This collection contains interviews detailing access to and experiences with abortion in Montana prior to 1973, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that a woman’s right to receive an abortion was protected under the14th amendment. The interviews were conducted in 1981 and 1983. The interviewees discuss their opinions of illegal abortionists, home remedies, options available to women concerning unwanted pregnancy, and access to birth control. The original interviews are held as Oral History collection OH 164 at Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula.
This collection includes 5 interviews.
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Dr. James Armstrong Interview, September 1981
James Armstrong
Dr. James Armstrong discusses the options available to women concerning unwanted pregnancy prior and post 1973, when the laws concerning abortion changed. He describes the process of giving a child up for adoption, deciding to keep the child, and abortion. Dr. Armstrong also discusses the ... Read More
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Dr. Sid Pratt Interview, 1981
Sid Pratt
Dr. Sid Pratt discusses his experiences treating mishandled abortion cases in 1939 as a General Surgeon in Miles City, Montana. He describes the availability of antibiotics following World War II, the various types of birth control utilized prior to 1973, and the general attitude of ... Read More
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Eleanor Mast Interview, August 1981
Eleanor Mast
Eleanor Mast discusses her experience with birth control and receiving an abortion in 1930 and 1931. She describes how her abortion was completed through a mixture of home remedy and through surgery performed by an abortionist. Mast also discusses her experiences working as a social ... Read More
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Pat Bauernfiend Interview, August 1981
Pat Bauernfiend
Pat Bauernfiend discusses her experiences working as a medical records librarian in Helena, Montana during 1959. She describes two cases where abortion, illegal in the state of Montana at the time, resulted in death. Bauernfield also describes how these experiences inspired her to assist in ... Read More
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Phyllis Baird Interview, March 17, 1983
Phyllis Baird
Phyllis Baird discusses access to birth control and abortion during the 1930s in Montana. She describes her five pregnancies, folklore pertaining to pregnancy, and her opinion of sexual education, both during her own childhood and during the 1980s.