Merle S. Goldberg (April 13, 1936 – November 29, 1998) was an American

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

activist. She was head of the National Women's Health Coalition which later became the

International Women's Health Coalition The International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1984 based in New York City. It focuses on issues relating to women and girls' human rights, health and equality and represents part of the women's movem ...

. Goldberg also founded the first legal

outpatient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other healt ...

abortion clinic in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Biography

Goldberg was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and later attended

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

. She had a master's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. Goldberg was a former ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' staff writer. Goldberg created the National Women's Health Coalition which monitored abortion clinics and hospitals performing abortions in order to help maintain good standards of health. She also worked with various abortion providers, including

Harvey Karman Harvey Leroy Karman (April 26, 1924 – May 6, 2008) was an American psychologist and the inventor of the Karman cannula, a flexible suction cannula used for early-term abortions. Karman was born Harvey Walters in Clatskanie, Oregon. His father ...

. Karman worked with Goldberg on

menstrual extraction Menstrual extraction (ME) is a type of manual vacuum aspiration technique developed by feminist activists Lorraine Rothman and Carol Downer to pass the entire Menstruation, menses at once. The non-Medicalization, medicalized technique has been us ...

, which was called the "lunch-hour abortion." A menstrual extraction cost about $30, compared to the price of a regular abortion which ranged from $150 to $1,500. Goldberg also collaborated with Karman in 1972 to help perform abortions on women in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

who had been

raped Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person w ...

by the

Pakistani army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

Sandra Kabir Sandra Mostafa Kabir (; born 2 November 1949) is a British philanthropist, executive director of BRAC UK, Labour Party politician and councillor for Queensbury. Early life Kabir is of mixed descent, born to a Bangladeshi father and an Englis ...

reported that hundreds of thousands of women had been raped in Bangladesh at this time. Later, Karman and Goldberg had a serious problem with an experimental abortion method known as the supercoil abortion which later caused dangerous side effects. Goldberg intended to help women from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

who were scheduled to have abortions, but whose clinic had been shut down. On the weekend of May 13, 1972, she brought the women to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

where Karman would use the supercoil method. The method had not been tested carefully prior to using it on the women from Chicago. Critics of the incident said that women were being experimented on, however, Goldberg insisted that they knew the risks going into the procedure. Karman and Goldberg again helped provide abortions in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in 1974 where women had been raped during the Turkish invasion. Goldberg managed the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

1975 Conference on the Status of Women. Goldberg later helped Kabir obtain funding to start the Bangladesh Women's Health Coalition in 1980. Goldberg moved to

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1984. She died at

George Washington University Hospital The George Washington University Hospital (GWUH) is a short-stay hospital in Washington, D.C. affiliated with the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Since 2022, the hospital has been wholly owned and operated ...

renal disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Inflammation can b ...

on November 29, 1998.

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* * * American abortion providers Journalists from New York City 1936 births 1998 deaths American feminists Brooklyn College alumni Columbia University alumni {{Authority control