Surviving a future without reproductive care

What happens when a fundamentalist cult kidnaps an obstetrician? Award-winning science-fiction writer Naomi Kritzer breaks down her latest work OBSTETRIX about a chilling possible future where OB/GYNs are scarce.

In this episode I talked with Naomi about:

• How the overturn of Roe v Wade inspired the book
• Why a main character obstetrician was important for driving the book. You feel for the main character and how her social-life as a healthcare worker is almost non-existient.
• The word cults is stigmatizing. Most cults aren't that weird, but what makes them a cult is not the belief — it's the fact you can't leave.
• The escape quality and joy of books. The cult has banned books, and yet residents crave the stories, even hide books to read. Stories have an undercurrent theme in this book and how they can help relieve the pain of being trapped.
• One of the great themes in all of Naomi's work is "words matter." She gave a talk about this at WisCon in 20225.
• Obstetrix means "standing opposite to" and is mentioned in the book with great thematic effect. Once Naomi learned the origin of the word obstetrician, she found lots of connections to her character and the story she wanted to tell.

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