The women's health movement (WHM, also feminist women's health movement) in the United States refers to the aspect of the American feminist movement that works to improve all aspects of

women's health Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Often treated ...

and healthcare. It began during the second wave of feminism as a sub-movement of the

women's liberation movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism. It emerged in the late 1960s and continued till the 1980s, primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which resulted in g ...

. WHM activism involves increasing women's knowledge and control of their own bodies on a variety of subjects, such as fertility control and home remedies, as well as challenging traditional doctor-patient relationships, the medicalization of childbirth,

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...

in the health care system, and ensuring

drug safety Pharmacovigilance (PV, or PhV), also known as drug safety, is the pharmaceutical science relating to the "collection, detection, assessment, monitoring, and prevention" of adverse effects with pharmaceutical products. The etymological roots ...

. Notable organizations associated with the women's health movement include the

Jane Collective The Jane Collective or Jane, officially known as the Abortion Counseling Service of Women's Liberation, was an underground service in Chicago, Illinois affiliated with the Chicago Women's Liberation Union that operated from 1969 to 1973, a time ...

, the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, the

Feminist Abortion Network The Feminist Abortion Network (FAN) is a national consortium of independent, feminist, not-for-profit abortion care providers. Although more than fifty such health care providers once existed, today fourteen clinics remain in operation. FAN was for ...

, the

National Women's Health Network The National Women's Health Network (NWHN) was a non-profit women's health advocacy organization located in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1975 by Barbara Seaman, Alice Wolfson, Belita Cowan, Mary Howell, and Phyllis Chesler. The stated ...

, the

Black Women's Health Imperative Black Women's Health Imperative, previously the National Black Women's Health Project, was formed in 1983 in Atlanta, Georgia out of a need to address the health and reproductive rights of African American women. NBWHP was principally founded by B ...

and the Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center. Other results of WHM activism are the creation of

feminist health centers A feminist health center is an independent, not-for-profit, alternative medical facility that primarily provides gynecological health care. Many feminist health centers were founded in the 1970s as part of the women's health movement in the United ...

, the Dalkon Shield lawsuit, the DES daughters lawsuit, and the

Nelson Pill Hearings In 1970, Barbara Seaman brought the dangers of combined oral contraceptive pill use to the attention of Senator Gaylord Nelson with her book ''The Doctors Case Against the Pill''. Nelson, who at the time was also busy organizing the first Earth ...

, which resulted in the inclusion of

medication package insert A package insert is a document included in the package of a medication that provides information about that drug and its use. For prescription medications, the insert is technical, providing information for medical professionals about how to pr ...

s to insure

informed consent Informed consent is an applied ethics principle that a person must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about accepting risk. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treatments, alternative treatme ...

for women taking

oral contraceptive pill Oral contraceptives, abbreviated OCPs, also known as birth control pills, are medications taken by mouth for the purpose of birth control. The introduction of the birth control pill ("the Pill") in 1960 revolutionized the options for contraception, ...

s. Notable books and media resulting from this movement include '' Women and Madness'' by

Phyllis Chesler Phyllis Chesler (born October 1, 1940) is an American writer, psychotherapist, and professor emerita of psychology and women's studies at the College of Staten Island (CUNY). She is a renowned second-wave feminist psychologist and the author of ...

, ''

Our Bodies, Ourselves ''Our Bodies, Ourselves'' is a book about women's health and sexuality produced by the nonprofit organization Our Bodies Ourselves (originally called the Boston Women's Health Book Collective). First published in 1970, it contains information re ...

'' by the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, ''

The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm "The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm" is a feminist essay on women's sexuality written by American radical feminist activist Anne Koedt in 1968, and published in 1970. It first appeared in a four-paragraph outline form in the ''Notes from the First Y ...

'' by

Anne Koedt Anne Koedt (born 1941) is an American radical feminist activist and author of " The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm", a 1970 classic feminist work on women's sexuality. She was connected to the group New York Radical Women and was a founding member ...

, and ''

La Operación ''La Operación'' is a forty-minute documentary film by Ana María García about US-imposed sterilization policies in Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-gover ...

''. The WHM is unique from the

abortion-rights movement Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pr ...

in that the WHM has a wider scope of issues in relation to women and their health. The health clinics, groups, and activists of the WHM also advocate "nonprofessional caregivers, self-help, emphasis on alternative (nonprescription) remedies when possible, demystification of health information and providers, and clinic administration and control by nonprofessional women."

Historical context

The women's health movement has origins in multiple movements within the United States: the

popular health movement The Popular Health Movement of the 1830s–1850s was an aspect of Jacksonian-era politics and society in the United States. The movement promoted a rational skepticism toward claims of medical expertise that were based on personal authority, and ...

of the 1830s and 1840s, the struggle for women/midwives to practice medicine or enter medical schools in the late 1800s and early 1900s, black women's clubs that worked to improve access to healthcare, and various social movements in the 1960s. Helen Marieskind argues that like the popular health movement of the 19th century, the WHM worked to redefine health care, empower women, and support "preventive health concepts, self-awareness... knowledge of bodily processes, and... demystify ngmedicine."

