Experiencing Interruptions?

LONE STAR THREE

In 1969 a trio of University of Texas coeds challenged their university, American government policy, and social stigma by starting a campus birth control information center, but their mission turned to helping women obtain safe, illegal abortions in Mexico under the surveillance of the FBI, risking felony charges and their educations, and initiating the lawsuit that became Roe v Wade.

  • Karen Stirgwolt
    Director
    as Producer: RUNAWAY BRIDE, RAISING HELEN, THE OTHER SISTER
  • Wendy E. Mary Richardson
    Writer
    as Coord: FORREST GUMP, FAST AND FURIOUS 1, NUTTY PROFESSOR II, WE WERE SOLDIERS, FOR LOVE OF THE GAME, INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD
  • Susie Brubaker
    Producer
    as VFX coord: THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, BRUCE ALMIGHTY, SERENITY, DRAGONFLY
  • Darlene Caamano Loquet
    Producer
    DAN IN REAL LIFE, IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, THE BLING RING, DECODING DEEPAK, PACEMAKER (short)
  • Elissa Marshall
    Producer
    Music: PRETTY PERSUASION, PRETTY THINGS
  • Lorelei Sharkey
    EDITOR
  • Jack D. Newton
    MUSIC COMPOSER
  • Viral Palmer
    MUSIC COMPOSER
  • Katie Silverman
    ORIGINAL SONG
  • Sandy Chila
    ORIGINAL SONG
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    35 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 28, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    n/a
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Karen Stirgwolt

Karen Stirgwolt was a producer on Runaway Bride
— one of the highest-grossing romantic comedies
of all time — starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.
She was a producer on four other Garry Marshall films
including a documentary for Showtime by Liz Garbus. She continues to develop projects in London and LA - most recently a series based on a short film she wrote and produced starring Emmett Scanlan and an award winning short film starring Eloise Smyth and Bill Milner about Cynthia Lennon.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This is an important story for me personally. I always knew about Roe v Wade, but I didn’t know why or how it came to the courts. I was so happy to be approached by Mighty Force Productions, who had this special, unknown story and interviews about how it started.

Judy Smith, Victoria Foe, and Barbara Hines were at the center of the contraception and abortion hurricane as it struck in 1969. They were in the right place at the right time, helping others at the University of Texas in Austin.

They started a birth control center for students in a YMCA but were quickly overwhelmed by women and girls who were pregnant and didn’t want to be. They were shocked by what they saw. Their own peers were so desperate – so willing to risk their own lives.

Judy, Victoria, and Barbara tell us what really happens when a girl finds out she’s pregnant. They speak about the moment when she’s alone and facing her individual set of circumstances: rape, poverty, medical emergencies, genetic translocation, or countless other moving parts that black and white points of view cannot begin to understand or control.

These true experiences drew me in because they weren’t part of a coastal political movement to push for ‘choice’ for women. No one chooses to be in this position. An abortion with the word ‘choice’ is not appropriate here. In 1969, they offered non-judgmental support on a one on one basis in Austin when women had nowhere else to go. They brought these cases to Sarah Weddington's attention, who argued and won the right to privacy for American women at the Supreme Court in 1973.

Listening to Judy, Victoria, and Barbara’s story made it clear we didn't need commentary or interpretation for the film. They tell it best. As Victoria says, "We opened up the birth control center to be useful." Helping others pursue dreams and continue education became their goal. They inspire me because they didn’t look the other way when they saw insurmountable distress. They were young students who stepped in to help others and ultimately changed the law to keep women out of harm’s way.

Sadly, support like theirs will still be needed because the individual desperation they saw 50 years ago will not go away if an individual’s rights to privacy do.

Thanks to Wendy, Susie, Darlene, Elissa, and editor Lorelei, this film lets them tell their own story, and I’m so proud to be a part of it.
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Karen Stirgwolt