Bay Area film shines light on pre-Roe era: Women’s stories echo in today’s reproductive rights debate

Martha Boesing was 28 when she crossed state lines to get a “back-alley” illegal abortion. It was nearly 10 years before the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the right to abortion in the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade case.

Boesing wasn’t sure if the man who performed the procedure was a licensed doctor but had heard of him through friends — a common way women sought out abortions in the years before legalization. She didn’t have much choice when it came to picking someone to perform the procedure.