Abortion
and Women’s Rights 1970
The first film ever made about the struggle for abortion rights in the U.S., originally released in 1970, this powerful archival piece documents women’s voices from a pre-Roe v. Wade era.
About
Abortion and Women’s Rights 1970
1971/2022, 28 minutes, 16mm
Catha Maslow, Jane Pincus, Mary Summers, Karen Weinstein
The first film sharing women’s own stories of illegal abortions in the U.S.
In 1970, a time when mainly male state legislatures were debating whether to legalize abortion, four young women in Boston set out to make a film where women could speak to this issue in their own voices. Their film splices together tapes of women telling their stories to capture the fear, anxiety, financial strain, and health consequences of being forced to obtain an illegal abortion for both a middle class woman, “Sue,” and a working class woman, “Marie.”
Using statistics available at the time, the filmmakers also speak out about the lethal consequences of restrictions on access to abortion and birth control. They demand an end to the forced sterilization and birth control testing on BIPOC and poor women of those years.
They also speak to the reality that the maternal mortality rate of Black women in 1970 was four times that of white. Today the maternal mortality rate of Black women is still two times that of white.
This film is a time capsule of the not so distant past, and serves as a reminder of the foundation of our fight for reproductive freedom today.
We won’t go back.
See the Film
Streaming
Streaming now on Kanopy. Watch for free with your Library Card!
Buy or Host
Buy the film or host a screening through Women Make Movies.
Academic
Academic streaming is available through Docuseek.
The Filmmakers
Catha Maslow
Mary Summers
Jane Pincus
Karen Weinstein
Four Boston-area women — Catha Maslow, Jane Pincus, Mary Summers, and Karen Weinstein — made Abortion and Women's Rights 1970 more than fifty years ago. In the decades between making this film and now, the filmmakers led very distinct and varied careers.
Catha Maslow became a social worker and therapist in Warwick, New York; she died in 2015.
Jane Pincus co-founded the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, which authored and published Our Bodies, Ourselves, the seminal at-home text on women's health & sexuality. Its first edition in 1970 was followed by many subsequent editions, and is available in 33 languages.
Mary Summers became a physician's assistant, worked as a speechwriter, and now serves as Senior Fellow and lecturer in political science at the University of Pennsylvania.
Karen Weinstein worked in mental health and has held elected office in education, and leadership roles in women’s advocacy groups. She is also active in California Democratic Party politics.
Karen, Mary, and Jane had three very different abortion experiences. Karen was blindfolded in a locked room during her pre-Roe illegal abortion, whereas Mary and Jane later had access to legal abortions. But over the decades that followed, all were deeply aware that anti-abortion activism and legislation were chipping away at access to safe, affordable procedures, especially for low-income women. When Karen reconnected the filmmakers in 2019, they agreed to update their film and make it widely accessible. They hope this reminder of what women faced before Roe v. Wade — and all they fought for — will aid the ongoing struggle for reproductive justice and equitable health care.
Get Involved
Many organizations across the country and throughout the world have taken the lead in the movement for reproductive justice. The link below offers ways to support and participate in that work.
In The Press
"The film was ahead of its time in that it called for intersectional demands, including an acknowledgment of the troubling treatment of Black and Puerto Rican women, including forced sterilization."
"...serves as a powerful reminder of the conditions and demands that inspired the movement for abortion rights 50 years ago. . . At a time when the world wasn’t very intersectional, the[se] stories are."
"Women’s outrage and the creative bravery of determined activists drive this raw documentary of 1970, when women’s demands to make abortion legal and accessible were starkly radical. Illuminating that moment in a unique nitty-gritty perspective, the film offers sobering lessons for the present."
Nancy F. Cott, Jonathan Trumball
Research Professor of American History, Author Of The Grounding Of Modern Feminism
“Abortion Rights Advocacy: Past and Present”, Harvard Magazine
“Abortion and Women’s Rights 1970: A film that’s newly timely”, Penn Today
“Well, if we have to break the law, how are we going to do it?”, Burnt Toast Podcast
“Abortion and Women’s Rights 1970 screened to OCC students in post Roe v. Wade America”, Coast Report
“Support abortion rights, free speech and health care for all”, The Daily Californian, by Karen Weinstein
“Abortion - Then, now, and tomorrow”, The Philadelphia Citizen
“Vermont College of Fine Arts interview with filmmaker Jane Pincus”
“The Community of Hope”, Violet Book
Contact
To schedule a screening, please contact Women Make Movies.
For interview requests, impact screenings, or general inquiries, contact us at womensrights1970@gmail.com
Instagram @womensrights1970doc