Barbara Ehrenreich Barbara Ehrenreich (, ; ; August 26, 1941 – September 1, 2022) was an American author and political activist. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she was a prominent figure in the Democratic Socialists of America. She was a widely read and aw ...

and

Deirdre English Deirdre English (b.1948) is an American journalist who has written and edited work on a wide array of subjects related to investigative reporting, cultural politics, gender studies, and public policy. The former Editor-in-Chief of '' Mother Jones ...

, in their work ''Witches, Midwives, and Nurses'' (1972), also compare the two movements. The WHM shares ideology with other

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement that emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s and continued through the 1970s. It consisted of activists in the Western world who, in reaction to the era's liberal establishment, campaigned for freer ...

movements. The

environmental Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

and

anti-nuclear The Anti-nuclear war movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, n ...

movements, like the WHM, oppose

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

, critique corporations and government agencies, express the need to protect humans and the environment from

hazards A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that ...

, and stress the importance of

Nothing About Us Without Us "Nothing about us without us" () is a slogan used to communicate the idea that no policy should be decided by any representative without the full and direct participation of members of the group(s) affected by that policy. In its modern form, this ...

Women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

and

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

scholar Jennifer Nelson says that neighborhood health centers created by

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

and other New Left activists were the "intellectual, political, and practical experiential precedents," for

, which were one major result of the women's health movement. The women's health movement grew directly out of the

during the late 1960s.

Women's liberation movement

Just as the

Women's Suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

movement grew out of the Abolition Movement, the

Women's Liberation Movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism. It emerged in the late 1960s and continued till the 1980s, primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which resulted in g ...

grew out of the struggle for

. Though challenging

patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...

and the anti-patriarchal message of the Women's Liberation Movement was considered

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

, it was not the only, nor the first, radical movement in the early period of

second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades, ending with the feminist sex wars in the early 1980s and being replaced by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s. It occurred ...

. Rather than simply desiring legal equality, members believed that the moral and social climate in the United States needed to change. Though most groups operated independently—there was no national umbrella organization—there were unifying philosophies of women participating in the movement. Challenging patriarchy and the hierarchical organization of society which defined women as subordinate, participants in the movement believed that women should be free to define their own individual identity as part of human society. One of the reasons that women who supported the movement chose not to create a single approach to addressing the problem of women being treated as second-class citizens was that they did not want to foster an idea that anyone was an expert or that any one group or idea could address all of the societal problems women faced. They also wanted women, whose voices had been silenced, to be able to express their own views on solutions. Among the issues were the objectification of women, reproductive rights, opportunities for women in the workplace, redefining familial roles. A dilemma faced by movement members was how they could challenge the definition of femininity without compromising the principals of feminism. They were not interested in reforming existing social structures, but instead were focused on changing the perceptions of women's place in society and the family and women's autonomy. Rejecting hierarchical structure, most groups which formed operated as collectives where all women could participate equally. Typically, groups associated with the Women's Liberation Movement held

consciousness-raising Consciousness raising (also called awareness raising) is a form of activism popularized by United States feminists in the late 1960s. It often takes the form of a group of people attempting to focus the attention of a wider group on some cause or ...

(CR) meetings where women could voice their concerns and experiences, learning to politicize their issues. To members of the WLM, rejecting

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

was the most important objective in eliminating women's status as second-class citizens. By attending CR groups, women around the United States participated in "a process in which the sharing of personal stories led to a "click"--a sudden recognition that sexism lay at the root of their struggles." This process included sharing their healthcare experiences with each other. They discussed topics such as illegal abortions,

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

, negative experiences with doctors during childbirth and

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

visits,

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

, and other aspects of

. This led them to "campaign to change how doctors, the government, the media, and the medical field treat...women and their bodies."

Issues and ideology

WHM activism covers topics such as access to reproductive technology and birth control, sterilization abuse, advocating against unnecessary medical intervention during childbirth, increasing access to healthcare through the creation of

and self-help clinics, teaching women about their bodies, discovering the history of

women in medicine The presence of women in medicine, particularly in the practicing fields of surgery and as physicians, has been traced to the earliest of history. Women have historically had lower participation levels in medical fields compared to men with occu ...

, critiquing the misogyny in the healthcare system, and creating

health advocacy Health advocacy or health activism encompasses direct service to the individual or family as well as activities that promote health and access to health care in communities and the larger public. Advocates support and promote the rights of the ...

groups for women. Due to the political and collective nature of the WHM, Helen Marieskind calls the ideology of the movement ''Feminist-Socialism''. They view the relationship between women and their doctors (especially male gynecologists) as similar to women's second-class status in society. WHM activists argue that the institution of medicine is "embedded in, and an embodiment of," patriarchal society and is an institution of

social control Social control is the regulations, sanctions, mechanisms, and systems that restrict the behaviour of individuals in accordance with social norms and orders. Through both informal and formal means, individuals and groups exercise social con ...

