Nancy Boothe oral history interview, July 3, 2007

Interviewed by Amanda Brown-Pellerin. Nancy Boothe opens her oral history by describing her childhood, being raised by eccentric parents on a farm in rural Alabama. She recalls that she was influenced by her mother’s involvement in politics, and this interest first manifested itself when she joined Teenage Republicans in High School and went on to be President of Student Government during her time at Mastin School of Nursing. She recalls that the first two issues she was passionate about were the pro-choice movement and the opposition to the Vietnam War. Boothe talks about her time in the military, during which time, she had to cope with the loss of a fiancé. She states that she was raped while working in the VA Mental Hospital, and that this life-changing event piqued her interest in women’s rights. Boothe talks about her post-army graduate education at Troy State University in Counseling, as well as becoming the Program Director for Vindell Clinic. She knew that her interests lay in pro-choice advocacy and women’s rights, and she discusses her transition into becoming the Executive Director of the Feminist Women’s Health Center. She highlights the numerous challenges she has faced while working at the health center, including struggling to provide illegal abortions, dealing with a national practicing without a license case, leading clinical trials for the drug Mifeprex, and dealing with numerous clinic break-ins. Boothe details her participation in both the 4th World Conference on Women in 1995 as well as the 8th International Women’s Health Conference in 2000. She closes her oral history by discussing her involvement in groups such as NOW, Feminist Majority, and the Feminist Abortion Network.