Concentric Media: When Abortion Was Illegal: Untold Stories

Broadcasts &
Screenings

Awards

WHEN ABORTION WAS ILLEGAL: Untold Stories (28 min.)

Producer/Director: Dorothy Fadiman
Assistant Producer/Camera/Editing:
Daniel Meyers
Music: Erika Luckett
Produced with KTEH-TV (PBS)

Until recently, the era of illegal abortion has been a "sealed chapter" in U.S. women's history. The aura of shame surrounding unwanted pregnancies and abortion before Roe v. Wade kept most women from ever admitting that they had had illegal abortions - an experience which many had faced, but about which few ever spoke. Women suffering complications from back alley or self induced abortions risked arrest if they admitted what they had done; doctors were often left to guess the source of severe infections and hemorrhages. Because of this fear and ignorance, many women died.

WHEN ABORTION WAS ILLEGAL: Untold Stories illuminates this largely undocumented era, revealing the physical, emotional, and legal consequences of when abortion was a criminal act. Women speak frankly about their own experiences, some for the first time. Doctors and health care workers describe the challenges they faced trying to save women suffering from botched abortions. Friends and family members share their personal remembrances. This poignant oral history, which weaves together the untold stories of women caught in difficult circumstances and those who tried to help them, reveals the brutal tragedies, as well as the courage and heroism, of a shrouded time.

Awards

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATION
Best Documentary Short Subject

GOLD MEDAL
Corporation for Public Broadcasting

GOLD APPLE
National Educational Film/Video Festival

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Atlanta International Film/Video Festival

BEST TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY
The EMMA, Exceptional Merit Media Award, National Women's Political Caucus

BEST TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY
The Maggie Award, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Joey Awards

HUMANITARIAN AWARD of EXCELLENCE
Sinking Creek Film Festival

EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP AWARD
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
(RCRC is a non-denominational consortium of more than thirty Christian, Jewish, and other religious groups openly and actively committed to reproductive rights for women.)