REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE: Then and Now
CHOICE at RISK was created to share the tragedies women and their families suffer when safe reproductive healthcare is not accessible. We believe that this information will motivate Americans to learn more and vote pro-choice in this upcoming election year.
About
In 1962, Dorothy Fadiman, the founder of CHOICE at RISK, became pregnant. With no savings, family support or committed partner, Dorothy knew she was not ready become a mother. At that time, abortion was illegal in California and her doctor refused to provide her with a safe abortion. Scared and alone, Dorothy paid $600 to a stranger to perform a back alley abortion. After the procedure, she began to hemorrhage and ended up in the hospital fighting for her life. The same doctor who had turned her away, could now step in, legally to save her life.
Years later, in 1991, Dorothy realized that she needed to share her story and take a stand for Reproductive Justice in order to protect a woman’s right to choose.
“Most people had no idea what the dangers of the back alleys had been when abortion was illegal. I chose to make a documentary based on what I had lived through and survived.”
Photo by Irene Searles taken for InMenlo.com
Since 1991, Dorothy and her team have continued to develop documentary media that supports keeping reproductive rights safe, legal, affordable, and available. Now, with Roe vs. Wade overturned and abortion and reproductive healthcare at risk, the CHOICE at RISK team is more dedicated than ever to defending bodily autonomy.
CHOICE at RISK aims to reach people of all ages, especially young adults, who have no memory of the back alley days. Our goal is to shed light on the history of reproductive rights in this country and bring attention to the dangerous reality we are now facing. Working side by side with activists using the powerful medium of film and supported by the reach of social media, CHOICE at RISK aims to create a world in which a woman’s right to choose is protected.
