Abortion is considered by many to be a personal choice. As such, it is important to hear about personal stories in order to better understand how people's perspectives have come to form.

I conducted oral history interviews with my maternal grandmother, Gail Pruette, and my mother, Laura Losey, who both grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. Both women come from the background of White, Catholic, and Southern, but have ended up holding different views on abortion.

By listening to these interviews, my hope is that you will gain a glimpse of how Memphis has changed over the years in relation to abortion, as well as understand that a person and the opinions they hold are so much more than just the environment they grew up in.

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Oral History Interviews: Gail Pruette and Laura Losey

Background:

Gail Pruette and Laura Losey remained in Memphis from their birth through their undergraduate years of college, both attending Vanderbilt University and all-girls Catholic schools prior. They shed some light on how this environment shaped their opinions on abortion during their youth in the following clips:

GAIL PRUETTE:

LAURA LOSEY:

 

Learning About Abortion in High School:

Gail and Laura share the experience of learning about abortion only in the context of the high school religion class at their all-girls Catholic high school. Gail elaborates on her experience with receiving sex education from nuns, saying, "what they did was empty out a closet... and they set up a projector... and we watched a film that was about 20 or 30 minutes long... that would be the end of the sex education."

GAIL PRUETTE:

LAURA LOSEY:

 

Abortion in College:

Gail and Laura attended Vanderbilt University for college, but had vastly different experiences socially, leading to different experiences in the discussion of abortion and contraception. In the first audio clip, Gail recounts a story told by her husband in which it was common for college boys to be given "one trip to Puerto Rico" from their parents --- which would be a trip to a place where abortion was legal. On the other hand, due to her choice of major, Laura wasn't exposed to many conversations on these subjects.

GAIL PRUETTE:

LAURA LOSEY:

 

What Happened With Unintended Pregnancies?

Apart from trips to Puerto Rico, unintended pregnancies generally resulted in the girl carrying the baby to term. Laura remembers that abortion was generally not ever discussed as an option, and unintended pregnancies were seen as a "moral failure" on behalf of the girl. Gail also recounts instances of unintended pregnancies, recalling that girls were often sent away --- or "disappeared" --- to carry out their pregnancy and give birth elsewhere. Gail connects her experiences with unintended pregnancies to the access to birth control in her area.

GAIL PRUETTE:

LAURA LOSEY:

 

External Opinions:

In these audio clips, Gail recalls the general societal views in Memphis on abortion and Roe v. Wade during her youth. Laura discusses her parents' views on abortion during her childhood, connecting it to Catholicism and the overall environment she grew up in.

GAIL PRUETTE:

LAURA LOSEY:

 

Influences and Changing Views:

As with any subject, someone's opinion on abortion can change, and Gail and Laura both agree that theirs have. While their opinions are certainly different, Gail and Laura both share the idea that they have come to see abortion as no longer a "black-and-white issue."

GAIL PRUETTE:

LAURA LOSEY:

 

Considering Roe v. Wade and Dobbs v. Jackson:

In the following audio clips, Gail and Laura each consider Dobbs v. Jackson and their opinions on the historic ruling. Laura begins by considering the impact Roe v. Wade has had on her life.

GAIL PRUETTE:

LAURA LOSEY:

 

Then Versus Now:

Life today is drastically different than it was when Gail and Laura were growing up. Therefore, it makes sense that discussions on abortion have changed as well. Gail reflects on the media's changing influence and how it may have shaped the impact of Roe v. Wade and Dobbs v. Jackson on society. Laura considers the recent events related to abortion and thinks about where she sees abortion rights heading in the future.

GAIL PRUETTE:

LAURA LOSEY:

 

 

 

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After hearing Gail and Laura's personal experiences with abortion while growing up in Memphis, I wanted to gain a better understanding of what abortion access in Memphis looks like for different demographics. The following Google MyMaps project demonstrates the demographics of Memphis and connects them to abortion access; the key can be accessed by selecting the left-most icon on the top of the map's menu.

 

But what does this actually mean?

After compiling the data presented on the above map, I was able to come up with the following numbers.

In words, this means that in Memphis, location matters. White, wealthy neighborhoods have the overall greatest access to any organization, be it pro-life or pro-choice, as well as a great concentration of churches. Black, poor neighborhoods, on the other hand, have limited access to pro-life organizations, no access to pro-choice organizations, and an equal concentration of churches as white, wealthy neighborhoods.

Due to the lack of pro-choice organizations in poor, black neighborhoods in Memphis, one can see how this could disproportionately impact minority groups.

In talking about the changing laws regarding abortion access, we generally view states as a whole; this spatial history project demonstrates the importance of breaking down the demographics of a state, or in this case, a city, in order to examine which groups of people are suffering the most from evolving legislation.