Abortion and Women's Rights 1970 / Catha Maslow, director.

Format:

Video

Contributor:

Maslow, Catha, director.

Pincus, Jane, producer.

Summers, Mary, producer.

Weinstein, Karen, producer.

Women Make Movies (Firm)

Cinema Guild.

Subjects (All):

Abortion--United States--1970.

Abortion.

Reproductive rights--United States--1970.

Reproductive rights.

Genre:

Documentary films.

Nonfiction films.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 video file (28 minutes)) : black and white

Distribution:

[New York, NY] : [Cinema Guild], [1970]

Place of Publication:

[New York, NY] : Women Make Movies, [1970]

System Details:

digital

Summary:

One of the first films ever made about the struggle for abortion rights, this powerful archival piece documents women’s voices from a pre-Roe v. Wade era. This unique film, available for the first time digitally, tells the story of two women's illegal abortions before the Supreme Court declared a constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade in 1973. It also speaks to the reality that 80-90% of those who died from illegal abortions were nonwhite, poor women. Women's voices from discussion groups and rallies lay out the need for safe, affordable abortions, birth control and maternity care for all women. They demand an end to forced sterilization and drug testing on Black, Brown, and poor women. They call for decent health care for all.

Notes:

"It is important to show the film today, not only to remind us what illegal abortion was like, but to show that in the early women's liberation movement, we saw abortion as part of a larger fight for women's reproductive rights, health, and freedom"--from the documentary.

Description based on online resource; title from title screen (viewed on July 25, 2023).

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.