Last week was the 3rd anniversary of the one of the most devastating Supreme Court decisions ever for the women of this country—the June 24, 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned the landmark Supreme Court decision of 1973, Roe v Wade, that legalized abortion in this country, (at least up to 24 weeks, when most fetuses become viable) -- a victory that was very hard fought for by feminists.

The chief writer of the decision, Justice Joseph Alito, made ridiculous arguments, including claiming that there is no basis for the right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution, when there is no mention of WOMEN in the U.S. Constitution, which is a document clearly written by men and for men.

It was predicted that there would be devastating consequences for women across the country as a result of Dobbs. 

On the third anniversary of that historic defeat for the right of U.S. women to control our reproductive lives, we will speak with Merle Hoffman, abortion rights pioneer and founder and CEO of Choices Women's Medical Center, who started the first ambulatory abortion facility established after abortion became legal in New York State in 1971 (3 years before Roe became the national law).

We will be discussing the repercussions of the overturning of Roe v Wade in the ensuing 3 years and what has transpired nationally and locally.

Some of what we'll touch on are the repercussions of the patchwork of different state laws that have resulted from over a dozen states enacting partial to total bans on abortion and the implications for women who must travel to different states from the ones in which they live, to obtain the procedure.

Merle will also speak on individual and egregious cases that have resulted from the Dobbs decision, the effects she has seen as the CEO of Choices Women's Medical Center in Queens, as well as the framework of states rights vs federal law that has resulted -- and the necessity for the right to abortion being conceptualized as something as basic as the right to vote or worship.

MERLE HOFFMAN'S BIO

Merle Hoffman is an internationally known leader in the struggle for women’s rights, a healthcare pioneer, founder of women’s health, political, and reproductive rights organizations, and a prize-winning writer and publisher. Her work spans 52 years and continues today.
 
In 1971, she co-founded Flushing Women’s Medical Center in the borough of Queens in NYC two years before Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide. This was the fore-runner of  Choices Women’s Medical Center, of which she is the President and CEO to this day.

But Hoffman is more then a service provider--she is an all around activist and her activism has taken many forms:

In 1976, Hoffman co-founded the National Abortion Federation (NAF), the first professional organization of abortion providers in the U.S.

In 1977, she was a vocal proponent for the accurate labeling of over-the-counter birth control drugs, resulting in congressional hearings and the eventual labeling requirements.

In 1985, Hoffman founded the New York Pro-Choice Coalition (NYPCC), the first umbrella organization of pro-choice individuals and organizations committed to ensuring safe, legal abortion in New York.

She was one of the first activists to organize opposition to the anti-abortion Christian Right organization: Operation Rescue (OR). When OR announced it would shut down abortion services in New York City for a week in 1988, the New York Pro-Choice Coalition, founded by Hoffman, responded by rebranding those days “Reproductive Freedom Week” and organizing a counter protest that drew 1,300 supporters. She also publicly challenged New York City’s Cardinal John O’Connor‘s support of Operation Rescue, by organizing the First Pro-Choice Civil Disobedience action outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City in 1989. She has also publicly debated Jerry Falwell on the subject of abortion.

Her publishing work includes: Starting a newsletter for Choices in 1982 which developed into On the Issues: The Progressive Women’s Quarterly, an acclaimed national magazine with an international following--online since 2008. The book: Intimate Wars: The Life and Times of the Woman Who Brought Abortion from the Back Alley to the Boardroom (2023) and her latest book: Choices: A Post-Roe Abortion Manifesto (2023), written after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. In it she sheds light on the catastrophic repercussions of overturning Roe and what we as a nation must do moving forward to ensure the safety and freedom of women and girls everywhere. 

Her international work includes: Opening the first Feminist Medical Center in Moscow in 1992 and working with Polish feminists against draconian abortion restrictions in Poland in 2020.

Her recent activist work includes:

In January 2022, she co-initiated RiseUp4AbortionRights to build mass non-violent protests to stop the U.S. Supreme Court from decimating abortion rights and to challenge complacency in the face of the possible overturning of Roe. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe on June 24, 2022, she has remained active in organizing and calling for the U.S. Government to legalize abortion nationwide.

THIS PROGRAM WILL INCLUDE A FEMINIST NEWS SEGMENT AND TOPICAL MUSIC AS WELL AS LISTENER PHONE CALLS AT: (212) 209-2877.