- 5 months ago
An intimate look at the values and decisions both sides hold in the abortion debate.
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00:00Tonight, on Frontline, for the first time on American television, the experience of abortion.
00:19With this vacuum cleaner type tube, the baby is literally pulled apart and ripped to pieces.
00:25This is the story of the anguish of four women.
00:30Two who decide to have their babies, and two who choose to come here.
00:38The abortion clinic.
00:45This is Frontline, with Jessica Savage.
00:53Why should you spend an hour watching another film on abortion?
00:56It's been ten years since the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, and in the intervening decade, hasn't the subject been discussed and debated and documented?
01:05Yes, it's been ten years, but there are now new cases before the Supreme Court.
01:11The Reagan administration has taken a strong anti-abortion stance, so it will again be an election year issue, and federal and state and city legislatures are re-examining the subject.
01:22Tonight, on Frontline, we take another look at abortion, but not as a policy debate, and not as a legal brief, or a potential plank in some political platform.
01:34If anything has been left out in all the discussion and debate and documentation on this subject, it's the complex, difficult choices experienced by thousands of individuals in this country every day.
01:48It is that experience we share with you tonight.
01:53Before we watch the film, some background.
01:56It was filmed at a clinic chosen because it is representative of abortion clinics in this country.
02:02It also offers individual counseling, in which the reasons behind the decision are explored.
02:08We met hundreds of women during the five months at the clinic.
02:12The two whose abortions you will see in this film are single, white, and young.
02:18And if you wonder why that is so, it's because the majority of women who make this decision are also single, white, and young.
02:28We call the film Abortion Clinic.
02:31It is produced and directed for Frontline by Mark Obenhaus and co-produced by Rita Stern and Michael Schwartz.
02:37The narrator is Mark Obenhaus.
02:40And one final note.
02:42The abortion procedures you will see are graphic.
02:56Chester, Pennsylvania, is a small industrial city south of Philadelphia.
03:01On the outskirts of Chester stands a green stone building, which has become a local landmark.
03:09In the past, people knew it as the Library of Crozier Seminary.
03:13Since the seminary moved, the building has housed the Reproductive Health and Counseling Center,
03:19a private abortion clinic that offers a full range of gynecological services.
03:23Last year, more than 3,000 first-trimester abortions were performed here.
03:30This is a film about the people who work inside the clinic,
03:33about the young women who come to the clinic seeking abortions,
03:38and about those people in the community who steadfastly oppose the clinic's existence.
03:43Give us a stare, dearly, and forgive us our trespasses,
03:48as we forgive those who trespass against us,
03:51and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
03:54Amen.
03:57Good afternoon.
03:58We've been up to health.
03:59Margie speaking.
04:00Was this your choice?
04:02Mm-hmm.
04:03Totally?
04:04Yeah.
04:05Do you feel forced into the decision in any way?
04:07No, not really.
04:08Well, last time, when I was here five years ago,
04:12then I felt like, you know, that I was, first of all, too young to have a kid.
04:19And second of all, even if I did, then I don't think it would have been happy,
04:23because I knew I wouldn't have been happy, you know.
04:26And I don't think I could afford it.
04:28And there was a lot of things, you know, I was only 15,
04:30there was a lot of things I like to do with my life.
04:32Mm-hmm.
04:32And stuff, you know.
04:34Now, there's still a lot of things I like to do with my life.
04:36I'd like to get, you know, I want to be a draftsman, an architect.
04:39Mm-hmm.
04:40I want to go to school.
04:41I want to work my way through, and I'd never be able to support a child.
04:44She's in the dressing room, and she's already changed.
04:46Maybe Jane could take her in the staff room and talk with her for a few minutes
04:49to see if she really wants to be here or not.
04:52You've been told exactly what's going to be happening to you, right?
04:55Yeah.
04:56So you know you're going to be feeling all sorts of strange things.
04:59I think that if I was still with my fiancé,
05:02and things were still going strong, then I would have kept it,
05:04because, you know, he's five years older than I am.
05:08Mm-hmm.
05:08You know, he's got a really good job, you know,
05:10and he can support, and he loves kids.
05:14He wants one right now, you know, but it's not his,
05:17and we're not doing too well relationship-wise, so.
05:22Good.
05:23You were very good.
05:26I hope you have a nice dinner.
05:28All right.
05:29I'll finish.
05:30You did really well, Diane.
05:31Dr. Clavin is one of the owners of the clinic.
05:35The termination of these pregnancies is not a casual approach
05:40on the part of the individuals who present themselves to this facility.
05:44For the most part, they've all thought it out well.
05:47It's not as if they can hardly wait to get here
05:50so they can be aborted and then go out and get pregnant again.
05:53It's a decision which most of them have considered over a period of time,
05:59and I think that their experience here in this particular abortion facility
06:04has been a maturing experience for them psychosexually.
06:07Can you tell me why you felt you made this decision?
06:11Because I'm doing fine with the baby I have,
06:15and I don't think I'll be able to provide for this baby.
06:18Are you going to school?
06:19Yes.
06:20Wow, that makes it a little rougher for you, doesn't it?
06:23Yeah.
06:24Are you living at home with your mom?
06:27Yes.
06:27And does she help out?
06:29A lot.
06:30They tell me the first one is everybody,
06:32but the second one, you're on your own.
06:33One thing, Joan, that we have to let you know is,
06:37okay, every Saturday morning when you do come in by our parking lot,
06:41we do have picketers, the anti-abortionist group,
06:44and one is dressed like a doctor.
