INTRODUCTION

Even though most abortions were illegal in the United States before 1973, restrictive laws did not prevent them. The actual safety of an abortion depended on a woman's financial situation and her connections to doctors, lawyers and the police. A handful of individuals - doctors, skilled midwives, and others - provided safe, low-cost care. There were also physicians who, for several thousand dollars, provided abortions to their wealthy private patients. However, most women risked their lives by getting abortions from people with no medical training. Hospital wards were filled with victims of unsafe abortions, usually the young and the poor, many of whom died.

FROM DANGER to DIGNITY: The Fight for Safe Abortion weaves together two parallel stories: the evolution of "underground" networks that helped women find safe abortions outside the law, and the efforts of activists and legislators who dedicated themselves to legalizing abortion. Archival footage, combined with interviews, brings history alive by documenting the courage of those who broke the silence and saved women's lives. 

THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA

From the mid-1800's until the early 1960's, the word "abortion" was rarely used in conversation or in print. In 1962, a mother of four, who was also a local TV celebrity, sought an abortion because the medication she had been taking was found to cause birth defects. Sherri Chessen Finkbine's effort to obtain a safe abortion made international news.

• How did the news coverage of Sherri Finkbine's story affect public opinion about abortion? 
• If a woman knows she is carrying a deformed fetus should she have the legal right to obtain an abortion? Why or why not?
• Identify issues on which news coverage influences public opinion.

When abortion was illegal, some people formed networks to help women get safe abortions. Jody, who helped start such a network, says that she felt there was "a philosophical obligation on our part, to disrespect a law that disrespected women."

• If someone feels that a law is "wrong," do you think it is correct for that person to break the law? Why or why not? Can you think of any situations in which you think it would be justifiable to break the law?
• Do you see any distinction in who breaks laws in order to express a strong position on the abortion issue, "pro" or "anti"? 
• How might breaking a law help to change a situation? 
• If abortion became illegal again today, do you think underground networks would organize to provide referrals and perform abortions? What kind of groups might organize? 

Illegal abortions were often expensive. Olga, a nurse in a hospital near the Mexican border, says that in the illegal abortion underground there were "two levels of abortion providers," depending on how much money a woman could afford to pay.

• Discuss the comparative care the following groups of women might receive if they sought an illegal abortion: Rich women vs. poor women? Young women vs. older women? Women in cities or in rural areas? Women of one particular ethnic background? Do you think these same issues affect a woman's ability to get a safe, affordable abortion today? 
• If a woman wishes to have an abortion and cannot afford one, how might this affect her life? How might it affect her family situation? 
• Do you think financial constraints on abortion have a greater impact than on that individual? that immediate family? on society?

Dr. Jane Hodgson was found guilty of performing an illegal abortion. At her trial, a reporter asked "When will the courts agree that abortion is something to be decided by a doctor and a patient?"

• Who should decide if a woman can have an abortion? The woman? Her doctor? A judge? 
• Do taxpayers have a right to decide (or have a say) in whether or not tax money is used to perform abortions? Why? or why not?

When abortion was illegal, a group of ministers and rabbis helped women who wanted abortions find doctors who would provide safe, illegal abortion services. Reverend Howard Moody explains that he started the Clergy Consultation Service because "There was no way you could care for people's spirits without caring about their bodies."

• Were you surprised to learn that clergy members helped women find abortions? How does this kind of activism conflict or mesh with commonly held views of religious leaders? 

• Do laws against abortion violate women's rights? If so, how?

Between 1967 and 1970 a growing number of people, including lawmakers, began to discuss abortion. During a debate about legalizing abortion, Assemblywoman Mary Ann Krupsack was asked "When does life begin?" She replied, "For me, life begins at the moment of conception, but I am here as a legislator...I have an obligation to give a hearing and recognition to the fact that is not the same view of all people in all circumstances."

• What is the role of a legislator given her or his personal opinion? 
• Do you think are influenced more by public opinion, or by what legislators want? 
• Discuss the fact that the original system of government in the U.S. was organized so that there would be a "buffer" of elected officials between public opinion and final decision-making.

• Do you think the work of activists like Pat and Lana, the "Janes" and the Clergy Consultation Service helped the Supreme Court judges make their decision in the case of Roe v. Wade? the legislators who introduced the first bills to legalize abortion? 
• What do you think moved Assemblyman George Michaels' to change his vote in Albany, New York during the 1970 hearings?