. Nearly all of the early literature from the WHM argued that medicine and doctors work to subordinate women,

people of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

, and the poor; doctors are too powerful; healthcare costs too much; and that conventional healthcare leaves patients with little to no dignity, right to health information, or ability to choose their treatment.

1969–1973

The women's liberation movement, and consequently the WHM, were

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

, so there were many different groups of women organizing around women's health issues in the United States at the beginning of the second wave of feminism. Anthropologist Sandra Morgen argues that there are four founding events of the WHM: the workshop and research that led to the writing of ''

'' in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, the founding of the underground abortion service by the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Carol Downer and Lorraine Rothman's self-help gynecology in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and Barbara Seaman's (

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

) and Belita Cowan's (

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

) work to expose the health risks of the

and

diethylstilbestrol Diethylstilbestrol (DES), also known as stilbestrol or stilboestrol, is a nonsteroidal estrogen medication, which is presently rarely used. In the past, it was widely used for a variety of indications, including pregnancy support for those with ...

. Ninia Baehr includes the activism of Patricia Maginnis and the Army of Three–even though their activism around abortion began in 1959–because they were the first to frame abortion around

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

and the idea that women, not doctors or lawmakers, should be the ones to make decisions around abortion.

Society for Human Abortion and the Army of Three

Patricia Maginnis founded the Citizens Committee for Humane Abortion Laws (CCHAL) in 1962, while she attended

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

. In 1963, she moved the organization to San Francisco and Rowena Gurner joined CCHAL. In 1964, Gurner and Maginnis changed the organization's name to The Society for Humane Abortion (SHA) and in 1965 it was incorporated as a non-profit organization in California. SHA advocated for "elective abortion," that all women had the right to safe and legal abortion free of harassment, and that " hetermination of pregnancy is a decision which the person or family involved should be free to make as their own religious beliefs, values, emotions, and circumstances may dictate." The SHA believed in the

repeal A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...

of all abortion laws, including the 1963 Humane Abortion Act, which made abortion legal in cases of rape or incest. While still heading the Society for Humane Abortion, Maginnis set-up another organization in 1966 to carry on an underground feminist health referral system. The main mission of this organization, Association to Repeal Abortion Laws (ARAL), was to connect pregnant women with abortion providers in neighboring countries. Their list of abortion specialists was well-researched and depended on members' information and the feedback of the women they referred. Together, the Army of Three (Maginnis, Gurner, and Lana Phelan) planned and executed

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

actions in the late 1960s in order to overturn abortion laws in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. In 1968, after multiple bouts of handing out pamphlets with information about contraception and

sexually transmitted infection A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, e ...

s (which was illegal under

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

's Municipal Ordinance 188), Maginnis was arrested. The outcome of her case overturned this local ordinance, but the Army of Three wanted to challenge the state law. To do this, they created abortion 'classes,' which Maginnis was eventually arrest for in

San Mateo county San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...

. The case wasn't settled until after ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...

'' liberalized abortion laws in the United States, but they did succeed in overturning California's abortion law.

DES

Diethylstilbestrol Diethylstilbestrol (DES), also known as stilbestrol or stilboestrol, is a nonsteroidal estrogen medication, which is presently rarely used. In the past, it was widely used for a variety of indications, including pregnancy support for those with ...

(DES) was discovered in 1938 and until 1971, it was given to pregnant women with the incorrect belief that it would reduce the risk of pregnancy complications and losses. In the late 1960s, a study published in

JAMA ''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of b ...

endorsed the use of DES as an

emergency contraceptive Emergency contraception (EC) is a birth control measure, used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. There are different forms of EC. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), sometimes simply referred to as emergency contraceptives (ECs), ...

, saying that it have no negative side effects. Belita Cowan began researching the side effects of DES as a morning after pill at this time, because it was she had read medical literature that said DES caused clear cell carcinoma, a rare vaginal tumor, in girls and women who had been exposed to this medication ''

in utero The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more fertilized eggs until bir ...

''. She also heard from her friends that the pill caused severe nausea for a short period of time. Cowan brought together a group of female former patients at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

’s student health center and organized Advocates for Medical Information. This group aimed to educate women in the side effects of the DES pill and to oppose the use of it at the University Hospital and other health centers in the country. In 1971, the organization received a grant from the student government to undertake a survey of women who had taken DES. Out of the sixty-nine women who responded, only a quarter of them were contacted by doctors after taking the medication. This proved that the advertisements for DES were fraudulent. After concluding her research about the side effects of DES, Cowan believed that women around the country should know about the effects of the drug. She contacted

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...

and other feminists to host a press conference in Washington, D.C., in December 1972. Ortho tricyclen

Oral contraceptives

When the

birth control pill The combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), often referred to as the birth control pill or colloquially as "the pill", is a type of birth control that is designed to be taken orally by women. It is the oral form of combined hormonal contra ...

came on the market in 1960, Barbara Seaman was writing columns for women's magazines such as ''Brides'' and the ''Ladies' Home Journal''. She launched her career as a women's health journalist and brought a new kind of health reporting to the field, writing articles that centered more on the patient and less on the medical fads of the day. Seaman was first to reveal that women lacked the information they needed to make informed decisions on child-bearing,

breast-feeding Breastfeeding, also known as nursing, is the process where breast milk is fed to a child. Infants may suck the milk directly from the breast, or milk may be extracted with a pump and then fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO ...