06:46Don't let them confuse you because they will be there
06:48and try to stop you to hand you literature.
06:50I'm Dr. Isayu.
06:51I'm medical director of Women's Pregnancy Health Services,
06:54which is a group that provides counseling by doctors
06:57and alternatives to abortion and medical referrals.
07:00What primarily I'm doing out here is praying.
07:04That's the first thing.
07:06This is a situation where the girls are coming here on Saturday morning
07:10to have abortions,
07:11and it's a pretty late time to reach them,
07:14but nevertheless we do manage to reach quite a few of them.
07:18But that first thing is we pray for their babies and for them,
07:20and we also pray for the abortionists,
07:23who are maybe some of them don't realize what they're doing.
07:26I think of myself as a sensitive person.
07:28I don't like people carrying signs that I think I'm like everyone else.
07:35I want everyone to like me and to care for me.
07:38I don't like my name associated with the term killer or murderer.
07:47I don't mind being called an abortionist because that is actually what I do
07:51in saying that I'm a surgeon and an obstetrician and what have you.
07:54I don't like to be categorized as merely providing abortion services.
08:01I wouldn't mind the picketers and their signs if they also included the fact
08:05that I've been very instrumental in the development of fetal monitoring
08:09and that most of my activity relates to preservation of a high-risk pregnancy.
08:15This is a book called From Conception to Birth.
08:23Sorry, it's a little ragged here.
08:25But this is one of the textbooks, the standard medical textbook that we use in counseling.
08:30And this is a life-size, real-size model of a pregnant uterus ten weeks from conception.
08:37Now, this is still the first trimester.
08:41At ten weeks from conception, this child we know can suck his thumb, we know can feel pain,
08:48is already easily identified as male or female, has bowel movements,
08:53has a fully developed brain, has brain waves, and everything that you and I have.
08:58And as a matter of fact, you and I were once this size and even smaller.
09:03So that's the first victim in abortion.
09:05And, of course, many of the girls think that it's somehow removing some kind of pregnancy tissue,
09:11and this is the kind of counseling they receive in most places.
09:14They never have an opportunity, hardly ever, to talk to a physician before an abortion is done.
09:20So many of the girls, once they realize what is really happening and what this baby looks like,
09:25say, no, I won't do that, I'll find some other way to solve my problem.
09:28What are you nervous about?
09:30I know it's going to happen, and it's harder for a second time.
09:35Why do you think it is?
09:39Knowing what?
09:40Knowing what's going to happen, knowing that you did it to yourself again.
09:46Mm-hmm.
09:47Can you tell me why you've chose this option as opposed to the other ones that are available to you?
09:54Do you know what they are?
09:56No.
09:56You don't know what your other options are?
09:58Well, keeping it, adoption.
10:01Mm-hmm.
10:01But I know if I went through the nine months, I would have kept it.
10:04Mm-hmm.
10:04And then it wouldn't have had the life, a good life, because I can't support myself yet.
10:09Mm-hmm.
10:09And I wouldn't be able to handle being a single parent on my own.
10:13Do you know that there is, financially, there are places you can go that will help you financially if you decided to keep the pregnancy?
10:20Yes, I know.
10:21Okay.
10:21And you still do not want to?
10:22No.
10:23Okay.
10:24Because it's not fair to the baby.
10:26Mm-hmm.
10:26It's not really fair to me.
10:28Helen was born in May.
10:29That July, I was 18.
10:30And I, in a way, I didn't want that for her.
10:35That's why I'm glad she made this decision, because I feel as though I'm really trapped at home.
10:40I have no social life anymore, because, I mean, you go out, and, you know, a man says, married.
10:46I say, no, divorced.
10:47And you say, four kids, I go, oh, that's nice.
10:49Goodbye.
10:49You know, they don't want to be bothered with it.
10:51And I just didn't want that for her.
10:54I just feel as though she should have a life.
10:56And I'm glad, you know, she could come here and have this done.
11:00Because she can start over.
11:03Are you working?
11:04No.
11:05I'm still going to school.
11:06I'm in high school.
11:07You're in high school?
11:07What grade are you in?
11:08Twelve.
11:09Twelve?
11:10Okay.
11:11I see you're interested in taking birth control pills, right?
11:14Yes.
11:14Have you ever taken pills before?
11:16Yes.
11:16Okay.
11:17Let's see.
11:18It says here that the man told you he was sterile?
11:21Yeah.
11:22Can you tell me about that?
11:22Can you tell me that he had a vasectomy done, so I didn't have to take birth control anymore?
11:27Uh-huh.
11:27So stupid.
11:28I believe.
11:29I'm so gullible.
11:31And here I found out that I didn't get my period.
11:35It was while I was late a week and I had x-rays done.
11:40Uh-huh.
11:41And then I found out I was pregnant.
11:43Yeah.
11:43Great.
11:44So it was been a big mess.
11:47Did you tell him that you were pregnant?
11:49And what did he have to say about the stone cord?
11:52He laughed at me.
11:53Did he laugh at you?
11:54And I cried.
11:55Uh-huh.
11:56Which didn't help.
11:56Did he say it wasn't his?
11:58No, he said it was his.
12:01Uh-huh.
12:01Did he say he lied to you?
12:03Uh-huh.
12:04But there's nothing really I could have done.
12:06Uh-huh.
12:06How did that make you feel?
12:08Angry.
12:08There's a lot of anger built up.
12:10Uh-huh.
12:11Does he know you're here today?
12:12Yeah.
