Pat Maginnis

In 1960, when the word ‘abortion’ was too taboo to mention in public, Pat Maginnis, then a young college student, kick-started the abortion rights movement in California by distributing petitions, surveys, and leaflets on street corners and in classrooms. Four years later, Pat enlisted Rowena Gurner and Lana Phelan to form a group which became known as the ‘Army of Three’. In an era when police routinely arrested women who lay bleeding from botched abortions, and when even sending birth control information through the mail was illegal, the ‘Army of Three’ conducted a round-the-clock campaign and endured threats, exhaustion, and multiple arrests to win several vital court challenges. Mindful of women’s urgent reproductive health needs, the Army members traveled widely to meet women in private homes and union halls across the county, where they offered support, contraceptive information, and referrals to safe abortion providers in Mexico. The movement started by the ‘Army of Three’ caught fire and grew until Roe v. Wade created a new world for American women in 1973. The Army itself became known as ARAL, the Association to Repeal Abortion Laws, which was a precursor of today’s NARAL. Pat is a tireless, venerable pioneer who continues to work for women’s rights, even suffering physical abuse at age 70 while defending women’s health clinics. For more information, contact the NWHN office.
September 2005