, and oral contraceptives. She even went so far as to alert women to the dangers of the Pill, whose primary ingredient was

estrogen Estrogen (also spelled oestrogen in British English; see spelling differences) is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three ...

(also the active ingredient in

Premarin Conjugated estrogens (CEs), or conjugated equine estrogens (CEEs), sold under the brand name Premarin among others, is an estrogen medication which is used in menopausal hormone therapy and for various other indications. It is a mixture of th ...

, which had contributed to the death of her aunt). Prolific output and the popularity of her published articles won Seaman membership with the prestigious

Society of Magazine Writers A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

. In 1969, Seaman completed her first book, ''The Doctors' Case Against the Pill'', which would become the basis for the Nelson Pill Hearings on the safety of the

combined oral contraceptive pill The combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), often referred to as the birth control pill or colloquially as "the pill", is a type of birth control that is designed to be Oral administration, taken orally by women. It is the oral form of combi ...

. As a result of the hearings, a health warning was added to the pill, the first informational insert for any prescription drug. Robert Finch, Secretary of HEW, praised Seaman saying, "''The Doctors' Case Against the Pill''... was a major factor in our strengthening the language in the final warning published in the Federal Register to be included in each package of the Pill."

The Jane Collective

Officially known as the Abortion Counseling Service of Women's Liberation, the Jane Collective, or Jane, was an underground service in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, affiliated with the

Chicago Women's Liberation Union The Chicago Women's Liberation Union (CWLU) was an American feminist organization founded in 1969 at a conference in Palatine, Illinois. The main goal of the organization was to end gender inequality and sexism, which the CWLU defined as "the s ...

that operated from 1969 to 1973, when abortion was illegal in the United States.Jane: Documents from Chicago's Clandestine Abortion Service (1968-1973) amphlet Baltimore, MD: Firestarter Press, 2004. Retrieved fro
Interference Archive
Pamphlets. The collective was started by activists in the women's liberation movement in an effort to address the increasing number of

unsafe abortion An unsafe abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by people lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment lacking minimal medical standards, or both. An unsafe abortion is a life-threatening procedure. It includes self-induced abortions, ...

s being performed by untrained providers. Since illegal abortions were not only dangerous but very expensive, the founding members of the collective believed that they could provide women with safer and more affordable access to abortions. The collective originated in 1969 with

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

student

Heather Booth Heather Booth (born December 15, 1945) is an American civil rights activist, feminist, and political strategist who has been involved in activism for progressive causes. During her student years, she was active in both the civil rights movement ...

, who helped her friend's sister find an abortion provider. The founders of Jane initially focused their attention on providing women access to competent physicians willing to provide abortion services. They found a physician they called "Mike" who was willing to work with them. After creating a close relationship with Mike they found out that he actually wasn't really a physician and some Jane activists have characterized him as a "con man." However, many of the techniques he used were safe and effective. The women of Jane then decided to cut out the middleman and perform the abortions themselves. Mike taught the women how to perform

dilation and curettage Dilation (or dilatation) may refer to: Physiology or medicine * Cervical dilation, the widening of the cervix in childbirth, miscarriage etc. * Coronary dilation, or coronary reflex * Dilation and curettage, the opening of the cervix and s ...

abortions, and from then on the women performed them themselves. During the years which Jane operated, the collective performed more than 11,000 abortions. They disbanded after ''Roe v. Wade'' made abortion legal throughout the United States in 1973.

''Our Bodies, Ourselves''

In 1969 at Emmanuel College in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, at one of the first conference's for women's liberation, Nancy Miriam Hawley organized a workshop called "Women and Their Bodies." Twelve white, middle-class women between the ages of 23 and 39 attended the workshop, which allowed the women to discuss health. The discussion created a consciousness-raising environment; the strong discussion supplied the women with the necessary tools and ideas that led to the attendees organizing as "the doctors group" to research about women and healthcare. "We weren't encouraged to ask questions, but to depend on the so-called experts," Hawley told ''

Women's eNews ''Women's eNews'' is a nonprofit online news service based in New York City. It was founded by the late Rita Jensen. Lori Sokol, became the organization's executive director in July 2016. ''Women's eNews'' publishes international news articles spe ...

''. "Not having a say in our own health care frustrated and angered us. We didn't have the information we needed, so we decided to find it on our own." As a result of this goal, they spent the summer researching topics they were interested in and began teaching a course titled after the workshop, based on what they had learned and written about. It contained sections on abortion,

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

postpartum depression Postpartum depression (PPD), also called perinatal depression, is a mood disorder which may be experienced by pregnant or postpartum women. Symptoms include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and extreme cha ...

