Defending a Choice for Women: A Feminist Video Ethnography Beverly Yuen Thompson, Ph.D. Florida International University

Introduction Involvement with Miami clinic access project (MCAP) Historic abortion restrictions Contemporary abortion issues The pro-life movement The pro-choice movement Clinic defense Defending a choice for women: A feminist video ethnography Reproductive rights classroom education

Miami Clinic Access Project (MCAP) A Choice for Women clinic Priests for Life and local Catholic churches, majority Spanish speakers MCAP older, white activists and WS students Women’s studies program has connection to MCAP Every Saturday 6-11a.m. for six months of fieldwork and interviews Intro to WS student involvement

Miami Clinic Access Project (MCAP): Video Clip 0:30 min.

Historic Abortion Restrictions From female midwives to the American Medical Association (AMA) New laws based on British common law, banning abortion after quickening 1821-first abortion law in Connecticut; by 1890, every state had regulations

Historic Eugenics Programs Between , for African American and Native American women, they faced forced sterilization (45k-60k) (CA accounts for 1/3) Buck v. Bell, Supreme Court decision in Virginia that upheld involuntary sterilization (1927) Margaret Sanger’s Birth Control Federation had “Negro Project” (1939), promoted eugenics practices

Abortion and Contraception legalized 1960 FDA approved the pill 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut- married couples have access to pill 1967 President Johnson approves $20m contraceptive programs 1973 Roe v. Wade-legalize abortion through privacy gov’t pays for 1/3 of all abortions (294,600 in 1977) 1977 Hyde Amendment denies use of Medicaid for abortion (1977, fewer than 2,500 abortions covered)

Contemporary Abortion Issues: Legal but restricted Between 1.3 & 1.5m abortions performed 14% of US counties have an abortion provider 24 hour waiting period Parental consent Informed of abortion impact, fetal development Required sonograms Only 12% of obgyn medical programs require abortion training 2/3 of providers over age 65

Abstinence Only Education Government spends over $1 billion over last decade Global gag rule Under Governor Bush, Texas had most stringent abstinence only education, and also was #1 in teenage birthrate (2000) Abstinence only education proven to be notoriously ineffective

The Pro-Life Movement Religious movement against pre-marital sex, abortion, contraception, and sex education Political movement fighting on grassroots-national-international fronts At clinics: “rescues” and “sidewalk counseling” Movement has had violent extremists that conduct damage to clinics and the murder of seven individuals

The Pro-Life Movement: Video Clip Although “pro- life” they are still pro-war and pro- death penalty and do not support social programs that assist women and children 1:21 min.

The Pro-Choice Movement Feminist movement to defend women’s right to control their bodies Defending abortion/contraception rights and protecting women’s health and access Defending clinics as escorts

Defending a Choice for Women 23 minute documentary useful for community and classroom organizing Provides a visual reference of the situation Chapters: –Pro-life movement –Clinic defense –Catholics on all sides –Women’s testimonies –Student education

Conclusion: Reproductive Rights Classroom Education Video For Intro to Women’s Studies, the student attend a feminist event and write a short paper about it. Many chose to visit and write about the clinic defense. 1:03 min.