12:13Uh-huh.
12:14And you didn't want him to come?
12:16No, he just said, you know, from when I found out I was pregnant, I'm on my own.
12:22It's my mistake.
12:23So I went and I told my mom.
12:26Yeah.
12:27Uh-huh.
12:27Um, I just, I can't explain in words how I feel.
12:31Uh, it's all been bottled up for a few weeks and it's gonna explode.
12:38Because, uh, as far as I'm concerned, you know, he had just as much to do with it.
12:42But yet, as soon as she had called him, he just dropped her.
12:47Is he helping you as far as this abortion goes?
12:50No, my mother is not.
12:51I mean, he should see what they, you know, the procedure is and stuff.
13:00What difference do you think that would make if they saw it?
13:04If they don't have to feel it or, um...
13:06Maybe they think before they do it.
13:09Make sure one's on birth control, not lying.
13:12Uh-huh.
13:13Whose responsibility do you think that is?
13:15The girls.
13:16The girls.
13:17Are you just saying that because you're pregnant now?
13:19Um, no, because if you gave the guy the pill, I don't think they'd take it.
13:25I really, I don't, I wouldn't trust him.
13:29I'd rely on myself from now on.
13:31Mm-hmm.
13:34Do you think you'll ever believe another man?
13:35No.
13:37Yes, you will.
13:38Probably in time, but not right now.
13:40After I had got pregnant with the last one, my husband just couldn't cope with it, and he just felt as though he should have been out somewhere, and he took it and left me with the four kids.
13:52My father was an alcoholic.
13:56Mm-hmm.
13:57He beat up my mom, and then he took off when I was 13 years old, and I haven't seen him since.
14:02When my mom found out she was pregnant with my one brother, my dad told her to get rid of it.
14:07He ripped up the Christmas tree and everything.
14:09Mm-hmm.
14:09How old were you then?
14:11I was three.
14:12Three.
14:13And I can still remember that.
14:14Helen is a good one.
14:17She, if it wasn't for Helen, I would have fallen apart quite a few times.
14:21And then I have an eight-year-old, and he's just like Helen.
14:26Then I have a six-year-old that's deaf, and he's really a doll baby.
14:31He's really Helen's life and mine, because everybody else treats him like an outcast.
14:37And even with David, I was, they gave me a choice to have an abortion with David, but I choose to keep him.
14:44Because I had my back x-rayed when I was two months pregnant, and I didn't know I was pregnant.
14:49They claim that's why he's deaf.
14:51I kind of hesitate on that.
14:54But that goes to show you, I mean, how I feel about abortions.
14:58I mean, I could have had one done, but yet I, you know, choose to keep him.
15:02But yet for Helen, I think she made the right decision.
15:08I'd like to see her finish her education.
15:10I would like to see her find a good job, find somebody that really would love her and take care of her, treat her good.
15:20Because she has been handed a real deal for a long while.
15:25I mean, from her father, from her boyfriend.
15:29And the only one she can talk to is me.
15:33And she tells me, you know, just so much.
15:36And I know she hides a little bit.
15:38Eventually it comes out.
15:40But I mean, when she starts talking to me, I know she hides some.
15:43But I just would like to see her find someone and lead a happy life.
15:48Okay, come on in.
15:49All you should do is go here.
15:50You stand right on that ledge for me.
15:53That's it.
15:53You have a lot further to come up.
15:55Okay?
15:56That's it.
15:57Good.
15:59I'm going to just go over here.
16:01Good.
16:01A little bit more.
16:03Okay, you can lay back.
16:07Why are you laying there?
16:08Can you scoot up some more towards me, Helen?
16:09A little bit more.
16:12Perfect.
16:12Good.
16:13Are you comfortable?
16:15Or as comfortable as you can get?
16:17Okay.
16:18Now, Dr. Morantz and I will be in in a few minutes.
16:21Okay?
16:21I'm just going to give you a few minutes to be by yourself.
16:24It's a good time to get yourself together.
16:26Okay?
16:26And I think there's a pillow in there someplace.
16:35Let's lay that out.
16:35Better?
16:36Okay.
16:37I'll see you in a few minutes.
16:38All right?
16:38Any of you guys have any questions?
16:40No?
16:41You can be nervous.
16:42Fine.
16:43Okay?
16:44All right.
16:44I'll be back.
16:46Hi, Helen.
17:10This is Dr. Morantz.
17:11Oh, I know.
17:13Helen, I just want to check the uterus first.
17:17The last period was the end of September.
17:19Okay.
17:26Okay.
17:29Okay.
17:29The first thing you're going to peel is the second one.
17:32Okay?
17:32A little on the chilly side.
17:35I feel some pressure.
17:36I feel some pressure.
17:37Okay.
17:37I'll be looking just a minute now, okay?
17:43Okay.
17:43Okay.
17:58Get a chill day.
17:59Okay.
17:59We're going to do the same thing again, some more pulling, another sting, and more pressure.
18:14Easy, easy, all the way in.
18:17No more needles.
18:19See that?
18:20We got through that part all right.
18:22A little cramped now.
18:25Doing really well.
18:27You shoulda let me know if something bothers you, okay?
18:30I'm going to feel lots of pulling me out.
18:33Okay, don't feel the same thing again.
18:36Let it go away as fast as it comes, okay?
18:40And you're going to feel it again, one more time.
18:43Easy does it.
18:45Good, good.
18:47Take a nice deep breath all the way in, don't panic.
18:50Let it all out, blow it out, blow it out all the way.