, sexuality,

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

and

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

, sexually transmitted diseases, and critiques of patriarchy, capitalism, and the healthcare system. The book also contained information intended to guide women on "how to maneuver the American health care system, with subsections called 'The Power and Role of Male Doctors,' 'The Profit Motive in Health Care,'" 'Women as Health Care Workers,' and 'Hospitals.'Schneir, Miriam. "Boston Women's Health Book Collective." Feminism in Our Time: The Essential Writings, World War II to the Present. New York: Vintage, 1994. 352. Print. They put their knowledge into an accessible format that served as a model for women who wanted to learn about themselves, communicate with doctors, and challenge the medical establishment to change and improve the health of women everywhere. They used rhetoric that avoided describing the female reproductive system as passive, unproductive, helpless, or powerless, unlike any doctor or book at the time. Their writing was so sought after that they started selling their research as a 35-cent, 136-page booklet called ''Women and Their Bodies'', published in 1970 by the New England Free Press. By 1973, 350,000 copies of the retitled ''Our Bodies, Ourselves'' had been sold without any formal advertising. As a result of their success, the women formed the non-profit Boston Women's Health Book Collective (which now goes by the name Our Bodies Ourselves) and published the first 276-page ''Our Bodies, Ourselves'' in 1973. The collective published it with the major publisher

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, only on the condition that they would have complete editorial control and that nonprofit health centers could purchase copies at a significant discount. It featured first-person stories from women, and tackled many topics then regarded as

taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

Self-help gynecology

Carol Downer joined a

NOW Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Na ...

chapter in California in 1969, where she learned about abortions and in 1970, helped refer women to

Harvey Karman Harvey Leroy Karman (April 26, 1924 – May 6, 2008) was an American psychologist and the inventor of the Karman cannula, a flexible suction cannula used for early-term abortions. Karman was born Harvey Walters in Clatskanie, Oregon. His father ...

's illegal abortion clinic. The

Karman cannula The Karman cannula is a soft, flexible cannula (or curette) used in medical procedures that was popularized by Harvey Karman in the early 1970s. The flexibility of the Karman cannula was claimed to reduce the risk of perforating the uterus during v ...

was of particular interest to Downer, as it did not require

cervical dilation Cervical dilation (or cervical dilatation) is the opening of the cervix, the entrance to the uterus, during childbirth, miscarriage, induced abortion, or gynecological surgery. Cervical dilation may occur naturally, or may be induced surgically ...

curettage Curettage ( or ), in medical procedures, is the use of a curette (French, meaning "scoop" Mosby's Medical, Nursing & Allied Health Dictionary, Fourth Edition, Mosby-Year Book 1994, p. 422) to remove tissue by scraping or scooping. Curettages ...

, or powerful vacuum suction. Karman let them observe several abortions and an

IUD An intrauterine device (IUD), also known as an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD or ICD) or coil, is a small, often T-shaped birth control device that is inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy. IUDs are a form of long-acting rever ...

insertion, during which Downer saw a woman's

cervix The cervix (: cervices) or cervix uteri is a dynamic fibromuscular sexual organ of the female reproductive system that connects the vagina with the uterine cavity. The human female cervix has been documented anatomically since at least the time ...

for the first time and was "amazed" at how close and accessible it was. This inspired her interest in performing abortions and to take a

speculum The term speculum, Latin for "mirror", and its plural specula, may refer to: * ''Speculum'' (journal), a journal of medieval studies published by the Medieval Academy of America * Speculum (medical), a medical tool used for examining body cavities ...

home to perform a cervical examination on herself. She and other women became interested in starting their own clinic after growing displeased with the male abortion providers’ behavior towards women. On April 7, 1971, a group of women (including Downer) interested in starting their own abortion clinic met at Everywoman's Bookstore in

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...

. Downer showed them what Karman used to perform abortions, but the women were afraid, and she knew that "until hedemystified this for them, they were going to keep on thinking that abortion was this thing that you mostly would die of." Downer then laid down on a table in the room and performed her own cervical examination in front of all the women, who were initially surprised but then crowded around her, observing her cervix. A few women wanted to see their own cervix's as well, so they did self-exams on the table after Downer. Lorraine Rothman also attended the meeting at the bookstore and she found Karman's device promising, but unsafe. She designed a new type of manual

vacuum aspiration Vacuum or suction aspiration is a procedure that uses a vacuum source to remove an embryo or fetus through the cervix. The procedure is performed to induce abortion, as a treatment for incomplete spontaneous abortion (otherwise commonly known as ...

device, which she patented as the Del-Em, and called the process

menstrual extraction Menstrual extraction (ME) is a type of manual vacuum aspiration technique developed by feminist activists Lorraine Rothman and Carol Downer to pass the entire Menstruation, menses at once. The non-Medicalization, medicalized technique has been us ...

