Season 1983 Episode 12 | 56m 52s | Video has closed captioning.
A decade after Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on abortion, FRONTLINE went to an abortion clinic in Pennsylvania. First broadcast in April 1983, the documentary followed the individual journeys of women dealing with unplanned pregnancies, and interviewed the people who worked inside the clinic and members of the community who protested outside it.
Aired: 04/18/83
♪ ♪ >> Put this on your arms.
>> JESSICA SAVITCH: Tonight, on "Frontline"... For the first time on American television, the experience of abortion.
>> With this vacuum cleaner-type tube, the baby is literally pulled apart and ripped to pieces.
>> NARRATOR: This is the story of the anguish of four women.
Two who decide to have their babies... and two who choose to come here... ♪ ♪ ...the abortion clinic.
>> This is "Frontline."
with Jessica Savitch.
>> Why should you spend an hour watching another film on abortion?
It'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?
Yes.
It's been ten years.
But there are now new cases before the Supreme Court.
The 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 reexamining the subject.
Tonight 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.
If 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.
It is that experience we share with you tonight.
Before we watch the film, some background: it was filmed at a clinic chosen because it is representative of abortion clinics in this country.
It also offers individual counseling, in which the reasons behind the decision are explored.
We met hundreds of women during the five months at the clinic.
The two whose abortions you will see in this film are single, white and young.
And if you wonder why that is so, it's because the majority of women who make this decision are also single, white and young.
We call the film Abortion Clinic.
It is produced and directed for "Frontline" by Mark Obenhaus and coproduced by Rita Stern and Michael Schwarz.
The narrator is Mark Obenhaus.
And one final note, the abortion procedures you will see are graphic.
(church bells playing tune) >> OBENHAUS: Chester, Pennsylvania, is a small industrial city south of Philadelphia.
On the outskirts of Chester stands a greenstone building which has become a local landmark.
In the past, people knew it as the library of Crozer Seminary.
Since the seminary moved, the building has housed the Reproductive Health & Counseling Center, a private abortion clinic that offers a full range of gynecological services.
Last year, more than 3,000 first-trimester abortions were performed here.
This is a film about the people who work inside the clinic, about the young women who come to the clinic seeking abortions, and about those people in the community who steadfastly oppose the clinic's existence.
>> PROTESTERS: Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Good afternoon.
Reproductive Health.
Margie speaking.
>> CLINICIAN: Was this your choice?
>> WOMAN: Mm-hmm.
>> CLINICIAN: Totally?
>> WOMAN: Yeah.
>> CLINICIAN: You feel forced into the decision in any way?
>> WOMAN: No, not really.
>> CLINICIAN: Mm-hmm.
>> WOMAN: Um, last time, when I was here five years ago, then I felt like, you know, that I...
I was, first of all, too young -to have a kid.
>> CLINICIAN: Mm-hmm.
>> WOMAN: And, second of all, even if I did, then I don't think it would've been happy, 'cause I knew I wouldn't have been happy, -you know?
>> CLINICIAN: Mm-hmm.
>> WOMAN: And I don't think I could afford it.
And there was a lot of things-- You know, I was only 15.
There's a lot of things I'd like to do with my life -and stuff, you know?
>> CLINICIAN: Mm-hmm.
And now?
>> WOMAN: Now there's still a lot of things I'd like to do with my life.
I'd like to get-- You know, I want to be a draftsman, an architect.
>> CLINICIAN: Mm-hmm.
>> WOMAN: I want to go to school.
I have to work my way through, and I'd never be able to support a child.
>> WOMAN 2: She's in the dressing room and she's already changed.
Maybe Jane could take her in the staff room and talk with her for a few minutes, to see if she really wants to be here or not.
>> KLAVAN: You've been told exactly what's gonna be -happening today, right?
>> DIANE: Yeah.
>> KLAVAN: So you know you're gonna be feeling all sorts of strange things.
>> WOMAN: I think that if I was still with my fiancé and things were still going strong, then I would've kept it, because, you know, he's, like-- he's five years older -than I am, you know?
>> CLINICIAN: Mm-hmm.
>> WOMAN: He's got a really good job, you know?
And he can, you know, support.
And he loves kids.
He wants one right now, -you know?
>> CLINICIAN: Mm-hmm.
>> WOMAN: But it's not his.
And we're not doing too well, -relationship-wise, so... >> CLINICIAN: Mm-hmm.
>> KLAVAN: Good.
You're very good.
I hope you have a nice dinner.
-(chuckles) >> DIANE: (chuckles) Thank you.
>> WOMAN 2: All finished.
You did really well, Diane.
>> OBENHAUS: Dr. Klavan is one of the owners of the clinic.
>> WOMAN 2: Just lay down.
Relax a little.
