Dr. Shelley Sella
Shelley Sella, MD is a board-certified OB-GYN and the first woman to openly practice third-trimester abortion care in the US.
Her first book, Beyond Limits: Stories of Third-Trimester Abortion Care, is a tribute to the real people whose hearts, reasons, and stories are more complex than politicized conversations about abortion lead us to believe.
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Beyond Limits
Stories of Third-Trimester Abortion Care
In Beyond Limits, Dr. Shelley Sella offers a unique and timely view of the segment of abortion care that is the most vilified, stigmatized, and misunderstood.
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Drawing on her 20 years of experience as a provider, Dr. Sella shares deeply intimate, profoundly human stories of third-trimester abortion, interweaving her patients’ experiences with her own personal and professional journey, revealing why she dedicated her life to this work
Dr. Sella brings the reader into a typical week at the clinic as she cares for patients seeking care for a range of reasons, including a late diagnosis of a fetal anomaly, domestic violence, and a recurrence of cancer. She describes the realities of her patients’ lives, the barriers they encounter when trying to access care, and the decision-making processes they navigate, giving readers a view of the complex and nuanced situations these patients face. Since Roe was overturned in 2022, twenty-two states have either banned or severely restricted abortion, creating delays for those seeking care. As a result, patients who could have been seen earlier, face the necessity of an abortion later in pregnancy. And they deserve competent and compassionate care.
The stories in Beyond Limits challenge readers to reexamine preconceived notions of gestational limits and viability. By moving away from political rhetoric, Dr. Sella aims to change the narrative of abortion care later in pregnancy to one that reflects the reality of people’s lives. She invites readers to delve into their own assumptions and judgments and evokes deep understanding for real people whose hearts, reasons and stories are more complex than those weaponized in conversations about abortion.
Order Beyond Limits!
Beyond Limits is available wherever books are sold!
Praise for Beyond Limits
“Sella does a stellar job of straightforwardly and compassionately explaining why third-trimester abortions happen: ‘Third-trimester abortions are rare,’ she writes, ‘but the situations that drive women to seek them are not.’ This bursts with insight.”
“Beyond Limits reminds us that when we leave third trimester abortions on the floor of political compromise, we abandon some of the most vulnerable among us. This beautiful, devastating book may do what seems impossible in our viciously divided country: it just may change a few minds.”
— Khiara M. Bridges, Professor of Law, UC Berkeley School of Law
“Beyond Limits is moving, personal, insightful and powerfully written. Long considered a hero of the abortion field, Dr. Sella gives us an eye-opening account of being one of the few providers to offer abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy.”
— Diana Greene Foster,
author of The Turnaway Study
“In Beyond Limits, Dr. Shelley Sella gives an intimate and unflinching look into her life as a third-trimester abortion provider for two decades—from her own experiences leading her to become a staunch defender of bodily autonomy for all to her vision for abortion care in this country.”
— Renee Bracey Sherman,
founder of We Testify & co-author of Liberating Abortion: Claiming Our History,
Sharing Our Stories, and Building the Reproductive Future We Deserve
“Interweaving the real stories of the people whose abortions she performed with her own personal history, Shelley Sella has written a narrative that is emotionally powerful, intimate and engaging.”
— Laura Kaplan,
author of The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service
“At a time when abortion, and especially third-trimester abortion is being weaponized against pregnant people and providers, Dr Sella’s book provides much-needed information to help us understand the nuances and deeply personal nature of these decisions.”
— Rev. Amy Johnson,
Minister for Sexuality Education &
Justice for the United Church of Christ