Author Archives: Mark Phillips

Choices Women's Medical Center's Out of Town program is featured in Thomson Reuters story published on August 15,2019.

Uncategorized

As U.S. restrictions tighten, women seeking abortions hit the road

16
Aug
2019
by Mark Phillips
No Comments.

Nearly a half century ago, women with unwanted pregnancies would cross state lines seeking abortions that were legal in New York but banned in many other states across the country. Now new restrictions on abortion access are forcing women in several states to take similar measures and travel far from home to end pregnancies, health-care providers and supporters said. “We’ve had patients from Texas, from Georgia. We’ve had a patient from Alabama,” said Merle Hoffman, who runs Choices Women’s Medical Center, which provides abortions, in New York City.

Merle Hoffman featured In the VFA Pioneer Histories Project

Merle Hoffman Press

Merle Hoffman featured in Veteran Feminists of America (VFA) Pioneer Histories Project

18
Jun
2019
by Mark Phillips
No Comments.

Merle Hoffman is featured In the VFA Pioneer Histories Project, Second Wave activists, sharing her personal history of fighting for women’s health for decades, and the development of the Philosophy of Patient Power.

Three women with different perspectives on the new law tell their views on bbc.com

Merle Hoffman Press

New York abortion law: Why are so many people talking about it?

31
Jan
2019
by Mark Phillips
No Comments.

On the 46th anniversary of Roe v Wade, NY signed a new abortion rights bill that Merle Hoffman finds “overdue”.

Queens DA candidate Rory Lancman picks up endorsement from abortion rights pioneer Merle Hoffman

Merle Hoffman Press

Merle Hoffman Endorses Pro-Choice Rory Lancman for Queens District Attorney

29
Nov
2018
by Mark Phillips
No Comments.

Choices would like to share an article from the NY Daily News featuring Merle Hoffman speaking about why she endorses Rory Lancman for Queens District Attorney.

Merle Hoffman Press

Merle Hoffman: Courage In The Face Of Hate

20
Apr
2018
by Mark Phillips

Queens Tribune April 12, 2018: Top News BY TRONE DOWD Activist and journalist Merle Hoffman had been instrumental in the fight for women’s healthcare and reproductive rights long before the conversation was being had on a national scale. For more than 40 years, Hoffman has found various means and made tremendous sacrifices to ensure […]

Merle Hoffman

Bringing Courage, Vision and Mission-Driven Services to the Battle for Women's Rights

Choices Women's Medical Center

A pioneer in women’s reproductive health care, Merle Hoffman established one of the first ambulatory abortion centers in the nation in 1971, Choices Women's Medical Center, shortly after New York State legalized abortion and three years before the historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. The name “CHOICES” stands for Creative Health Organization for Information, Counseling and Educational Services.

Intimate Wars

Merle Hoffman's memoir, Intimate Wars: The Life and Times of the Woman who Brought Abortion from the Back Alley to the Boardroom, brings alive the experiences of a woman who has lived, in the words of author Blanche Wiesen Cook, "on the front lines of the abortion wars...[and] has never turned away from the harshest battles or denied the most painful truths." Available on Amazon.com in paperback, ebook and audiobook formats.

On the Issues Online

On The Issues, a progressive, feminist quarterly published by Merle Hoffman from 1983 to 1999, became ON THE ISSUES MAGAZINE ONLINE. Featuring world class writers and artists presenting issues related to reproductive rights and the state of the abortion debate, WLW Journal says "ON THE ISSUES has it all, and has become one of the most outspoken feminst journals in the U.S."

Choices Global Institute

The Institute was formed to promote women’s health issues for under served women in the United States and abroad who do not have access to women’s health services by referring such individuals to local organizations for services. The Choices Global Institute will achieve its charitable purposes by conducting community outreach programs aimed at raising public awareness about women’s health.

Merle Hoffman Featured Video

View Full Gallery of Videos

Merle Hoffman Gallery

Surrounding Myself with Animal Love
Merle Hoffman with Statue of Diana, goddess of pregnant women and the Hunt
Music, My First Love!
Merle Hoffman with Phyllis Chesler and Bella Abzug at a Veteran Feminist of America in NYC circa 1990s
Working with Inmates and Staff at Rikers Island circa 1970s
Speaking at the Literary Society, Moscow, Russia, October 13, 1992
With Bella Abzug at a Pro-Choice Rally, NYC, circa 1980s
Merle Hoffman and Phyllis Chesler with Pro-Choice Marchers on 5th Avenue in the 80s
Pro-Choice Rally in the 80s with Bill Baird in Union Square, NYC
Pro-Choice March in the 80s with Bill Baird on 5th Avenue, NYC
Bella Abzug and Merle Hoffman Wait to Speak at Bryant Park, NYC
Rallying the Troops against Anti-Abortion Terrorism in 1985, NYC
At Mount Everest Seeking Enlightenment
Merle Hoffman Receiving the Newswoman's Club Front Page Award for Political Writing on Nov. 4, 2010
Merle Hoffman with her horse Hollywould 1998
Leaving parliament in London with my daughter Sasharina after addressing
the committee on the status of abortion rights in Britain on March 2, 2012
Merle Hoffman with Charlotte Bunch 2012
Merle Hoffman with Kate Millet 2012
Merle Hoffman with Gloria Steinam and Bella Abzug circa 1990s
Merle Hoffman with Mahin Hassibi 2010
Merle Hoffman with Bill Baird 2012
Merle Hoffman with Christine Quinn 2013

The Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture

In 2011, journalist, activist, and women’s health care pioneer Merle Hoffman endowed a director's position for sustained leadership of the Center.

Guide to the Merle Hoffman Papers, circa 1944-2012 and undated , bulk 1961-2000

The papers of Merle Hoffman span the years from about 1944 to 2001, with most of the papers dating between 1961 and 2001. The collection is arranged in the following series: Choices, On the Issues, Personal Files, Photographic Materials, and Audiovisual Materials. The bulk of the materials consist of the records of Choices Women’s Medical Center, a New York City women’s health clinic and abortion clinic co-founded by Hoffman in 1971, and the organizational records for On the Issues, a feminist magazine owned by Choices and overseen by Hoffman. The remainder of the collection consists of Hoffman’s personal papers, mostly related to her pro-choice activism.

In addition to her pro-choice activities, Merle Hoffman has been a vocal proponent of patient self-empowerment; an active supporter of various political candidates in New York City; and a feminist activist. The collection reflects these interests to varying degrees. The records of On the Issues magazine are especially useful as a source of writings on a broad range of feminist and other issues.

To access the collection, visit:
https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/hoffmanmerle/#abstract
Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History & Culture Anders

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam.Anders