(ME). ME made its debut at the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

conference in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, in August 1971. To Rothman and Downer's dismay, the organizers of the conference were "so appalled that they refused to give the women exhibit space." Instead, Downer and Rothman hung flyers around the conference, announcing a demonstration in their hotel room. The attendees were given a plastic speculum to begin their education. From the extensive mailing list collected during these demonstrations, Downer and Rothman began a national tour, going to 23 cities in the United States to teach women the new technique. This effectively began the movement of women's health self-help groups/clinics.

1974–1980

National Women's Health Network

In 1974, Belita Cowan,

Barbara Seaman Barbara Seaman (September 11, 1935 – February 27, 2008) was an American author, feminist activist, and journalist, and a principal founder of the women's health movement. Early years Seaman, whose parents, Henry J. Rosner and Sophie Kimels ...

Mary Howell Mary Catherine Raugust Howell (September 2, 1932February 5, 1998) was a physician, psychologist, lawyer, mentor, musician and mother. She was the first woman dean at Harvard Medical School (1972–1975) and led the fight to end quotas and open me ...

, and

Alice Wolfson Alice Wolfson is an American activist and attorney who specializes in women's health care. A Barnard College graduate and former Fulbright Scholar, she is a veteran political activist in women's reproductive health issues, a lawyer, and a co-fou ...

established the

Rose Kushner's critique of radical mastectomies

After being diagnosed with breast cancer,

Rose Kushner Rose Rehert Kushner (June 22, 1929 – January 7, 1990) was an American journalist and pioneering advocate for breast cancer patients. She wrote the 1975 book ''Why Me? What Every Woman Should Know About Breast Cancer to Save Her Life''. Early li ...

objected to the treatment which was then standard, in which a tumor

biopsy A biopsy is a medical test commonly performed by a surgeon, interventional radiologist, an interventional radiologist, or an interventional cardiology, interventional cardiologist. The process involves the extraction of sampling (medicine), sample ...

and

radical mastectomy Radical mastectomy is a surgical procedure that treats breast cancer by removing the breast and its underlying chest muscle (including pectoralis major and pectoralis minor), and lymph nodes of the axilla (armpit). Breast cancer is the most commo ...

(which involves removing muscle tissue and

lymph nodes A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped Organ (anatomy), organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphoc ...

along with the breast) were performed in a single surgical operation while the patient was under

anesthesia Anesthesia (American English) or anaesthesia (British English) is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prev ...

. She had difficulty finding a doctor who would perform a diagnostic biopsy and allow her to decide what action to take next.Gina Kolata
Rose Kushner, 60, Leader in Breast Cancer Fight
The New York Times, January 10, 1990Barron H Lerner (2001)
No shrinking violet: Rose Kushner and the rise of American breast cancer activism
''The Western Journal of Medicine'', 174(5): 362–365; May 2001 In order to have a less invasive procedure, she had found Dr. Thomas Dao, who was willing to do a modified radical mastectomy.Judith Rosenbaum
Rose Kushner
''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia''. 1 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved October 5, 2009Barron H. Lerner (2003),
The breast cancer wars: hope, fear, and the pursuit of a cure in twentieth-century America
', Oxford University Press US, , As Kushner recovered from her surgery, she started writing about her experiences with breast cancer. She traveled to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

to learn about breast cancer treatment there, finding that the radical mastectomy was not used as widely as in the United States. Upon her return home, she published ''Why Me?,'' in 1975 under the title ''Breast Cancer: A Personal History and Investigative Report,'' which contained extensive medical information and advice for patients, including strong criticism of radical mastectomies and the practice of performing a biopsy and a mastectomy as a one-step surgical procedure. Her critique of prevalent breast cancer treatment included strong feminist themes, such "No man is going to make another impotent while he's asleep without his permission, but there's no hesitation if it's a woman's breast." The book was strongly endorsed by Dr. Dao, but it was widely criticized by other doctors and the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

. Kusher became a relentless critic of the treatment of breast cancer by the medical profession. She attended numerous meetings of medical professionals, interrupting presentations, questioning conclusions, and speaking against the prevalent practices of one-step breast cancer surgery and radical mastectomy. In 1975 she was "booed off the stage" at a meeting of the Society of Surgical Oncology, whose members objected to her challenges to traditional treatments. In 1975 Kushner and Dorothy Johnston, established a

telephone hotline A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

called the Breast Cancer Advisory Center, based in

Kensington, Maryland Kensington is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,122 at the 2020 United States census. Greater Kensington encompasses the entire 20895 ZIP Code, ZIP code, with a population of 1 ...

