All Episodes

October 26, 2022 48 mins

A primary care physician and former Baptist preacher, Dr. Curtis Boyd hadn’t planned on being an abortion provider— until the late 1960s, when ministers and rabbis from Texas reached out and asked him to be their trusted doctor. At 86, he is still at it. Heather visits his clinic in a story that uncovers the hidden history of how faith leaders were a linchpin of abortion access before Roe v. Wade, and how attacks on abortion rights have led to the revival of an underground clergy network today. Now, thanks to the tireless work of a cross-racial coalition of activists, clergy and religious volunteers are once again escorting women to obtain safe, legal abortions in New Mexico.


TRANSCRIPT: HERE

CREDITS:

Host and Creator: Heather McGhee

Original Music and Theme Song by: Thee Sacred Souls 

Producers: Cassim Shepard, Ryan Kailath, Emilce Quiroz, Joaquin Cotler and Juan Diego Ramirez, with help from Liliana Ruiz, Sophia Lo, Susanna Kemp and Alissa Vladimir

Senior Producers: Nicole Rothwell, Jeanne Montalvo, and Fernanda Echavarri

Editors: Sandy Rattley and Maria Garcia

Mix Engineers: Stephanie Lebow and Julia Caruso

Researchers: Lynn Kanter and Carolyn Lipka

Executive Producer for Futuro Studios: Marlon Bishop

Executive producers for Higher Ground: Mukta Mohan, Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, and Janae Marable

Editorial assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna Levin

Executive producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

United States of Kennedy
Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.