Patricia Theresa "Pat" Maginnis (June 9, 1928August 30, 2021) was considered the first abortion rights activist in American history.
She was one part of the "Army of Three", the grass-roots collective that would eventually become
NARAL Pro-Choice America
Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America and commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, politics, political action, and advocacy efforts to op ...
and that founded the
Society for Humane Abortion.
She was also a political cartoonist, painter, and peace activist. In 2018, she was chosen by the
National Women's History Alliance
The National Women's History Alliance (NWHA) is an American non-profit organization dedicated to honoring and preserving women's history. The NWHA was formerly known as the National Women's History Project. Based out of Santa Rosa, California, sin ...
as one of its honorees for
Women's History Month
Women's History Month is an annual observance to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with Internationa ...
in the United States.
Life
Maginnis was born on June 9, 1928, in
Ithaca, New York
Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...
, to a staunchly
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
family.
During her brief service in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
, Maginnis was deployed to Panama, as punishment for fraternizing with a Black soldier.
She described her time in Panama and the horrible treatment of pregnant women in the army hospital as her inspiration to advocate for women's reproductive freedoms during her life. She began her activism when she returned to the United States, settling in the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
in 1959.
She attended
San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...
.
Maginnis died on August 30, 2021, in
Oakland, California
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
.
Abortion rights activism
Maginnis began her activism immediately upon her return to the United States. She canvassed in support of abortion reform bills, before becoming dissatisfied with what she felt was the prioritization of medical professionals over women.
By 1963, Maginnis had adopted a radical ideology that supported the repeal of all abortion laws, which she felt diminished the rights of women and would hinder access to abortion for all women.
Society for Humane Abortion (SHA)
In 1962, Maginnis founded the Citizens Committee for Humane Abortion Laws (CCHAL), while she attended
San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...
. She moved the organization to San Francisco in 1963, where she met Rowena Gurner, who was to become a pivotal figure in the organization. In 1964, Gurner and Maginnis changed the organization's name to The Society for Humane Abortion (SHA), and in 1965, it was incorporated as a non-profit organization in California. SHA advocated for "elective abortion", insisting that all women had the right to safe and legal abortion, free of harassment, and that "
hetermination of pregnancy is a decision which the person or family involved should be free to make, as their own religious beliefs, values, emotions, and circumstances may dictate".
The organization's radical nature meant that it believed in the repeal of all abortion laws, including the 1963 Humane Abortion Act, aka the "Bielenson Bill", which made abortion legal in cases of rape or incest.
SHA provided public education on abortion "by sponsoring symposia on abortion procedures for physicians; providing speakers and literature to libraries, medical schools, physicians, family planning agencies, and individuals; and publishing a quarterly newsletter". Sponsored by the
American Humanist Association
The American Humanist Association (AHA) is a 501(c) organization, non-profit organization in the United States that advances secular humanism.
The American Humanist Association was founded in 1941 and currently provides legal assistance to defe ...
, in 1968. SHA operated a free Post-Abortion Care Center (PACC). The organization was disbanded in 1975, two years after the decision in
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...
legalized abortion nationwide and voided the Humane Abortion Act.
Association to Repeal Abortion Laws (ARAL)
While still heading the Society for Humane Abortion, Maginnis set up another organization in 1966, to carry on underground activities. The main mission of ARAL was to connect pregnant women with abortion providers in neighboring countries. Their list of abortion specialists was well-researched, and depended on members' information and the feedback of the women they referred.
"Army of Three"
Rowena Gurner, Patricia Maginnis, and Lana Phelan formed the "Army of Three", which worked on behalf of ARAL to connect women to abortion providers. Women wrote letters from across the country soliciting guidance and information.
The three women provided kits to women in need that went beyond a list of doctors: They provided these desperate women with "instructions for going through customs, an evaluation form to be returned to Association to Repeal Abortion Laws after completion of the abortion, summaries of laws, and directions for self-induced abortion".
In 2006, artist
Andrea Bowers
Andrea Bowers (born 1965), is an American artist working in a variety of media including video, drawing, and installation. Her work has been exhibited around the world, including museums and galleries in Germany, Greece, and Tokyo. Her work wa ...
exhibited her video, ''Letters to an Army of Three'', as part of her solo exhibition ''Nothing Is Neutral'' at
REfDCAT. The hour-long video features actors reading the original letters sent to the Army of Three in the years before abortion was legal. The walls of the gallery space were covered in Bowers' drawings of some of the letters. Bowers collected the letters after visiting Maginnis in her Oakland home and discovering the activist's personal archive.
In 2012, Bowers' work associated with the "Army of Three" letters was revisited in ''Wall of Letters: Necessary Reminders from the Past for a Future of Choice'' at the
Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...
.
Political cartoons
Maginnis drew cartoons beginning in the mid-1960s. Her subjects were informed by her political activism, and often antagonized capitalist interests and conservative policymakers. The subject of her early work was mostly limited to issues related to reproductive rights and abortion, but her oeuvre was as diverse as her activism. More recent cartoons demonstrated Maginnis' support for the
Occupy Movement
The Occupy movement was an international populist Social movement, socio-political movement that expressed opposition to Social equality, social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of real democracy around the world. It aimed primar ...
, and others took aim at the
2012 Republican Presidential Candidates.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maginnis, Pat
1928 births
2021 deaths
20th-century American women
20th-century American military personnel
American abortion-rights activists
American editorial cartoonists
American expatriates in Panama
Female United States Army personnel
American women editorial cartoonists
Military personnel from California
Activists from San Francisco
Women's health movement
San Jose State University alumni
United States Army soldiers
21st-century American women
American women activists
American women founders