, that operated until 1982, responding to calls and letters from thousands of women wanting information about breast cancer and its treatment. The center's establishment was motivated in part by Kushner's desire to promote patient self-help and mutual support, thus displacing the medical profession and the American Cancer Society from their roles as information "gatekeepers". In spite of her unpopularity with the mainstream medical profession, Kushner's work was well received in the public and won increasing respect in official circles. In June 1977, she was the only lay member appointed to a ten-member

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

(NIH) panel that evaluated treatment options for primary breast cancer. In 1979, the panel issued its findings, concluding that the Halsted radical mastectomy should no longer be the standard treatment for suspected cases of breast cancer, instead recommending total simple mastectomy as the primary surgical treatment.Kushner, Rose. Papers, 1953-1990
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe College, July 1999 Additionally, Kushner convinced her fellow panel members to include a statement calling for an end to the one-step surgical procedure. At the time of her death, Dr. Bruce A. Chabner of the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

said she was "probably the single most important person" in ending the practice of one-step surgery for breast cancer, because of her persistence and because she brought medical information to a wide public audience that otherwise might have remained unaware of the options.

Challenging sexism in medicine

In medical schools

Two laws in the United States lifted restrictions for women in the medical field --

Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...

of the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1972 and the

Public Health Service Act The Public Health Service Act is a Law of the United States, United States federal law enacted in 1944. The full act is codified in Title 42 of the United States Code (The Public Health and Welfare), Chapter 6A (United States Public Health Servi ...

of 1975, banning discrimination on grounds of gender. In November 1970, the Assembly of the Association of American Medical Colleges rallied for equal rights in the medical field. The 1970s marked a great increase of women entering and graduating from

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

in the United States. From 1930 to 1970, a period of 40 years, about 14,000 women graduated from medical school. From 1970 to 1980, a period of 10 years, over 20,000 women graduated from medical school. This increase of women in the medical field was due to both political and cultural changes. One study surveyed physician mothers and their physician daughters in order to analyze the effect that discrimination and harassment have on the individual and their career. This study included 84% of physician mothers that graduated medical school prior to 1970, with the majority of these physicians graduating in the 1950s and 1960s. The authors of this study stated that discrimination in the medical field persisted after the title VII discrimination legislation was passed in 1965.Shrier, Diane K.; Zucker, Alyssa N.; Mercurio, Andrea E.; Landry, Laura J.; Rich, Michael; Shrier, Lydia A. (2007). "Generation to Generation: Discrimination and Harassment Experiences of Physician Mothers and Their Physician Daughters". ''Journal of Women's Health''. 16 (6): 1–13. According to this study, one third of physician daughters reported experiencing a form of gender discrimination in medical school, field training, and the work environment. This study also stated that both generations equally experienced gender discrimination within their work environments. This article provided an overview on the history of gender discrimination, claiming that gender initiated the systematic exclusion of women from medical schools. This was the case until 1970, when the

(NOW) filed a class action lawsuit against all medical schools in the United States. More specifically, this lawsuit was successful in forcing medical schools to comply to the civil rights legislation. This success was seen by 1975 when the number of women in medicine had nearly tripled, and continued to grow as the years progressed. By 2005, over 25% of physicians and around 50% of medical school students were women. The increase of women in medicine also came with an increase of women identifying as a racial/ethnic minority, yet this population is still largely underrepresented in comparison to the general population of the medical field. Within this specific study, 22% of physician mothers and 24% of physician daughters identified themselves as being an ethnic minority. These women reported experiencing instances of exclusion from career opportunities as a result of their race and gender.

Between doctors and female patients

A sharp increase of women in the medical field led to developments in doctor patient relationships, changes in terminology, and theory. With higher numbers of women enrolled in medical school, medical practices like gynecology were challenged and changed. One area of medical practice that was challenged and changed was

gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the Female reproductive system, female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obste ...

. Wendy Kline discusses the blurring of the medical and sexual that occurred in the medical field in the late 40s into the 60s, particularly in gynecology. Kline says that "to ensure that young brides were ready for the wedding night, they octorsused the

pelvic exam A pelvic examination is the physical examination of the external and internal female pelvic organs. It is frequently used in gynecology for the evaluation of symptoms affecting the female reproductive and urinary tract, such as pain, bleeding, di ...

as a form of sex instruction." In Ellen Frankfort's book ''Vaginal Politics'', Frankfort talks about the "shame" and "humiliation" felt during a pap test; "I was naked, he was dressed; I was lying down, he was standing up; I was quiet, he was giving orders." One medical student is quoted in Kline's book as saying, "Since I experienced my own exams as a humiliating procedure, I feared inflicting the same humiliation on another person." In 1972 the University of Iowa Medical School instituted a new training program for pelvic and breast examinations. Students would act both as the doctor and the patient, allowing each student to understand the procedure and create a more gentle, respectful examination. This method was quite different from the previous practice in which doctors were taught to assert their power over patients. With changes in ideologies and practices throughout the 70s, by 1980 over 75 schools had adopted this new method.

Legacy

Tanfer Emin Tunc argues that the Army of Three, the Jane collective, and Downer and Rothman's menstrual extraction technique have contributed to abortion technology in America.

