those interested in women, reproduction, race, religion, and medicine – past and present.”—História, Ciências, Saúde – Manguinhos

“Elizabeth O’Brien’s nuanced and meticulously researched book brings . . . contemporary struggles to name and resist obstetric violence, as well as other forms of reproductive injustice, into dialogue with her detailed history of reproductive surgery in Mexico.”—Women’s History Review

“Essential reading for students of medical history. . . . [O’Brien’s] thesis contains broader implications for understanding how the production of surgical knowledge, in this case, caesarean operations, hysterectomies, tubal ligations, and therapeutic abortions, among other procedures, flourished in the Global South, and as in the case of the Global North, harmed the bodies of unconsenting, marginalized women. . . . [A]n original and captivating analysis of reproductive governance.”—Catholic Historical Review

“A sophisticated analysis of reproductive surgeries in Mexico . . . grounded in theories of reproductive justice, reproductive governance, and obstetric violence.”—The Lancet

“Well written and coupled with excellent research, this is a great addition to the history of Mexico as well as the history of women, marginalization, and medical history. An excellent book that covers a lot of ground and is relevant in a number of academic settings.”—CHOICE