The Babblery

When abortion became legal in New York State in 1970, Merle Hoffman didn't celebrate—she got to work. While others were still absorbing the news, she opened one of the first standalone women's health clinics in the country. No medical guidelines existed for a procedure that had only ever been done in secret, so she wrote them. Her patients didn't know their rights, so she wrote those down, too—a document that became the blueprint for the federal Patient's Bill of Rights.

Fifty-plus years later, Hoffman is still at it—still running Choices Women's Medical Center in Queens, still fighting, and still asking the questions that don't have easy answers.

"It's an intrinsic trust in myself, which I've always noticed and always had. Things come to me and I feel them organically, and I want to do this, and I trust that my decision is the right decision. And I follow my own voice."

To call Merle Hoffman the owner of an abortion clinic is only to scratch the surface of her complexity. She's a pianist, a philosopher, an activist, a mother, and an adventurer in the world of spirituality. This is a conversation about courage, conviction, and what happens when we decide to trust ourselves.

"I can live in the question. I don't have to know. I don't know if we'll ever know. But the question is so incomparably deep, profound, interesting, frustrating."

Merle Hoffman is an internationally known leader in the struggle for women’s rights, a healthcare pioneer, founder of women’s health, political, and reproductive rights organizations, and a prize-winning writer and publisher. Her work spans 52 years and continues today, proving to be more essential and relevant than ever in the ongoing fight for women’s human rights, including the ability to make their own reproductive choices.

About Merle Hoffman

Cindy Cohn, retiring executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, speaks about the controversies regarding restriction of online speech. Addressing everything from breastfeeding forums to human rights abuses in Sudan, she argues forcefully that despite the drawbacks, we must conserver our right to speak freely and privately on the Internet.

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News clip courtesy of NPR.  "Silence" courtesy of  Unwoman at Unwoman.com.

LaDoris Cordell, Denise Miranda, and Cindy Cohn are three very different women who have had three very different careers. But all three have drawn their inspiration from using their legal training to make a difference in the world. In this short excerpt, we explore how their legal training led them to fulfilling and meaningful careers.

Access the episode pages for links and notes.

"Silence" is courtesy of Unwoman at Unwoman.com.

I went into my interview with Cindy Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ready to argue my case that anonymity is the problem. I came away with a more nuanced understanding.

Read the text on Substack or listen here!

Cindy Cohn joined the Electronic Frontier Foundation to argue cases like Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the U.S. export restrictions on cryptography. But she says that she actually spends more time on breastfeeding than any other topic.

" We've spent years trying to help women who have breastfeeding forums continue to have their forums when they get flagged for nudity because somebody's taking a picture and saying she's not latching—how does this work?"

It's that wide experience, from cryptography and surveillance technologies to breastfeeding and stalking, that makes Cindy an unusual advocate for freedom of speech and privacy on the Internet. And it makes her a particularly interesting person to talk to about women's freedom of speech and privacy on the Internet, which forms the core of our conversation here.

Advocates for women are not universally convinced that continuing to insure privacy and free speech on the Internet is wholly good for women, who are often the targets of specific threats of bodily violence. But Cindy Cohn has an expansive view of what we can do with an open Internet, while also respecting women's rights. Tune in for a fascinating conversation!

Cindy Cohn is the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. From 2000-2015 she served as EFF’s Legal Director as well as its General Counsel.  Ms. Cohn first became involved with EFF in 1993, when EFF asked her to serve as the outside lead attorney in Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the U.S. export restrictions on cryptography. 

Ms. Cohn has been named to TheNonProfitTimes 2020 Power & Influence TOP 50 list, honoring 2020's movers and shakers.  In 2018, Forbes included Ms. Cohn as one of America's Top 50 Women in Tech. The National Law Journal named Ms. Cohn one of 100 most influential lawyers in America in 2013, noting: "[I]f Big Brother is watching, he better look out for Cindy Cohn." She was also named in 2006 for "rushing to the barricades wherever freedom and civil liberties are at stake online."  In 2007 the National Law Journal named her one of the 50 most influential women lawyers in America. In 2010 the Intellectual Property Section of the State Bar of California awarded her its Intellectual Property Vanguard Award and in 2012 the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists awarded her the James Madison Freedom of Information Award.  

Ms. Cohn is the author of the professional memoir, called Privacy's Defender published by MIT Press in March, 2026. As part of promoting the book, she appeared on The Daily Show in April, 2026. She is also the co-host of EFF's award-winning podcast, How to Fix the Internet.

"Silence" courtesy of  Unwoman at Unwoman.com.