18:55Tough one.
18:56Okay.
18:57One more time.
18:58Take your breath all the way in.
19:00Part it out.
19:01Good.
19:02Nice.
19:03Nothing.
19:04Okay, hon.
19:05I'm going to get the machine on.
19:06You're going to feel sort of a baldly sensation.
19:08Okay, hon.
19:09You're going to start to feel some cramps now, okay?
19:10Squeeze tight.
19:11Lots of cramps.
19:12I'm sure your uter is still what it's supposed to be doing.
19:13Easy does it.
19:14Just be nice and slow.
19:15Okay, hon.
19:16Nice and slow.
19:17Nice and slow.
19:18I'm just going to check inside now.
19:19What are you feeling?
19:20A little bit of cramps.
19:21Cramps?
19:22And where are they right now?
19:23Okay, hon.
19:24Okay, hon.
19:25I'm going to start to feel some cramps now, okay?
19:26Squeeze tight.
19:27Lots of cramps.
19:28I'm not sure your uter is still what it's supposed to be doing.
19:29Okay?
19:30Easy does it.
19:31Just be nice and slow.
19:32In and out.
19:33Nice and slow.
19:34Just go check inside now.
19:35What are you feeling?
19:36A little bit of cramps.
19:37Cramps?
19:38And where are they?
19:39Right in the middle?
19:40Okay.
19:41Just hang in there a little bit longer.
19:42You're going to be able to machine for probably about ten seconds or so and then we'll be all through.
19:55Some more cramps now.
20:00Some more cramps now.
20:08Doing really well, Holly.
20:10About five more seconds or all three.
20:21Just checking one more time.
20:23Hang in there.
20:25Easy.
20:30That's it.
20:31All done.
20:32All finished.
20:33You did really well.
20:34Just taking the instruments out.
20:35You'll feel better once the speculum comes out.
20:36There you go.
20:37Better?
20:38Good.
20:39Better, y'all.
20:41I'll be with you just a minute, okay?
20:42I'll be with you just a minute, okay?
20:43I'll be with you just a minute, okay?
20:44I'll be with you just a minute, okay?
20:45I'll be with you just a minute, okay?
20:46I'll be with you.
20:47Okay, good.
20:48Bye for y'all.
20:50Hey.
20:51You want to keep you cemented this thing, Holly?
21:07I can write with my own hand.
21:22Yeah, I can do.
21:23I'm not feeling anything like that.
21:30Good.
21:31You're terrific.
21:32You pat yourself on the back, baby.
21:35Okay?
21:37All I got to do is get a pat on you and take you to recovery so you can relax for a while.
21:43And that's all you got to do is just lay back and relax.
21:46Get some crackers and some soda.
21:52When you're doing an early pregnancy termination, the bulk of the material that you're examining is placental.
21:58And I can't get too involved with placentas.
22:01I think that if I were in a situation where we're doing second trimester abortions where you're dealing with fetuses and we're involved in that sort of thing, I think emotionally over a period of time would have more of a toll.
22:23I think all patients are certainly aware of the fact that the fetus, as it grows in utero, attains a point in time in the uterus where it begins to resemble a human being.
22:38It has a head, arms, chest, legs, and what have you.
22:43And there is certainly a heartbeat.
22:46The fetus is a growing mass inside of the woman's uterus.
22:53It is an embryo.
22:54There is no doubt of that.
22:55I don't think there's ever been a question of that as to whether one accepts it as a whether one accepts life as occurring post birth or from conception or in utero is left to the individual person dealing with that specific decision.
23:13I could see her on Tuesday.
23:15As part of his pro-life activities, Dr. Izayu has counseled more than 500 women on alternatives to abortion.
23:22I would probably, I could meet her at the office or I could meet her at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital.
23:26This is the result of an abortion at about 11 weeks from conception.
23:31And as you can see, with this vacuum cleaner type tube, the baby is literally pulled apart and ripped to pieces and is very rapidly destroyed and killed by that process.
23:41I don't see how anybody can do that.
23:44Well, what's important is most women that I know who've had abortions simply don't understand that and haven't been told that.
23:50And the reason I'm explaining this to you is because, in my experience, I know that when women find out what abortion really does and what it's all about and what happens,
23:59there are very few who really want to do that to their baby.
24:05Okay, this is eight weeks.
24:06And if you look close, this baby is actually sucking his or her thumb.
24:10Looks like maybe a little baby pig.
24:13Yeah, well, this is at 10 weeks.
24:21Okay, I'm gonna skip over.
24:23Here we have at 14 weeks.
24:25Okay.
24:26And now the main difference is the baby is bigger and the skin is becoming thicker.
24:30So now the baby is no longer as transparent.
24:32And that's what he looks like now inside me?
24:34Right. That's what he looks like.
24:35Or she.
24:39Okay, and what were your feelings when you found out that you were pregnant?
24:43Oh, I could have hit the ceiling, really.
24:45I just wanted to forget about it.
24:48And I still do in a way.
24:50Right.
24:51So you obviously were not planning this pregnancy.
24:53No, it was not planned at all.
24:56All right.
24:57Had you tried any kind of ways to try to prevent it or avoid it?
25:00Uh, Dr. Lobo prescribed birth control for me.
25:05And then my husband was laid off from his job.
25:10So we moved to Jersey to find work down there, but there wasn't any.
25:16And it came time to, for another pack of birth control pills.
25:21And we didn't have the money, so I just stopped them.
25:27You're a little bit ahead of the game with some of the other women.
