Roe v. Wade was argued before the Supreme Court on October 11, 1972. But most people don’t realize that another case — one intrinsically linked to Roe — was also heard the same day.
The case of Doe v. Bolton.
"America is remembering only half the story, and half of a story is how you lose the plot. Almost no one knows about Doe v. Bolton, even though Doe is the case that made Roe actually work. Ignoring Doe is like framing a house and forgetting the plumbing," said Wendy Eley Jackson, the director of a new documentary short, The Other Roe.
While Roe v. Wade established the constitutional right to abortion, Doe v. Bolton ensured availability and accessibility.
Jackson, who is also a professor at UC Santa Barbara, said the film shines a light on the lesser-known companion case and explores the overlooked, groundbreaking work of the lawyer who argued it, Margie Pitt Hames.
"It's a film about people whose lives were shaped by decisions made in rooms they were never allowed to enter. And so we saw this history of erasure. And so when history is incomplete, we all know that people are left very vulnerable," said Eley Jackson.
Hames’ daughter, Donia Hames Robinson, said it's an important time to preserve a record of the case.
"We're trying to remind or, I guess, educate young women," said Hames Robinson. "It's not their fault they don't know the history, but they need to learn the history pretty quickly because right now, women's rights are being taken away. People of color, their rights are (being) taking away. Everybody in America — due processes — are kind of out the window right now. So we're trying to remind people, if you want your rights, you're gonna have to fight for them, so educate yourselves."
"We believe this film functions as a civic record, and it's one that connects legal history to lived reality," said Eley Jackson. "It's not advocacy disguised as cinema. It is context restored through storytelling. The other Roe isn't about telling people what to think. It's giving them a full map instead of a headline."
Those Supreme Court cases both stood the test of time for 50 years before being overturned by the Dobbs decision of 2022.
The Other Roe will have its world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Wednesday, February 11, at 8.40 p.m. with an encore screening on the 13th at 2.40 p.m.
