BUPRJ Book Talk: Beyond Limits: Stories of Third-Trimester Abortion Care

Beyond Limits: Stories of Third-Trimester Abortion Care

Boston University, School of Law, Classroom 410

Thursday, October 23, 2025

4:30-6:00pm

The Boston University Program on Reproductive Justice invites you to join us for a discussion of our October Book of the Month, “Beyond Limits: Stories of Third-Trimester Abortion Care” by Dr. Shelley Sella, moderated by Aziza Ahmed.

Within both the anti-abortion and pro-choice movements, third-trimester abortion is often stigmatized and misunderstood. For 20 years, Dr. Shelley Sella saw patients whose diverse backgrounds and circumstances led them to the same difficult decision: to end their pregnancies. Now, interweaving her own journey as a provider, Dr. Sella invites readers into a typical week at her clinic to demystify the experience. Beyond Limits is not just a testament to a standard of care grounded in competence, compassion, and sensitivity. It is also a call for a paradigm shift that moves beyond Dobbs, beyond Roe, beyond limits to provide care. And it is a tribute to the real people whose hearts, reasons, and stories are more complex than politicized conversations about abortion lead us to believe. 

Shelley Sella, MD is a board-certified ob-gyn and the first woman to openly practice third-trimester abortion care in the US, which she did for 20 years. She was prominently featured in the Emmy Award–winning documentary After Tiller. Dr. Sella served 2 terms on the board of the National Abortion Federation and in 2022 was awarded its highest honor, the Christopher Tietze Humanitarian Award. She is retired from clinical practice and now focuses on advocacy.

The BUPRJ is an interdisciplinary program at BU Law committed to advancing and training the next generation of reproductive justice advocates. This event marks the beginning of our new BUPRJ Book of the Month series — a monthly celebration of powerful stories, critical analysis, and radical imagination from the reproductive justice movement. Each month, we’ll spotlight a compelling book that deepens our collective understanding of reproductive freedom, bodily autonomy, and the intersecting systems that shape our lives.

To celebrate the launch of this series and Dr. Sella’s book, BUPRJ will be offering the first 25 students to register and attend the event in-person a free copy of Beyond Limits. Dr. Sella will be available to sign books after the Q&A. Register today!