>> KLAVAN: The termination of these pregnancies is not a casual, uh, approach on the part of the individuals who present themselves to this facility.
For the most part, they've all thought it out well.
Uh, it's not as if they can hardly wait to get here so they can be aborted and then go out and get pregnant again.
Uh, it's a decision which most of them have, um, uh, considered over a period of time.
And, uh, I think that, uh, their experience here in this particular abortion facility has been a maturing experience for them psychosexually.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Can you tell me why you-you felt you-you made this decision?
>> WOMAN 3: Because I'm doing fine with the baby I have, and I don't think I would be able to provide for this baby.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
Are you going to school?
>> WOMAN 3: Yes.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Well, that makes it -a little rougher for you, doesn't it?
>> WOMAN 3: Yeah.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Are you living, uh, at home with your mom?
>> WOMAN 3: Yes.
>> CLINICIAN 2: And does she help out?
>> WOMAN 3: A lot.
And they tell me the first one is everybody, but, the second one, you're on your own.
(laughing) >> MARGIE: One thing, June, that we have to let you know is, okay, every Saturday morning, when you do come in, by our parking lot, we do have picketers.
The anti-abortionist group.
And one is dressed like a doctor.
Don't let him confuse you, because they will be there and try to stop you to hand you literature.
>> ISAJIW: I'm Dr. Isajiw.
I'm-I'm medical director of Women's Pregnancy Health Services, which is a group that provides counseling by doctors and alternatives to abortion and medical referrals.
What primarily I'm doing out here is praying.
That's the-the first thing.
This is a, uh, situation where the girls are coming here on Saturday morning to have abortions.
And it's a pretty late time to reach them, but, nevertheless, we do manage to reach quite a few of them.
But that first thing is we pray for their babies and for them, and we also pray for the-- for the abortionists who are-- Maybe some of them don't realize what they're doing.
>> KLAVAN: I think of myself as a sensitive, uh, person.
Uh, um...
I don't like people carrying signs that, uh...
I think I'm like everyone else.
I want everyone to like me and to care for me.
Uh, I don't like, uh, my name, uh, associated to, uh... with, uh, the term "killer" or "murderer."
I don't mind being called an abortionist, because that is actually what I do.
And the same that I'm a surgeon and an obstetrician and what have you.
Uh, I don't like to be categorized as merely providing abortion services.
I wouldn't mind the-the picketers and their signs if they also included the fact that I've been very instrumental in the development of fetal monitoring and that I-- most of my activity is-- relates to preservation of a high-risk pregnancy.
>> ISAJIW: This is a, uh... a book called From Conception to Birth.
Sorry it's a little ragged here.
But this is one of the textbooks, a standard medical textbook, that we use in counseling.
And this is a life-size, real-size model... of a pregnant uterus ten weeks from conception.
Now, this is still the first trimester.
At ten weeks from conception, this child, we know, can suck his thumb, we know it can feel pain, is already easily identified as male or female, uh, has bowel movements, uh, has a fully developed brain, has brainwaves and everything that you and I have.
And, as a matter of fact, you and I were once this size and even smaller.
So, that's the first victim in abortion.
And, of course, many of the girls think that it's somehow removing some kind of pregnancy tissue.
And this is the kind of counseling they received at most places.
They don-- never have an opportunity, hardly ever, to talk to a physician before an abortion is done.
So, many of the girls, once they realize what is really happening and what this baby looks like, say, "No, I won't do that.
I'll find some other way to solve my problem."
>> CLINICIAN 2: What are you nervous about?
>> HELEN: I know what's gonna happen.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Uh-huh.
>> HELEN: And it's harder the second time.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Why do you think it is?
Knowing what?
>> HELEN: Knowing what's gonna happen.
Knowing that you did it -to yourself again.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
Um, can you tell me why you've chose this option, as opposed to the other ones that are available to you?
-Do you know what they are?
>> HELEN: No.
>> CLINICIAN 2: You don't know what your other options are?
>> HELEN: Well, keeping it.
A-Adoption.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
>> HELEN: But I know, if I went through to nine months, -I would've kept it.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
>> HELEN: And then it wouldn't have had the life, a good life, because I can't support myself yet.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
>> HELEN: And I wouldn't be able to handle being a single parent on my own.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Do you know that there is financial aid, there are places you can go that will help you financially if you decided to keep the pregnancy?
>> HELEN: Yes, I know.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Okay.
-You still do not want to?
>> HELEN: No.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Okay.
>> HELEN: Because it's not fair -to the baby.
And it's not >> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
-really fair to me.
>> CLINICIAN 2: And you.
>> HELEN'S MOTHER: Helen was born in May.
That July, I was 18.
And I-- In a way, I didn't want that for her.
That's why I'm glad she made this decision.
'Cause I feel as though I'm really trapped at home.
