Though much of her writing was personal, among Gloria Steinem's most moving work was a dedication to the doctor who helped her obtain an abortion.
In her 2015 memoir "My Life on the Road," Steinem thanked Dr. John Sharpe, a London-based doctor who referred Steinem for an abortion in 1957, when it was still illegal. Steinem credits Sharpe for allowing her to "do what you want to do with your life," a poignant foreword for a book about the people, places and forces that influenced Steinem’s activism.
Steinem died Wednesday, Sept. 2, according to an announcement on her official Instagram page. She was 92.
"Gloria's greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard. Her words, actions, and example gave people permission
to be their truest selves," Steinem's team wrote in the post.
Read Gloria Steinem's moving dedication in 'My Life on the Road'
Steinem dedicated her life to the cause of equality and civil rights, co-founding the National Women's Political Caucus, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Free to Be Foundation and the Women's Media Center in the United States. In 1970, she testified before the Senate on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment.
After graduating magna cum laude from Smith College in Massachusetts in 1956, Steinem embarked on a fellowship in India where she learned about nonviolent protest and grassroots activism. She had her abortion on the way to India.
Steinem was a crusader for abortion rights, coining the phrase "reproductive freedom" that continues to shape modern-day feminism. In "My Life on the Road," she thanked the doctor who made her abortion possible:
"Dr. John Sharpe of London, who in 1957, a decade before physicians in England could legally perform an abortion for any reason other than the health of the woman, took the considerable risk of referring for an abortion a twenty-two-year-old American on her way to India," she wrote in the dedication. "Knowing only that she had broken an engagement at home to seek an unknown fate, he said, 'You must promise me two things. First, you will not tell anyone my name. Second, you will do what you want to do with your life.' Dear Dr. Sharpe, I believe you, who knew the law was unjust, would not mind if I say this so long after your death: I've done the best I could with my life. This book is for you."
Reading the dedication aloud on CNN in 2022, Steinem said, "I think there are women and men across this country saying thank you to physicians who recognize individual rights."
All Gloria Steinem books in order
Steinem was also a career writer, starting as a freelance reporter in New York in 1960. She founded Ms. magazine in 1971.
She published several nonfiction books in her lifetime:
- "The Beach Book" (1963)
- "Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions" (1983)
- "Marilyn: Norma Jeane" (1986)
- "Revolution from Within" (1992)
- "Moving Beyond Words" (1994)
- "Doing Sixty & Seventy" (2006)
- "As If Women Matter: The Essential Gloria Steinem Reader" (2014)
- "My Life on the Road" (2015)
- "The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!" (2019)
Her final book, "An Unexpected Life," is not yet published. The memoir is set to publish Sept. 22 from Random House and tracks the "unlikely experiences and pivotal moments" that shaped her trailblazing career. She also reflects on six decades of progress and setbacks in her activism.
"As Gloria wrote in her forthcoming book, 'An Unexpected Life,' 'I have now lived for more than fifty years in this brownstone, in rooms that have witnessed lives before mine, and will know others after I am gone,'" her team shared in the post announcing her death. "This book, along with her commitment to her home becoming a center for social justice movements, are among the many gifts Gloria has given the world with the hope they have ripple effects for generations to come."
Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, covering buzzy releases, chatting with authors and diving into the culture of reading. Find heron Instagram, subscribe to our weeklyBooks newsletter or tell her what you’re reading atcmulroy@usatoday.com.
Contributing: Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gloria Steinem's touching tribute to doctor who made her abortion possible
