During the century that preceded Roe v Wade in 1973, abortion was illegal in Oregon. Even so, women consistently sought and obtained abortions, including from licensed physicians. But whether the practice was officially tolerated or suppressed fluctuated significantly over that period. Patricia Kullberg, in conversation with Norm Diamond, takes a look at the major social, political and economic factors that determined access to a safe abortion during an era when abortion was against the law. What lessons might be learned about the current day assault on reproductive rights? Kullberg is a retired primary care physician and author of the novel, Girl in the River, about the politics of sex and reproduction in Portland during the thirties and forties. For more on this topic see Michael Helquist’s article published in the Oregon Historical Quarterly: "‘Criminal Operations’: The First Fifty Years of Abortion Trials in Portland, Oregon."
Image: Photo of They Weep On My Doorstep by Dr. Ruth Barnett, (that cover includes clippings of headlines about abortion raids, police payoffs, jail terms); that book lies atop a copy of Girl in the River by Patricia Kullberg and (less visible) a copy of Woman's Body, Woman's Right: a History of Birth Control in America by Linda Gordon. Photo by Frann Michel.
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