25:29You have a husband who's interested, who's helping you take care of your child,
25:33who's helping, you know, who has committed himself.
25:36Come on, Gary. Why don't you just come in?
25:40Okay, just have a seat right here.
25:42Sue and Gary are 19 years old.
25:45They were married five months after the birth of their first child.
25:48Now, Sue had mentioned that there was some talk about abortion,
25:52I believe it was from your side of the family.
25:54With my mother, because, you know, we're, you know,
25:57we've got a nine-month-old baby now, you know, and, uh,
26:00we just don't have the money.
26:02So she suggested abortion.
26:04I've seen in cases of divorce where sometimes a woman had a hard time,
26:07she had to bring up the children by herself,
26:09uh, is sometimes a little bit angry at what had happened to her.
26:13And she wants to protect her children from that.
26:16And often doesn't think the whole thing through.
26:20And may think that abortion is a solution because, my God,
26:23what is my son and my daughter-in-law going to do with this situation
26:27if things get tough for them?
26:29You know, she was married young, just like, you know, Sue and I was, you know.
26:33And, uh, she was pregnant.
26:35She was, she had a baby out of wedlock also, you know.
26:38And, uh, you know, I think that's, she didn't want us to get into the same bind.
26:43You know, my dad was always in and out of jobs, you know, never, you know, just barely making it.
26:49But, uh, I think that's all she's trying to do is protect us, you know, giving strong advice, but trying to protect us.
26:54That happens commonly, and it may well be that your mother herself does not understand, uh, what it's all about.
27:01A lot of times people think of it as a decision as to whether to have a baby or not to have a baby.
27:06The reality is the baby already have the baby. The baby is there.
27:10And the question is what to do with the baby.
27:11It was Christmas morning when I told Larry what happened to me, and I thought I was pregnant, you know.
27:19Um, then we, it was January 6th, we went down to the Reproductive Health and Counseling Center, and I got blood tests.
27:29I got, um, pregnancy tests, and they told me it was positive, and I was 16 weeks pregnant.
27:33She told me that she was raped by, um, a photographer that she was getting pictures taken for her.
27:40And she, um, I knew she was getting the pictures taken, but I did not know that she was getting raped, that she was raped until Christmas, she told me on Christmas.
27:49Um, he didn't, he didn't abuse me, he didn't beat me up or smack me around.
27:54He, like, just forced me onto the couch and, and had sex with me now, and it was, happened so fast.
28:00And I didn't want to force him, force him off me, because I was afraid that maybe he would start hitting me and beating me up and abusing me.
28:08So I just let him go on and do what he wanted to do.
28:12And then, we were going to decide, we decided right away that we should have an abortion.
28:18So then, like, Larry saw this little ad in a town talk paper, saying, like, if, for pregnant people, pregnant women, you go away and have a baby.
28:27Another alternative besides.
28:28And it was all the wrong turn, they would just, beside that.
28:31Where somebody would, uh, where you could go and have, uh, free, uh, housing and, um, all your medical bills would be taken care of and, uh.
28:41Right.
28:42And you could go live with somebody.
28:44And so I, I didn't go ahead with that, um.
28:46We didn't know what to do at that point.
28:48Right, so then I talked to my friend Valerie, you know, and I told her about my problem.
28:53Um, then she called up to Crozier Hospital and they gave her the hotline number to, to...
28:58George Asayu.
28:59Yeah, to Dr. Asayu.
29:00Dr. Asayu.
29:01And I, like, she was talking to the nurse on the phone and she set up the appointment with me.
29:06That's when doctor, I went in to see Dr. Asayu Tuesday.
29:10Um, and I talked to him for, like, I told him all about it.
29:14Like, you know, that everything that was happening.
29:17And, like, then he told me about how my, if I, if I were have, if I were to have an abortion, how the abortion would be performed.
29:27Like, a salt injection would be injected into my stomach and, like, the baby would slowly die inside of me.
29:35Like, the skin would be burning away.
29:37So I said, I'm just gonna go ahead with the pregnancy and I'll come live with you so I can get the proper care and all.
29:44Because we ain't, we don't have the money for the proper care.
29:47I hope I get a job, that's all.
29:50So I can take care of Nancy when, when she has her, after she has her baby, if it's ours or if it's not, we're gonna give it up for adoption.
29:59And we might even give it up anyway, even if it is ours.
30:02Because, um, we're not, we feel, I feel anyway that we're not ready to have kids yet.
30:09Because we're not financially sound.
30:14I wanna be, when I have my kids, I wanna be financially sound.
30:17Then we're gonna start planning on having children the proper way.
30:21We don't wanna bring unwanted children into the world and have them abused like other children are.
30:27We wanna grow, we wanna raise our children upright.
30:30Not like our parents.
30:31We both come from broken homes.
30:33And I don't want my kids raised and had, I don't wanna feel that I'm gonna have my kids brought up.
30:40And me and Nancy are gonna split up, I don't wanna feel that way.
30:42Cause me and Larry, we're not, we're not gonna split up, we're gonna be together forever.
30:47The heroes right here now are A, some of the women that I've counseled, who in spite of the pressures that our society puts on them to kill their baby, decide not to do it.
30:59The second set of heroes are my own family, especially my wife, who has been able to give up a tremendous number of things that perhaps another doctor's wife would have, if we were not involved in this work so intensively.
31:17The Isaiah family helps women who decide to continue their pregnancies by offering them a temporary home.
31:34Nancy will be the sixth woman to live with the family while awaiting the birth of her child.
