Women's Liberation and Reproductive Rights Activism Hyde Amendment Protest and Radical Feminist Organizing Materials 1970s

1970. Coalition for Abortion Rights and Against Sterilization and anonymous author, two printed items dating from circa 1968 to 1978, document grassroots organizing around reproductive rights, anti sterilization advocacy, and radical feminist political strategy during the late twentieth century women's liberation movement. The materials engage directly with the legal and social consequences of the Hyde Amendment, which eliminated most federal funding for abortion services and disproportionately affected poor, non white, and younger women. Produced within activist networks in the United States and Canada, these items articulate both immediate protest demands and broader revolutionary frameworks, linking abortion access to critiques of state power, racism, and class inequality. The language of the materials emphasizes collective action, including public demonstration, institutional organizing, and the development of independent services such as clinics and childcare.

Archive of two printed items comprising one handbill and one stapled essay.
[1] Coalition for Abortion Rights and Against Sterilization. Handbill. Buffalo, New York: Coalition for Abortion Rights and Against Sterilization, 1978. Single sheet, 8.5 x 11 inches, printed in black and orange. Features graphic imagery of a coat hanger with the phrase "Never Again!" referencing unsafe abortion practices. Text outlines the impact of the Hyde Amendment on Medicaid funded abortion access and calls for demonstration on International Women's Day, March 4, 1978, with the directive "Defend a woman's right to choose!"
[2] Anonymous. Everything They Say We Are, We Are. Vancouver, British Columbia, circa 1968 to 1974. Eight pages, stapled, 8.5 x 11 inches. Manifesto style essay outlining the position of a group of radical women activists separating from a Women's Caucus to pursue a more explicitly communist and anti imperialist feminist program. Text advocates direct action, including establishing abortion clinics, organizing incarcerated women, and developing community childcare, and concludes with the statement: "The Duty of Every Revolutionary is to Make the Revolution."

These materials situate reproductive rights activism within broader currents of second wave feminism, particularly the intersection of abortion access with critiques of forced sterilization, economic inequality, and racial discrimination. The Buffalo handbill reflects organized response to federal policy changes in the late 1970s, while the Vancouver essay demonstrates the ideological diversity within feminist movements, including the emergence of explicitly socialist and anti imperialist frameworks. Together, they document both reform oriented and revolutionary strands of feminist organizing across North America, offering insight into how activists linked reproductive autonomy to wider struggles over labor, incarceration, and state authority. Light handling wear with minor edge wear and staple stress; paper remains clean and legible. Overall very good condition.