The Smith College Libraries house an extensive collection of historical records related to abortion. The records include organizational documents from, for example, the organization then known as the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), Choice USA, and the Chico Feminist Women’s Health Center in California. Following are links to specific collections:
Abortion and Birth Control Committee Records 1969-1974
The Abortion and Birth Control Committee was a pre-Roe v. Wade committee associated with Valley Women’s Center in Western Massachusetts that attempted to connect people with reproductive health services when such services were difficult to obtain. The collection contains the newsletters, newspaper clippings, notes, forms, and correspondence of the Committee.
Abortion collection 1936-2005
Primarily printed materials, plus legislative records, memorabilia, and audiovisual materials documenting the efforts of both the pro-life and pro-choice movements. The Legal status section documents specific court cases, with an emphasis on the Roe v. Wade case (1973). Organizations represented include the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) and the Women’s National Abortion Action Coalition (WONAAC).
Adaline Pendleton Satterwaite papers 1917-2005
Physician; Birth control advocate. The papers include extensive correspondence, diaries, medical records and reports, photographs, writings, and subject files pertaining to Satterthwaite’s career as a physican, birth control pioneer, and internationally renowned expert in family planning. The collection is rich in materials documenting Satterthwaite’s work in family planning in Puerto Rico, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and China.
Advances in Planned Parenthood 1967-1981
This title includes proceedings of meetings of the American Association of Planned Parenthood Physicians. Common topics include medical advances in contraceptive and abortion technologies, models for patient services, and studies of patient populations.
Alan Guttmacher Institute records 1960-2018
The Alan Guttmacher Institute is a birth control research and advocacy organization; fields of study include abortion, contraception, HIV and STI’s, pregnancy and teenage sexual health research. As the Guttmacher Institute website states, ‘Good reproductive health policy starts with credible research’; indeed, the Institute’s records provide accurate and accessible research from a wide range of sexual and reproductive health fields. Records include reports, data, publications, administrative…
Alliance Against Women’s Oppression records 1980-1989
International women of color organization, Welfare rights activists, Reproductive rights and Women’s health advocates. The Records are primarily related to the Bay Area Chapter of the Alliance and contain documents that articulate and demonstrate the challenges of developing a revolutionary mass organization through position and discussion papers, drafts, and publications produced by the Alliance. There is abundant documentation of the processes of coalition and social investigation that…
Choice USA 1980-2005
Reproductive rights advocacy group. Records contain correspondence, publications, publicity materials, press releases and clippings, photographs, website images, reports, polls, financial information, and Board of Directors minutes, and other materials. They document the organization’s history and work for the preservation of a woman’s right to choose by way of media campaigns, voter registration initiatives, educational outreach to young adults, and endorsing pro- choice candidates for…