In 1973 the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade established the legal right to abortion in the United States. Since then, state legislative and executive bodies have battled to restrict access to abortions. Federal law banned the use of federal funds for most abortions in 1977, and public funding for abortion remains a contested issue.
One recent study in Texas found that more than 200,000 women performed abortions on themselves because they weren’t able to find clinical services. From restrictive laws to a lack of information to violent attacks, the blocking of abortion access is eroding the reproductive rights of women.
On this edition, we hear from women at the New Orleans Abortion Fund and Ibis Reproductive Health, as well as experiences from a doctor who provides abortions and a woman that sought abortion access in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Featuring:
- Jessie Nieblas, New Orleans Abortion Fund
- Liza Fuentes, Ibis Reproductive Health
- Natalie, teacher in New Orleans
- Diary excerpt from Dr. Susan Wicklund, an abortion provider under attack, as performed for Making Contact by Words of Choice with ActorClaudia Scheider, Directed by Francesca Mantani Arkus, Created and Produced by Cindy Cooper