Timeline

* 1968 * 1969 ** The Jane Collective begins referring women to illegal abortion providers. * 1970 ** January: Congress meets for the Nelson Pill Hearings. * 1971 ** April 7th: Carol Downer performs a cervical self-examination in front of a group of women, effectively starting the movement of women's health self-help groups/clinics. * 1972 ** September: Carol Downer and Colleen Wilson are arrested for practicing medicine without a license after helping to insert yogurt into another woman's vagina. * 1973 ** January 22nd:

liberalizes abortion laws. ** The Jane Collective disbands. ** ''Our Bodies, Ourselves'' is published by mainstream publisher Simon & Schuster. * 1974 ** The National Women's Health Network is created. * 1975 ** Rose Kushner publishes ''Why Me?'', raising awareness about the overuse of radical mastectomies in breast cancer treatments. * 1976 * 1977 ** The

Hyde Amendment In U.S. politics, the Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision barring the use of federal funds to pay for abortion, except to save the life of the woman, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape. Before the Hyde Amendment took effect in ...

is enacted, barring the use of federal funds to pay for

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

except to save the life of the woman, or if the pregnancy arises from

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

. * 1978 ** The

Pregnancy Discrimination Act The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978 () is a United States federal statute. It amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to "prohibit sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy." The Act covers discrimination "on the basis ...

is enacted. * 1979 * 1980 * 1981 * 1982 * 1983 * 1984 * 1985 * 1986 * 1987 * 1988 * 1989 * 1990 ** Society for the Advancement of Women's Health Research (Now

Society for Women's Health Research The Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) is a national non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. SWHR is the thought leader in research on biological differences in disease and is dedicated to transforming women's health through sc ...

) is created by Dr.

Florence Pat Haseltine Florence Pat Haseltine (born 1942) is a U.S. physician, biophysicist, reproductive endocrinologist, journal editor, novelist, inventor, and advocate for women's health. An associate professor at Yale University, her work specializes in obstet ...

in 1990. * 1991 ** US Department of Health and Human Services'

Office on Women's Health The Office on Women's Health (OWH) is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and functions to improve the health and well-being of U.S. women and girls. The main headquarters, from which the OWH operate, is located in Wash ...

is created. ** April 19th: Dr.

Bernadine Healy Bernadine Patricia Healy (August 4, 1944 – August 6, 2011) was an American cardiologist and the first female director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During her career, Healy held leadership positions at the Johns Hopkins Universit ...

, the first woman appointed as director of the

, announces the

Women's Health Initiative The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) was a series of clinical studies initiated by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1991, to address major health issues causing morbidity and mortality in postmenopausal women. It consisted of three ...

. ** * 1992 ** ''

Journal of Women's Health The ''Journal of Women's Health'' is a monthly peer-reviewed healthcare journal focusing on women's health care, including advancements in diagnostic procedures, therapeutic protocols for the management of diseases, and research in gender-based b ...

'' is established. * 1993 ** February 5th,

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a United States labor law requiring covered employers to provide employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. The FMLA was a major part of President Bill ...

is enacted. ** September 13th, the

Violence Against Women Act The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law (Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, ) signed by President Bill Clinton on September13, 1994. The Act provided $1.6billion toward investigat ...

is enacted. * 1994 ** The

Mammography Quality Standards Act The Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) was enacted by the United States Congress to regulate the quality of care in mammography. The act was officially effective in 1994, and was extended in 2004 to continue through 2007. The U.S. Food an ...

is enacted.

Media

List of associated media

Periodicals

* * * *

Books

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Kushner, Rose (1985), ''Alternatives: New Developments in the War Against Breast Cancer'', Warner Books. , , *

Essays, articles, and pamphlets

* * * * * Kushner, Rose (1984)
Is Aggressive Adjuvant Chemotherapy the Halsted Radical of the '80s?
''CA Cancer J Clin'' 1984; 34:345-351.

Documentaries

* * ''

'' * - Video which presents menstrual extraction as an abortion method that can be used by women in self-help health groups.

Notable people

Notable activists

* Charon Asetoyer *

Byllye Avery Byllye Yvonne Avery (born October 20, 1937) is an American health care activist. A proponent of reproductive justice, Avery has worked to develop healthcare services and education that address black women's mental and physical health stressors. ...

Belita Cowan Belita Cowan was a women's health activist during the 1960s and 1970s. She was born on June 1st, 1947, and currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She worked part-time at the University Hospita ...

* Carol Downer *

Laura Eldridge Laura Eldridge is a women's health writer and activist. She began working with the legendary women's health activist and author of ''The Doctor's Case Against The Pill'', Barbara Seaman, when studying at Barnard College. She is co-author of ''Th ...

* Merle Hoffman *

* Judy Norsigian *

Loretta Ross Loretta J. Ross (born August 16, 1953) is an American academic, feminist, and activist who advocates for reproductive justice, especially among women of color. As an activist, Ross has written on reproductive justice activism and the history of Af ...

Norma Meras Swenson Norma Lucille Meras Swenson ( Meras; February 2, 1932 – May 11, 2025) was an American activist, a medical sociologist, and a leader in the developing woman's health movement in the United States. She co-founded the Boston Women's Health Book ...