We talk to Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult’s new book, A Spark Of Light, is about a shooting in a US abortion clinic. The best-selling author tells Grazia why she fears for American women’s rights to terminations
Why did you decide that this is the moment to write about abortion? It was this administration and the fact that I can feel rights being stripped away. They are being stripped away from immigrants, from people of colour and women. Clearly I made the right choice, because abortion will be that salient voting issue in November [at the midterm elections]. Do you really believe that Roe vs Wade (the law that allows access to safe legal abortion in the US) will be overturned? I believe it can be. No one believed Trump would be elected and that happened. Do you foresee a future where abortion could be banned in the US? Did you watch The Handmaid’s Tale? We are not that far away from that. Once you start legislating abortion rights and telling women what to do with their bodies, you really are running the risk of trying to control their sexuality. That is not a far leap into this dystopian future. Your book is about a mass shooting at an abortion clinic – don’t you worry about putting yourself in the middle of a violent debate? I have a really strong husband, I live in a remote area, I have dogs that will bite, so I don’t worry about that at home. I worry a little bit about it on this tour in America. If I feel threatened, I’ll have security. Are you tired of being asked about the state of your nation? I am not the voice of America. I appreciate the people abroad who are like, ‘ We feel so bad for you.’ I also wish all these Trump supporters, who believe he’s making the US look so good, could get out of their LA-ZBoy chairs and travel. 60% of Americans don’t have a passport – that’s a tragedy in itself. So they don’t see what the rest of the world thinks of us. I’m humiliated, I’m embarrassed and I’m terrified Trump could be elected again. I think it’s a testament to our constitution that we’re still standing, but I pray common sense prevails, that people turn out for the elections and vote for whatever candidate they think will make America a place to be proud of. You’ve said the real battle is to get men to change their minds about abortion – why is that? It’s the responsibility of the oppressor to take down the oppression. If you have homophobia, people who are LGBT are not going to be the ones to fix that, it’s straight people, the ones who created it. If you have a patriarchal society, no matter how loud a woman screams, you need men to step forward and say, ‘Actually, they’re right.’ It is really important for our partners, brothers, husbands and fathers to say, ‘Reproductive rights are not a woman’s issue. It’s a human issue.’ We all have to recognise that women have the right to make their own decisions about their healthcare. Period. ‘A Spark Of Light’ is published 30 October (£16.99, Hodder & Stoughton)