I have no social life anymore, 'cause, I mean, you go out and, you know, a man says, "Married?"
I say, "No, divorced."
And you say, "Four kids."
They go, "Oh, that's nice.
Goodbye."
You know?
They don't want to be bothered with it.
And I just didn't want that for her.
I just feel as though she should have a life.
And I'm glad, you know, she could come here and have this done.
Because she can start over.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Are you working?
>> HELEN: No.
I'm still going to school.
I'm in high school.
>> CLINICIAN 2: You're in high school?
What grade are you in?
>> HELEN: 12th.
>> CLINICIAN 2: 12th?
Okay, I see you're interested in taking birth control pills.
-Right?
Have you ever taken pills before?
>> HELEN: Yes.
-Yes.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Okay.
Let's see.
It says here that the man told you he was sterile.
-Can you tell me about that?
>> HELEN: Yeah.
He told me, um, that he had a vasectomy done so I didn't have to take -birth control anymore.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Uh-huh.
>> HELEN: So it was stupid of me, but I believed him.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Uh-huh.
>> HELEN: I'm so gullible.
And, um, here I found out that I didn't get my period.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
>> HELEN: It was-- Well, I'm-- I was late a week, and I had, um, X-rays done.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
>> HELEN: And then I found out -I was, uh, pregnant.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Oh, great.
>> HELEN: So it was, um, one big mess.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Did you tell him that you were pregnant?
And what did he have to say about the sterile part?
>> HELEN: He laughed at me.
>> CLINICIAN 2: He laughed -at you?
Uh-huh.
>> HELEN: And I cried.
-Just didn't help.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Did he say it wasn't his?
>> HELEN: No, he said-- he said it was his.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Uh-huh.
Did he say he lied to you?
>> HELEN: Mm-hmm.
But there's nothing really I could've done.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Uh, how did that make you feel?
>> HELEN: Angry.
There's a lot of anger built up.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
Does he know you're here today?
>> HELEN: Yeah.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Uh-huh.
You didn't want him to come?
>> HELEN: No, he just said, you know, from...
When I found out I was pregnant, I'm on my own.
-It's my mistake.
>> CLINICIAN 2: That's real nice.
>> HELEN: So I went and I told my mom.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
>> HELEN'S MOTHER: Um, I just-- I can't explain in words how I feel.
Uh, it's all been bottled up for a few weeks, and it's gonna... explode.
'Cause, uh, as far as I'm concerned, you know, he had just as much to do with it.
But yet, as soon as she had called him, he just dropped her.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Uh, is he helping you, -as far as this abortion goes?
>> HELEN: No.
My mother is.
-No.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Your mother?
Wow.
>> HELEN: I mean, he should see what the-- you know, what the procedure is and stuff.
-And then he wouldn't... >> CLINICIAN 2: What difference do you think that would make, if they saw it, if they don't have to feel it or, um... >> HELEN: Maybe they'd think before they do it.
Make sure one's on birth control, not lying.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
Whose responsibility do you think -that is?
>> HELEN: The girl's.
(chuckles) The girl's, -because... >> CLINICIAN 2: Are you just saying that because you're pregnant now?
>> HELEN: No, because... (clicks tongue) if you gave the guy the pill, -I don't think they'd take it.
-(laughs) I really-- I don't-- I wouldn't trust 'em.
I rely on myself from now on.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
You think you'll ever believe another man?
>> HELEN: No.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Yes, you will.
>> HELEN: Probably in time.
But not right now.
>> HELEN'S MOTHER: After I had got pregnant with the last one, my husband just couldn't cope with it, and he just, uh, felt as though he should have an out somewhere.
And he took it and left me with the four kids.
>> HELEN: My father was an alcoholic.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
>> HELEN: And beat up my mom.
And then he took off when I was 13 years old.
And I haven't seen him since.
When my mom found out she was pregnant with my one brother, my dad told her to get rid of it.
He ripped up the Christmas tree and everything.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Mm-hmm.
How old were you then?
>> HELEN: I was three.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Three.
>> HELEN: And I can still remember that.
>> HELEN'S MOTHER: Helen is a good one.
She...
If it wasn't for Helen, I would have fal... fallen apart quite a few times.
And then, I have an eight-year-old, and, uh, he's just like Helen.
Then I have a six-year-old that's deaf, and he's really a doll baby.
He's really Helen's life and mine, because everybody else treats him like an outcast.
And even with David, I was...
They gave me a choice to have an abortion with David, but I choose to keep him, 'cause I had my back X-rayed when I was two months pregnant, and I didn't know I was pregnant.
They claim that's why he's deaf.
I kind of hesitate on that, but, uh, that goes to show you, I mean, how I feel about abortions.
I mean, I could have had one done, but yet I, you know, choose to keep him.
