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They Weep On My Doorstep: A Woman Against The Law
Autobiography of Portland, OR abortion provider
- GenresNonfictionFeminism
168 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1969
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67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 8, 2025
This woman was an actual icon. I can only hope there’s a lot of people like her in states where abortion is illegal now. It seems like, from her recount it was very common for doctors to refer their patients to her. So we’ve known that abortions are often medically (or emotionally/spiritually) necessary for a long time- but lawmakers don’t care! I hate how much Christianity is able to influence our laws. It’s so sad that so much of what she was writing in the 1960’s is relevant today. This woman really ate tho- I love her. 😍
“The rapid recovery which comes from abortion to a woman suffering in such a way is nothing short of amazing. I remember cases where the woman was too ill to stand. Ten minutes after the operation these women were sipping tea and eating crackers in my clinic’s little kitchenette (64).”
“It is my personal belief that the only requirement for an abortion, under any circumstances, should be the desire of the woman—whatever her reason—to interrupt her pregnancy (72).”
“Wherever I went, they would come to weep of my doorstep. And I knew I could not turn them away (88).”
“According to law, Dixie had committed a crime against society. But surely, society was not guiltless. What about the crime of enforced poverty in a land of affluence and plenty? What about the crime of inadequate education in a so-called Age of Enlightenment? What about the crimes of society’s indifference? (112).
“What did I do in 1959 when I was released a second time from that grim rock-walled prison at Rocky Butte? I did what I had been doing for more than 40 years. I went back to work, doing what I knew best—helping women in trouble (120).”
^Bitch YESSS
“The theologian uses the blanket term of “baby” or “human life” for the entire period of gestation. I would question his ability to identify the human embryo from that of any other animal (125).”
“It is fears, such as these, that often impel women toward an abortion. Such fears can be eradicated by abortion. And let us not think that such fears are always fanciful. Usually they relate to things that are very real: poverty, fatigue, loneliness, ostracism (141).”
“ Religious leaders have laid down the wholly unilateral fiat that abortion is tantamount to homicide. Inflexible, discriminatory and, at times, irrational, they have spread a fanciful rationale based on both outmoded and flawed Biblical doctrine which has little to do with modern-day sociological problems (147).”
“So, while the laws against abortion remain, your duty is clear. If you believe as I do, that abortion is a matter of personal decision, then you must rise up and demand a change in the laws. Until major changes in the laws are brought about, my duty is also clear. As long as I am able I must take care of those who come to weep on my doorstep (161).”
“The rapid recovery which comes from abortion to a woman suffering in such a way is nothing short of amazing. I remember cases where the woman was too ill to stand. Ten minutes after the operation these women were sipping tea and eating crackers in my clinic’s little kitchenette (64).”
“It is my personal belief that the only requirement for an abortion, under any circumstances, should be the desire of the woman—whatever her reason—to interrupt her pregnancy (72).”
“Wherever I went, they would come to weep of my doorstep. And I knew I could not turn them away (88).”
“According to law, Dixie had committed a crime against society. But surely, society was not guiltless. What about the crime of enforced poverty in a land of affluence and plenty? What about the crime of inadequate education in a so-called Age of Enlightenment? What about the crimes of society’s indifference? (112).
“What did I do in 1959 when I was released a second time from that grim rock-walled prison at Rocky Butte? I did what I had been doing for more than 40 years. I went back to work, doing what I knew best—helping women in trouble (120).”
^Bitch YESSS
“The theologian uses the blanket term of “baby” or “human life” for the entire period of gestation. I would question his ability to identify the human embryo from that of any other animal (125).”
“It is fears, such as these, that often impel women toward an abortion. Such fears can be eradicated by abortion. And let us not think that such fears are always fanciful. Usually they relate to things that are very real: poverty, fatigue, loneliness, ostracism (141).”
“ Religious leaders have laid down the wholly unilateral fiat that abortion is tantamount to homicide. Inflexible, discriminatory and, at times, irrational, they have spread a fanciful rationale based on both outmoded and flawed Biblical doctrine which has little to do with modern-day sociological problems (147).”
“So, while the laws against abortion remain, your duty is clear. If you believe as I do, that abortion is a matter of personal decision, then you must rise up and demand a change in the laws. Until major changes in the laws are brought about, my duty is also clear. As long as I am able I must take care of those who come to weep on my doorstep (161).”
July 6, 2019
A very rare book.
Needs to be read.
An eye opening glimpse into a word starting over 100 years ago. Great detail about the era. A matter of fact narration that leaves no question that Abortion is 100% safer when done by well trained professionals with great care and consideration to the woman.
Dr. Ruth Barnett was a real life hero to so many women. May her story be known.
Needs to be read.
