Abortion is still legal in all 50 states. The leaked Supreme Court brief is a draft and as such we don't know yet what the final parameters of the decision will be. But we have known for some time now that when the justices hand down their decision on Dobbs, abortion access will be severely …

Continue reading abortion – where we are today

Where to begin? I finally watched Mrs. America. I am deeply invested in the story, both as historical narrative and political trajectory, so I’ve been hesitant to view the way Hollywood interpreted feminism of the 70s. The casting is stunning and as such the historical figures are brought to life admirably. Margo Martindale as Bella …

Continue reading Thoughts on Mrs. America (Finally)

My students are never more engaged than when they are outraged by the hypocrisy of the past. Plus, who doesn't love a good story about a bad girl? So I decided to shape my US women's history course around transgressive women. Each week is organized around historical terms used to denigrate women who in some …

Continue reading History is Full of Bad Girls

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

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