Lessons from Life History: Learning Stories of Unplanned Pregnancy, Abortion and Rape

• In Event: Giving Voice: Feminist Oral History Approaches to Reproductive Justice

Abstract

The topics of unplanned pregnancy, abortion, and rape have long histories as taboo topics not fit for polite conversation. This paper considers methodological lessons learned from a life history project regarding how to discover, recover and retell the histories of unplanned pregnancy, rape and abortion – especially with elderly women who often regard the topics as unfit for conversation. The paper considers how to approach oral history that can recover the networks of support for women in these situations before rape crisis centers and pregnancy counseling became institutionalized features of American society.

Author

• Kelly C Sartorius, Washington University in St. Louis