Intimate Wars: The Life and Times of the Woman Who Brought Abortion from the Back Alley to the Boardroom

273 Pages·2012·1.62 MB·English

by  Merle Hoffman

I M
“Merle Hoffman’s gorgeous memoir vibrates with raw power erle Hoffman’s life story is riveting. A
n
and nerve. Her tremendous empathy for the women whose former classical pianist, a self-made
t
lives she has touched, and her unfailing courage in defending i millionaire, and a feminist who found her
m
our right to abortion, are both inspiring and humbling.” life’s work providing abortions, she has
a
—Jennifer Baumgardner, author of Look Both Ways and F ’em! been a fearless crusader for women’s right
t
e to choose.

W Over the years, Hoffman has used her
“Intimate Wars is a fascinating personal
ti a entrepreneurial spirit to build one of the
n narrative told from the epicenter of abortion politics
le r most comprehensive women’s medical
Va and service delivery. Hoffman illustrates her unwavering
a s centers in the country. In 1971—two years
s
s commitment to the heart of the issue: the power of every
e before the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court
n
Va woman to make her own childbearing decisions.” decision to legalize abortion nationally—
—gloria feldt, author of No Excuses M
Hoffman founded Choices, an abortion
Merle HoffMAn is an award-winning and former president of Planned Parenthood
e clinic in New York. As a medical provider,
journalist, activist, and women’s health
r
she pioneered Patient Power, encourag-
care pioneer. In 1971, she founded Choices, l
“Merle Hoffman has blazed a freedom trail while saving e ing women to participate in their own
one of the first ambulatory abortion cen-
countless women’s lives along the way.” H health care decisions. And going against
ters, which has become one of the nation’s
—Bill Baird, founder of the Pro-Choice League her own expectations for her life after fifty,
largest women’s medical facilities. She is o
she adopted a child and discovered a new
f
the founder of the New York Pro-Choice
f
world of experiences as a mother.
Coalition and a co-founder of the National m
“At last, we have Merle Hoffman’s bold and
Whether addressing the murder of
Abortion Federation. She is also the pub-
courageous memoir of living on the front lines of the a
abortion providers like Dr. George Tiller,
lisher of On the Issues, an online feminist abortion wars. Merle never turned away from the harshest n
or challenging women to understand and
magazine of independent, critical thinking.
battles or denied the most painful truths.”
explore their own power over their bodies
—Blanche Wiesen cook, author of Eleanor Roosevelt, vols. I and II
and the language used to wield such power,
Merle Hoffman has been on the front lines
of the feminist movement—a fierce war-
rior in the battle for choice.
current events/women’s studies $18.95
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The Life and Times of the Woman
Who Brought Abortion from
the Back Alley to the Board Room
Merle
Hoffman
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Published in 2012 by the Feminist Press
at the City University of New York
The Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5406
New York, NY 10016
feministpress.org
Text copyright © 2012 by Merle Hoffman
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, used, or stored in any information
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written
permission from the Feminist Press at the City University of New York, except
in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First printing January 2012
Cover design by Herb Thornby, herbthornby.com
Text design by Drew Stevens
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hoffman, Merle, 1946–
Intimate wars : the life and times of the woman who brought abortion from
the back alley to the board room / Merle Hoffman.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-55861-751-3 (pbk.)
1. Pro-choice movement—United States. 2. Women’s rights—United States.
3. Hoffman, Merle, 1946– 4. Feminism—United States. I. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Hoffman, Merle, 1946– 2. Abortion, Legal--United States—
Autobiography. 3. Women’s Rights--United States--Autobiography.
4. Abortion, Legal—history—United States. 5. Feminism—United States—
Autobiography. 6. Feminism—history—United States. 7. History, 20th
Century—United States. 8. History, 21st Century—United States.
9. Women’s Rights—history—United States. WZ 100]
HQ767.5.U5H64 2012
363.46092—dc23
[B]
2011014832
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In loving memory of
Ruth Dubow Hoffman,
Jack Hoffman,
Martin Gold,
Mahin Hassibi.
For my daughter,
Sasharina Kate Hoffman,
in gratitude and joy.
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Contents

9 Preface
15 My Beginnings
37 The Roads Not Taken
56 Patient Power
88 Abortionomics
115 Abortion as a Mother’s Act
139 The Politics of Courage
176 The Russian Front
202 The Loaded Gun
233 Amazing Grace
257 Acknowledgments
260 Notes
266 Works Cited
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Preface
“Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself.”
—LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN
T
wenty years ago I attended a party at which a numerolo-
gist offered to analyze my name. After performing what
appeared to be complicated mathematical computations she
told me my number was eleven—a “power number”—then
looked at me quizzically.
“How strange,” she said. “This is the first time I have ever
seen this.”
“What is it?” I asked, genuinely concerned.
“Your numbers tell me that you make money from war.”
I met her gaze steadily as I replied, “I do.”
as an only child growing up in 1950s Philadelphia, I occu-
pied myself with warrior fantasies. My imagination soared
with visions of knights, kings, and queens who populated the
English history books I would get from the library. The dra-
matic tales of battles driven by focused energy and height-
ened danger excited me. It wasn’t conquest I was after; it was
— 9 —
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