The Filmmakers

Four Boston-area women — Catha Maslow, Jane Pincus, Mary Summers, and Karen Weinstein — made Abortion and Women's Rights 1970 because they wanted to amplify women's voices and convey women's experiences at a time when mostly-male state legislators were debating whether to legalize abortion state by state. Galvanized and grounded by personal and women's movement experiences, the filmmakers showed that access to safe affordable abortion is both crucial to women's lives and part of a larger struggle to win reproductive justice and health care for all. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision did in fact legalize abortion throughout the United States, a victory that benefited countless women.

The filmmakers then moved on to 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, its first edition in 1970 followed by many subsequent editions and translations. 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 three women 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.

For press inquiries or to invite the filmmakers to speak at an event, contact: womensrights1970@gmail.com