abortion caravan proposals (3)

&

Research:

We should see the abortion caravan as an opportunity ‘to research and write
pamphlets and leaflets on the whole question of abortion and birth control.

We have needed this material for a long time, but have lacked a context to force
ourselves to write and do research. ‘The following areas came out of Tuesday's
meeting: un ER ASG as

1. Who gets legal abortions now: how many are being granted, especially in
Toronto (women's liberation in other cities might want ‘to check this out. for
their own area). What kind of women are being granted abortions and what kind
of women are applying for them (class bias and bias against single women);

what ratio of those applying for abortions are being’ granted abortions, and
what are the criteria being used. suggeseed sources: Women's College Hospital
(Dr. Ann Keyl), Farrell Toombs (psychologist for the Student Advisory Bureau

at U. of T.),SHOUT might have some leads (Jerry Green or Bob Barkwell), hospital
boards which decide on abortions at various hospitals in Toronto,

2. Illegal abortions: Estimates on the nugber of illegal abortions every year
in Canada; estimates of the number of women who die from illegal abortions,
numbers of convictions around abortions. Who gets illegal abortions, who gets
safe ones and who are the women who die, are sterilized, or seriously injured

by illegal abortions. This wiil take quite a bit of digging. Possible sources .
include nurses and doctors who work in emergéncy wards at big hospitals, Allan
Feingold and Donna Cherniak (editors of the McGill Handbook on birth control),
Dr. Henry Morgentaler in Montreal (member of the Humanist Society and one of

the few doctors who is outspoken about abortions - he wrote a brief for the
Humanist Society for the hearings on the new law which was very good - the only
brief except the one from Women's Liberation which demanded abortion on request).

3. Drug companies: How much money is being made from the manufacture and sale
of birth control pills. How many women are taking them. How much money is ©
being spent by drug companies on research on pills and other forms of birth
controli Arrangements with doctors who push the pills. What are the profits
from other kinds of birth control. Ownership of the drug companies (question
of monopolization of the drug industry and American ownership).

4. Other research being done on birth control: How many doctors. are engaged
in research on birth control in Canada. How much money is spent in this kind
of research. What kind of work are they doing and what are they finding? Is
testing going on? Who are being used as guinea pigs (Heather Jon has some
information about doctors who are doing research).

5. Collection of reports ete. Copies of the existing laws on birth control
should. be madé available to everyone in the group.. Also copies of the British
report that led to the banning of many brands of pills, and the reports from
the hearings in-Washington. Collection of. material from the U-S. and else-
where, especially written by Women's Liberation.