31:40How you doing, Pat?
31:41How you doing, Pat?
31:42How you doing, Pat?
31:43You know where all those...
31:44Up steps?
31:45All the way upstairs.
31:46Want to just bring it right up?
31:47I'll have a cup of tea.
31:49Anybody else with a cup of tea?
31:50I'll take a cup of tea.
31:51Okay.
31:52Okay.
31:53I was also a rape victim and I was found pregnant.
32:07And I had, through sources, I could have had a back alley abortion, which was a doctor.
32:12It wasn't a Bloody Mary, as people like to call them.
32:16I couldn't do it.
32:18I went to St. Vincent's home that was here.
32:21They housed me and there was a priest that got me through it.
32:25I put my son up for adoption.
32:28My son is now 18 years old and I know he's well.
32:32And when the girls come to me, that's why we get the difficult cases.
32:37I've lived it.
32:38I have been on both ends of the spectrum.
32:41And when they see that I can make it, because I met my husband when he was an intern.
32:47We married and I had five more pregnancies, three successful.
32:50They see that.
32:51They know you can live with the decision if it's done out of love.
32:56And that's the message I'm trying to get across.
32:59Don't kill the baby, because you don't know what the Lord has for you down the road.
33:07Anybody else for tea or coffee?
33:09I'm so glad I didn't get an abortion.
33:11I am.
33:12I never could have a baby and give it up for adoption, because I always would wonder where it would be, who it would look like, and would I have been able to give them what they're giving them now?
33:32That would be too much.
33:39This is bad enough.
33:45Barbara is 17 years old.
33:49She is the mother of a two-year-old boy named Michael.
33:53My boyfriend, he used to, well, punch, slap, kick.
34:03He snatched me up against a radiator one time and sent me to the hospital for stitches.
34:10He gave me bloody noses, fat lips, a little bit of everything.
34:18This is the letter he wrote the day after I asked him to leave, and he stuck it in his mail slot.
34:40Sit down and read this letter very clear and don't let no one else make up your mind.
34:47The last four days has been hell without you and Mike.
34:51I don't know how to show you or tell you how much yous mean to me, but all I can do is tell you I love yous.
35:01It's not just loneliness, it's love.
35:04I don't want to run your life, I just want to be a part of it.
35:08Now I know how you felt all those times I kicked you out, but I was always sore after.
35:15Please let me come back.
35:17If you are pregnant, I don't want you to do something you'll regret the rest of your life.
35:23But whatever you do, I would like to be there with you.
35:28You don't know how happy I was coming over there.
35:32I would like to spend the coming holidays with you, please.
35:45Call me now, please call me.
35:48But he hasn't come up.
35:58He hasn't slipped me another letter.
36:01He hasn't given me any kind of message through anybody.
36:05So that was just another one of his little tricks.
36:20The funny thing about it, you never know what's going to happen when you walk in there.
36:24You never know how many patients there are going to be.
36:27You don't know how many people you're going to need to talk with.
36:30You don't know if somebody is going to have a lot of emotional problems.
36:34One person can possibly drain you for the rest of the day.
36:40You don't know who the doctor is necessarily going to be until you get in there.
36:45It's different. It's different every single day.
36:48You don't know if there's going to be picketers coming to your door.
36:52We usually expect them on Saturday, but you have to keep your guard up
36:56because you never know what people are going to do.
37:01Years ago, we had bomb threats.
37:04Who knows if it's ever going to happen again.
37:06Who knows if anybody's going to come to our door and try and stop people from doing what they believe is right.
37:12You don't know and it's sometimes scary.
37:17That frightens me.
37:18But that's the only thing that frightens me.
37:21But that's the only thing that frightens me.
37:48You don't know.
37:49You don't know.
37:54Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
37:57Thy kingdom come.
37:58Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
38:00Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses
38:03as we forgive those who trespass against us.
38:06Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
38:09Amen.
38:10Hail Mary, fall of grace, the Lord is with thee.
38:13Come on in and sit down.
38:14What I'd like you to do is have a seat right there.
38:16Okay.
38:17Sure you want to turn that around with you all day?
38:21Okay.
38:22Okay.
38:23I'll give you something to go to.
38:24What I want to do is go to your medical history with you.
38:26Okay.
38:27You say that your last period was in September.
38:31Was that a normal period for you?
38:33Yes.
38:34It was not different in any way.
38:36Why did you stop taking your birth control pills?
38:39I lost a lot of weight and I wasn't eating anything during the day.
38:45And when I took them, they just didn't agree with my stomach
38:49and it made me sick so I stopped taking them.
38:51Is that when you got pregnant?
38:52When you stopped?
38:53No, I had a couple months after.
38:58Okay.
38:59Barbara, you have one child.
39:02Yeah.
39:03Right.
39:04How old is he?
39:05He'll be two in a few weeks.
39:06Two?
39:07Okay.
39:08Had you thought about this when you were pregnant the last time?
39:11Had you thought about abortion at all?
39:12No.
39:13Mm-hmm.
39:14Why did you decide to have him?
39:21I don't know.
39:22What makes it different now?
39:25Having him around and worrying about him.
39:33Mm-hmm.
39:34Why?
39:35Because he needs everything I have now.
39:39Mm-hmm.
39:40And financially.
39:41And emotionally.
39:42I'm tired of depending on my mom.
39:43Mm-hmm.
39:44Because when she takes Mike when I say I don't have no food, then she brings stuff up to me.
39:52And I don't...
39:53Mm-hmm.
