Karen Weinstein

Karen Weinstein is one of the co-directors of ABORTION AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS 1970. Weinstein – who had her own illegal abortion, blindfolded in a locked room – remembers those very turbulent years before Roe V. Wade, when hundreds of women died from illegal abortions. She became involved in making the “Abortion Film,” as it was then referred to, with the hope that it could be used to save women's lives. After the film, Weinstein continued to fight for women's rights. She trained with Emerge CA to run for office and subsequently held elected office in the area of education. She was Chair of the California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus, as well as Advisor to Close the Gap CA, which is a statewide campaign to achieve gender equality in the Ca. Legislature. She is Policy Chair of the American Association of University Women, Berkeley. She directed three videos: A New Generation of Democratic Women Leaders, Run for the County Central Committee and From Community College to Elected Office. Assembly woman Nancy Skinner named her Woman of the Year and multiple organizations, including California Young Democrats, Berkeley City College, and Democratic Women have given her awards her leadership, contribution to public service and for being an inspiration to young women. (3/23)

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Abortion and Women's Rights 1970


A film by Karen Weinstein, 1970, 28 min, B/W

One of the first films ever made about the struggle for abortion rights, this powerful archival piece documents women’s voices from a pre-Roe v. Wade era. This unique film, available for the first time digitally, tells the story of two women's illegal abortions before the Supreme Court declared a constitutional right to abortion in Roe…

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