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WHEN ABORTION WAS ILLEGAL: Untold Stories

28 minutes/Grades 10-Adult

Produced by Dorothy Fadiman in association with KTEH-TV

The era of illegal abortion, roughly the period between the
turn of the century and the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, has
been a sealed chapter in women's history.

The profound aura of shame and fear surrounding unwanted
pregnancies and abortions before Roe v. Wade kept most women
from ever admitting that they had had illegal abortions. Women
suffering complications from back alley or self-induced
abortions risked arrest if they admitted what they had done,
as did their husbands and doctors if they acknowledged
compliance and aid.

WHEN ABORTION WAS ILLEGAL: UNTOLD STORIES illuminates this
largely undocumented era and reveals the physical, emotional
and legal consequences of having an abortion when it was a
criminal act.

This poignant oral history weaves together the stories of
women, some who speak frankly about their experiences for the
first time, who had illegal abortions and of those who tried
to help them. It reveals the brutal tragedies, as well as the
courage and heroism, of a shrouded time.

Awards: Academy Award Nomination: Best Documentary Short
Subject; Gold Medal, CPB Public Radio & TV Awards; Gold Apple,
National Educational Film and Video Festival; Best
Documentary, Atlanta International Film and Video Festival;
Best Television Documentary/ Exceptional Merit Media Award,
National Women's Political Caucus; Juror's Citation, Black
Maria; Exemplary Leadership Award, Religious Coalition for
Abortion Rights; Humanitarian Award, Sinking Creek Film and
Video Festival; Special Achievement Award, BACA Festival;
Breckenridge Festival of Films; Isabella Liddell Art Award,
Ann Arbor Film Festival; Finalist, International Health &
Medical Film Festival

• "Recommended viewing for physicians, medical students,
  residents, and anyone interested in understanding the
  controversial issue of abortion." Fertility News
  

• "Its tone is quietly eloquent, never hysterical...a picture
  of long-remembered fear and last ditch desperation." Little
  Rock Free Press
  

• "Creates the space for viewers to reach their own
  conclusions" Beret Strong, Ph.D., Perspective Magazine
  

• "With riveting detail... eschewing the inflammatory rhetoric
  that often colors the abortion debate, UNTOLD STORIES
  nonetheless delivers a powerful argument" Michael Fox, The San
  Francisco Chronicle
  

• "A 'must see' for health professionals who want to truly
  understand the effects of turning back the clock" Amy Levine,
  Women's Resource Center
  

• "Affectingly related stories... etch the climate of fear,
  pain, reprisal, and sometimes death that permeated a society
  outlawing abortion." Irene Wood, Booklist
  

Subject Areas: SOCIAL STUDIES, WOMEN'S HISTORY, HEALTH,
ETHICS, ABORTION

ISBN: 1-56029-515-5

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Bullfrog Films
Box 149, Oley PA 19547
(610) 779-8226
E-Mail: bullfrog@igc.apc.org