39:54I depended on her too much when I lived with Eddie in the other house and I didn't want that.
39:59So instead of calling her sometimes, I just go hungry. I don't worry about it.
40:03How often have you gone hungry?
40:06When I first moved in, um, I was. Just a couple days.
40:16With nothing?
40:17Eggs.
40:18Eggs?
40:19Just eggs.
40:20Eggs.
40:21Eggs.
40:22Just eggs.
40:23But Michael...
40:24The main meal.
40:25Yeah.
40:26Michael was down at my mom's.
40:27When I was in regular school all day, she would have him all week and I'd have him on the weekends.
40:31This way I wouldn't have to walk from 23rd street down to Chester High.
40:35Mm-hmm.
40:36And back with him.
40:37And, um, I come home, I eat eggs constantly.
40:41Eggs and water.
40:44Uh-huh.
40:45I never want to see another egg.
40:46Never.
40:47Is it better now?
40:48A little, yeah.
40:49A little?
40:50Not much, though.
40:51I've learned how to stretch things more than I did.
40:56I'm not ready to have another one.
41:00Uh-huh.
41:01And you're sure about that?
41:04Have you explored all your other options?
41:07Do you know what they are?
41:09Can you tell me what they are?
41:11Adoption.
41:12Mm-hmm.
41:13That's anyone I've thought about, but I wouldn't consider that.
41:20Mm-hmm.
41:21And do you know that there's financial aid for women who want to continue the pregnancy and keep it?
41:27There are ways that things can be worked out.
41:30Do you know that?
41:33I wouldn't, because they can't help you forever.
41:37Mm-hmm.
41:38And, um, I would use my family, and then I would have no help at all.
41:45No one would be there.
41:47Why don't you think they would approve?
41:50They don't like Michael's father.
41:53Uh-huh.
41:54And, um, it was already said that my mother already told me if it happened again, my mother wouldn't be as kind as she was last time this time.
42:06Mm-hmm.
42:08And you live on your own, right?
42:11Mm-hmm.
42:12Do you work?
42:13No.
42:14And how do you support your child now?
42:17Public assistance until I can get my diploma.
42:21Are you going to school?
42:22Yeah.
42:23Good.
42:24And then I can, I'm going to try to get into a school, a business school and find a job.
42:29Mm-hmm.
42:30Start your life.
42:31Yeah.
42:32Uh-huh.
42:33So this will be a start for you then?
42:36Does the other person involved with this pregnancy, um, it's your boyfriend, right?
42:45Uh, he's the father of your child?
42:47Mm-hmm.
42:48How does he feel about this pregnancy?
42:49Does he know about it?
42:51Yes.
42:52Uh-huh.
42:53And how's he feeling?
42:54Mm-hmm.
42:55I don't know.
42:56I haven't seen him.
42:57I haven't talked to him.
42:58Uh-huh.
42:59Do you think he would want you to keep the pregnancy?
43:07Yeah.
43:08And how does that make you feel?
43:13If I kept it, it would be just me.
43:15It wouldn't be him.
43:16Why not?
43:17Because he'd get tired of being in one spot and want to move around again like he did before.
43:24Mm-hmm.
43:25And, um, I'd have no help with him, this one, like I had with Michael.
43:29Mm-hmm.
43:30Does he live with you?
43:31No.
43:32No.
43:33Do you still see him?
43:37No.
43:38Not in the last month.
43:40Mm-hmm.
43:41How come?
43:42What happened?
43:44I got tired of the things he did and said, and the way he acted, and I asked him to leave.
43:50Mm-hmm.
43:51Mm-hmm.
43:52He'd seen me starting to grow up, and he didn't like it.
43:55That's what it was.
43:56I was making friends other than him.
43:59He didn't believe you needed anybody but him, and he didn't like that.
44:03Mm-hmm.
44:04Mm-hmm.
44:05He didn't want me to finish school.
44:06Mm-hmm.
44:07To go on anything else because he didn't.
44:09And he didn't want to think that I was going to be, um, smarter than him or do better than
44:16what he's doing now.
44:17Mm-hmm.
44:18And, um, he didn't like the idea of going back to school.
44:21That's a shame, isn't it?
44:23That's what I said.
44:24That's a shame, isn't it?
44:25That's what I said.
44:26That's a shame.
44:32I said, if it wasn't for you, I'd be graduating this year, senior.
44:36And I said, now look at me.
44:38I'm a year behind my class.
44:40I can't make it up.
44:42So I said, well, you're not doing too bad for yourself right now.
44:46Let's face it.
44:47You're living on your own, which doesn't happen to a lot of people, okay?
44:52You're taking care of yourself.
44:54You're taking care of a two-year-old child.
44:56You're going to school.
44:57You're doing something about your life.
44:59You're not sitting back and letting the world pass you by.
45:03And that's pretty darn good.
45:09I'm going to get a piece of it.
45:11I'm going to get a piece of it.
45:12I'm going to get a piece of it.
45:17It's a piece of it, but I'm going to get a piece of it.
45:18You're taking care of yourself, but you're going to get a piece of it now.
45:20Holy Mary, Mother of God, praise for us sinners now to the hour of our death. Amen.
45:35Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
45:37Blessed art thou, my woman, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
45:42Okay, we're going to go right in here.
45:47Okay, come on in. Just go right to the table.
45:49Okay, turn it down.
45:52I'll take it first. Just sit down for a minute.
45:58Cold?
45:59Yeah, it's cold in here.
46:01Let's see what I can do about getting your blanket, okay?
