Reproductive Justice
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Published by the Oregon Historical Society:
Michael Helquist, "‘Criminal Operations’: The First Fifty Years of Abortion Trials in Portland, Oregon." Oregon Historical Quarterly, Volume 116, Number 1 (Spring 2015). |
Although Oregon adopted its first anti-abortion law in 1854, Portland’s first prosecution of a “criminal operation” (abortion) did not occur for nearly twenty years. The Oregonian coverage of abortion trials from 1870 to 1920 reveal many obstacles prosecutors faced during that time, including lack of sufficient evidence and ambiguities in the state’s anti- abortion law. Through case studies and data collected from Oregonian articles during that time period, Michael Helquist explores Portland’s early abortion trials that “[highlight] the nuanced and disparate reactions of physicians who found themselves on the front lines of abortion services, policies, and enforcement.” Helquist argues that “an understanding of the conflicts over reproductive policy are as important to women’s and the nation’s history as the struggle to achieve woman suffrage and other rights of citizenship.”
Among the physicians who avoided legal problems for their abortion work was Marie Equi, who helped end unwanted pregnancies as part of her commitment to reproductive health services.
Among the physicians who avoided legal problems for their abortion work was Marie Equi, who helped end unwanted pregnancies as part of her commitment to reproductive health services.
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Michael Helquist, “Lewd, Obscene and Indecent”: The 1916 Portland Edition of Family Limitation. Oregon Historical Quarterly, Volume 117, Number 2 (Summer 2016).
The Oregon Historical Quarterly presents an analysis of the rare 1916 Portland version of ”Family Limitation,” the birth control pamphlet that significantly shaped American thought, values and behavior. The 16-page document gave thousands of Americans their first access to comprehensive information on preventing pregnancy. Historian Michael Helquist discusses the distinguishing features of this document, as revised by Portland doctor, lesbian, and activist Marie Equi at the request of birth control advocate Margaret Sanger.
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The first History Comic to appear in the Oregon Historical Quarterly depicts events that occurred during the 1916 visit to Portland by birth control advocate Margaret Sanger. “Adventures” relies on evidence and imagination to portray the lectures, arrests, and rally supporting Sanger. Historian Michael Helquist and historian/artist Khris Soden collaborated on this project.
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