Then & Now: Roots of the Women's Health Movement

Tuesday, November 17 at 7 pm

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYxBILhFD_I

In 1969, women could get fired for being pregnant, couldn't get a credit card in their own name, nor serve on a jury in some states, and earned only 59 cents to every dollar a man earned. The women's movement was in full force and one of the topics women were talking about was their experiences in the medical system. A group of Boston area women decided to take on the issue of educating themselves and other women about their own bodies and how to improve their own medical care. In 1970, after conducting many meetings and local workshops, they created a newsprint book that was published by the New England Free Press (it sold at first for 75 cents, going down in price to 30 cents). It was revolutionary for its frank talk about reproduction and abortion, then illegal. In 1973 Simon & Schuster published the first commercial edition of Our Bodies Ourselves (276 pp). Join us for this talk with the original founders of the Boston Women's Health Collective for a Then & Now look at healthcare for women.

Sponsored by the Waltham Public Library.