An eye opening glimpse into a word starting over 100 years ago. Great detail about the era. A matter of fact narration that leaves no question that Abortion is 100% safer when done by well trained professionals with great care and consideration to the woman.
Dr. Ruth Barnett was a real life hero to so many women. May her story be known.
March 19, 2021
They Weep On My Doorstep is one of the rarer books in my collection. I got it from a used bookstore in Oregon. It's not a very difficult read, it's actually not a difficult read at all. But it's a very crucial book in the development of a greater empathy of the world, specifically of women in the harshest of circumstances.
It's been a long time since I've read it, a full year actually, but I find myself thinking about it from time to time. Especially seeing how things operate in the world. How progress stalls in the face of fascism and oppression and manipulative ideals. And abortion is one of those important institutions that is constantly under threat.
There's a segment near the end that Ruth doesn't really dive into and for good reason, as it would slow the pace of the book and also distract from the main narrative. But it's still crucial as it is. It's the segment in which she discusses the types of abortion practices that have been used throughout the ages. It's what sticks with me the most, as I started to understand that this is no new stigma. That women have been haunted by the absence of proper abortion since the beginning of time.
I think my only gripe is that Ruth Barnett's story doesn't take place in the deeper recesses of conservative America, where the laws are maybe stricter and the punishments more harsh. However, I don't really know the details of the history of abortion to the extent that it would've changed my perspective as much as it had here.
It's a good book, a really good book. It will make you mad and maybe even cry. There's certainly a lot of emotion put into it and the narrative is driven by a forceful and impassioned narrator. The ending also makes it feel like a self-written obituary. "At 75, I cannot hope to see universal abortion law reform. But already, I see a glimmer of light and a bright hope for a better world for the woman of an enlightened tomorrow."
It ends on this glimmer of hope that infects the reader with a love and promise that good times are ahead, they have to be:
"Some day, with your help, such laws will be no more than past reminders of man's bottomless stupidity and monumental inertia in the face of social progress."
That's the one quote that sticks out to me the most and will be stuck to me for as long as I live. Because progress is progress and it cannot forever be stopped, not when there are generations of people living and dying for the hopes of better change. It can only be slowed. Unfortunately it's been slowed well past Ruth's lifeline, but it's not over yet, not nearly.
If only there were more people in power who can see into the eyes of Ruth Barnett and understand all that she came from and all that she did. And what horrors can be avoided by believing in her and people in need.
"As long as I am able I must take care of those who come to weep on my doorstep."
RIP Ruth Barnett
It's been a long time since I've read it, a full year actually, but I find myself thinking about it from time to time. Especially seeing how things operate in the world. How progress stalls in the face of fascism and oppression and manipulative ideals. And abortion is one of those important institutions that is constantly under threat.
There's a segment near the end that Ruth doesn't really dive into and for good reason, as it would slow the pace of the book and also distract from the main narrative. But it's still crucial as it is. It's the segment in which she discusses the types of abortion practices that have been used throughout the ages. It's what sticks with me the most, as I started to understand that this is no new stigma. That women have been haunted by the absence of proper abortion since the beginning of time.
I think my only gripe is that Ruth Barnett's story doesn't take place in the deeper recesses of conservative America, where the laws are maybe stricter and the punishments more harsh. However, I don't really know the details of the history of abortion to the extent that it would've changed my perspective as much as it had here.
It's a good book, a really good book. It will make you mad and maybe even cry. There's certainly a lot of emotion put into it and the narrative is driven by a forceful and impassioned narrator. The ending also makes it feel like a self-written obituary. "At 75, I cannot hope to see universal abortion law reform. But already, I see a glimmer of light and a bright hope for a better world for the woman of an enlightened tomorrow."
It ends on this glimmer of hope that infects the reader with a love and promise that good times are ahead, they have to be:
"Some day, with your help, such laws will be no more than past reminders of man's bottomless stupidity and monumental inertia in the face of social progress."
That's the one quote that sticks out to me the most and will be stuck to me for as long as I live. Because progress is progress and it cannot forever be stopped, not when there are generations of people living and dying for the hopes of better change. It can only be slowed. Unfortunately it's been slowed well past Ruth's lifeline, but it's not over yet, not nearly.
If only there were more people in power who can see into the eyes of Ruth Barnett and understand all that she came from and all that she did. And what horrors can be avoided by believing in her and people in need.
"As long as I am able I must take care of those who come to weep on my doorstep."
RIP Ruth Barnett
February 8, 2008
Very interesting bit of Portland, Oregon history. The author was an illegal abortionist before Rode v. Wade made abortion legal.
March 25, 2010
Informative. It is all about a local Portland abortionist from 1920-1960's. It was an interesting true story of her life and times.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews