My Great Grandmother, Abortion, and What We (Should) Ask of History

On November 9, 1922, my great grandmother Frances Owen departed Vancouver for the United States with the hopes of reaching Bellingham, Washington. An unmarried 25-year-old, she sought the care of Dr. Shute whom she heard from her friend Dot “was a good one to go to” to address that she was “6 weeks in a …

Continue reading My Great Grandmother, Abortion, and What We (Should) Ask of History

Jane Wasn’t Alone: California Abortion Activists Before Roe

With the horror that is the recent spate of anti-abortion/forced-pregnancy laws, we are seeing a lot of talk about Jane. Heather Booth created the referral service in 1965 while a student at the University of Chicago. When the sister of a friend needed an abortion Booth used her activist network to locate a doctor who …

Continue reading Jane Wasn’t Alone: California Abortion Activists Before Roe