46:07Can you just go back for me?
46:12Now, while you're getting there, I need you to scoot up some more towards me, okay?
46:15And I'll tell you when to stop, so keep coming.
46:17Keep coming.
46:20That's fine.
46:21It's okay, Barb.
46:23Dr. Morans and I will be back in just a few minutes.
46:28So I'll give you a few minutes to be by yourself.
46:31Okay?
46:31Are you sure this is what you want to do now, right?
46:34Okay.
46:39Here.
46:40You can put this over your arms.
46:41You want them covered?
46:42Yeah.
46:42Okay.
46:43I'll work my hands on them to hold yours, okay?
46:45All right.
46:46I'll be with you in a few minutes.
46:48Okay.
46:48All right.
46:48I'll be with you in a few minutes.
46:52Here.
46:53Here.
47:06Here.
47:06I just want to check your uterus first, the size, the last coupe was the 20th of September.
47:36I'm just going to get a few things ready, and I'll be with you in just a minute, okay?
47:56Well, the first thing you're going to feel is the speculum, okay?
48:00It's going to be real cold.
48:01You're going to feel some pressure from it.
48:06You're going to feel a pinch.
48:26It's going to go away as fast as it comes.
48:29That's it.
48:30Easy does it.
48:32You're going to feel some pulling.
48:34You're going to feel a sting, and you're going to feel some pressure.
48:38Just breathe nice and slow.
48:40Easy does it.
48:42Good.
48:42It's okay.
48:55It's all right.
48:58Okay.
48:59Staying some pressure.
49:00Easy does it.
49:02Easy does it.
49:03Easy.
49:05Squeeze me in.
49:05You might feel a little cramp now.
49:22You might feel lots of pulling and maybe some cramps, okay?
49:26Just hang in there.
49:27Doing really well.
49:31Easy does it.
49:33Okay.
49:34Take it all in.
49:35Let it out.
49:37Out all the way.
49:41Easy does it.
49:42Easy.
49:45Easy does it.
49:47This is it.
49:48It's the last one.
49:50Okay.
49:50I'll be right with you.
49:51Leave my hand for just a second.
49:53Be right with you, Barb.
49:54Oh.
49:55Do I really feel a bubbly sensation?
50:05Uh-huh.
50:08I'm going to feel some cramps now.
50:10Okay?
50:11I know the cramps aren't feeling good.
50:17They're the ones you're allowed to have.
50:20Easy.
50:20Just breathe nice and slow, Barb.
50:22Slow.
50:22Slow.
50:23Real slow.
50:27Real slow, honey.
50:30It's okay.
50:36You're going to hear some ear, Barb.
50:38There.
50:43Easy does it.
50:46It's okay.
50:50Barb, what are you feeling?
50:51Is it hurting?
50:56No?
50:58Not physically.
51:00Okay.
51:00Okay.
51:00Why are we going to hear the machine going again?
51:23Oh.
51:24Oh.
51:34Okay.
51:35Okay.
51:36Oh.
51:37Listen to me.
51:38Easy.
51:39Breathe.
51:39Slow.
51:40Breathe.
51:41Easy does it.
51:43Easy.
51:43Oh.
51:44There's more air.
51:49Easy.
51:49Oh.
51:50Is it hurting right in the middle?
51:52Yeah.
51:53Okay.
51:54Those are cramps you're supposed to get.
51:55That means the uterus is tightening up.
51:58It's doing what it's supposed to be doing.
52:00Okay?
52:02That's this part of you.
52:04Let your neck come back down.
52:06Let your neck come back down.
52:08Let it come down.
52:10Let it come down.
52:12Oh.
52:14Barbara.
52:16Barbara, listen to me.
52:18I want you to take a deep breath in
52:20and I want you to hold it.
52:22Listen to me.
52:24Take a deep breath in.
52:26Hold it.
52:28Now let it all out.
52:30Barbara, you're going to hear the machine
52:32for about four seconds and we're all quick.
52:34You're going to get your legs back together so you're more comfortable, okay?
52:52Is that what's bothering you now?
53:04What else?
53:06Everything.
53:08What do you mean everything?
53:10It's fine.
53:11It's fine.
53:12It's fine.
53:13It's fine.
53:14It's fine.
53:15It's fine.
53:16Okay?
53:17It's fine.
53:18It's fine.
53:19Everything.
53:20Okay?
53:21It's fine.
53:22It's fine.
53:23It's fine.
53:24It's fine.
53:25Yes.
53:26Okay.
53:27Okay.
53:28You chose to have this done but something has been taken away from you.
53:34still been taken away from you and that doesn't feel good. It's even tough for
53:42when you already have one child and you love it a lot and you take care of it and do the best you
53:47can to have to go through something like this, okay? So be upset because of that, okay?
54:34In the end, no matter how any of us feel about abortion, beyond the rhetoric of answers on
55:00both sides, it is the individual who must face the question alone.
55:08Next week, a tragic drama is being played out in Zimbabwe, the hope of black Africa.
55:14Three years ago this month, Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, won its independence.
55:18Now the hope for a peaceful transition to black majority rule is being seriously tested.
55:24Frontline shows evidence of a massacre by government troops and looks at the problems
55:28being faced by Prime Minister Mugabe.
55:31Charlie Cobb reports on the crisis in Zimbabwe.
55:35That is next week on Frontline.
55:38I'm Jessica Savage.
55:58I'm Jessica Savage.
56:08I'm Jessica Savage.
56:11I'm Jessica Savage.
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