But yet, for Helen, I think she made the right decision.
>> CLINICIAN 2: So what we're gonna do is go to the lab there.
>> HELEN'S MOTHER: I'd like to see her finish her education.
Um, I would like to see her find a good job, find somebody that really would love her and take care of her, treat her good, because she has been handed a raw deal for a long while.
I mean, from her father, um, from her boyfriend.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Okay.
>> HELEN'S MOTHER: And, uh, the only one she can talk to is me, and she tells me, you know, just so much.
And I know she hides a little bit.
Eventually, it comes out, but I mean, when she starts talking to me, I know she hides some.
But, uh, I just would like to see her find someone and lead a happy life.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Okay, come on in.
What I want you to do is go here.
Just sit right up on that ledge for me.
So that's it.
You have a lot further to come up, okay?
That's it.
Good.
And this over here.
Little bit more.
Okay, you can lay back.
While you're laying there, can you scoot up some more towards me now?
Little bit more.
Perfect.
Good.
Are you comfortable?
Or as comfortable as you can get?
Okay.
Well, Dr. Moranz and I will be in in a few minutes, okay?
We're just gonna give you a few minutes to be by yourself, some time to get yourself together.
Okay, and I think there's a pillow in here someplace.
-Try that now.
Better?
>> HELEN: Mm-hmm.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes, all right?
-Any last-minute questions?
>> HELEN: No.
>> CLINICIAN 2: No?
Don't be nervous.
-You'll be fine, okay?
>> HELEN: Mm-hmm.
>> CLINICIAN 2: All right, I'll be back.
(footsteps departing) (door opens) (door closes) Hi, Helen.
This is Dr. Moranz.
>> MORANZ: Hi, Helen.
Helen, I just want to check your uterus first.
Your last period was the end of September?
>> HELEN: Mm-hmm.
>> MORANZ: Okay.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Okay?
Okay, so, the first thing you're gonna feel is the speculum.
Okay?
A little on the chilly side.
>> MORANZ: Gonna feel some pressure.
>> CLINICIAN 2: And some pressure, okay?
Good.
I'll be with you in just a minute now, okay?
(indistinct chatter) (liquid squirts) Got a chill there?
You'll feel the same thing again.
Some more pulling, another sting, and more pressure.
Easy.
Easy.
All the way in.
No more needles.
Okay?
You see that?
You got through that part all right.
>> HELEN: Mm.
>> MORANZ: Mm.
>> CLINICIAN 2: A little cramp now.
Doing really well.
Should let me know if something bothers you, okay?
You'll feel lots of pull now.
How does that feel?
Okay, gonna feel the same thing again.
It'll go away as fast as it comes, okay?
You will feel it again.
One more time.
Easy does it.
-Good.
Good.
-(metallic tool clacking) Take a nice deep breath all the way in.
Don't panic.
Let it all out.
Blow it out.
Blow it out all the way.
Tough one.
Okay.
One more time.
Take your breath all the way in.
Let it out.
Good.
Okay, I'm gonna put the machine on.
(loud whirring) >> MORANZ: You'll feel sort of a bubbly sensation now.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Okay, Helen, you'll start to feel some cramps now, okay?
Squeeze tight.
Lots of cramps.
That's your uterus doing what it's supposed to be doing, okay?
Easy does it.
Just breathe nice and slow, in and out.
Nice and slow.
(loud sucking sound, machine stops) (metallic tools clacking) Just gonna check inside now.
-What are you feeling?
>> HELEN: Little bit of cramp.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Cramps?
And where are they-- right in the middle?
>> HELEN: Yeah.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Okay.
So hang in there a little bit longer.
>> MORANZ: You'll hear the machine for probably about ten seconds or so, and then we're all... We'll be all through.
(loud whirring) >> CLINICIAN 2: Some more cramps now.
-Doing really well, Helen.
-(loud sucking sound) >> MORANZ: And five more seconds, and we're all through.
(loud sucking sound, machine stops) Okay.
Just one... >> CLINICIAN 2: He's checking one more time.
Hang in there.
Easy.
(tools clicking) -That's it.
Okay.
>> MORANZ: We're all done.
>> CLINICIAN 2: We're all finished.
You did really well.
(tools clicking) Just taking the instruments out.
You'll feel better once the speculum comes out.
There you go.
Better?
>> HELEN: Yeah.
>> CLINICIAN 2: Good.
>> MORANZ: Bye-bye, Helen.
>> HELEN: Bye.
Thank you.
(machine whirring loudly) (machine turns off) >> CLINICIAN 2: I'll be with you in just a minute, okay, Helen?
-Here you go.
>> WOMAN 4: Thank you.
(indistinct chatter) (woman laughing in distance) (indistinct chatter) (chatter continues) >> CLINICIAN 2: Good.
-(clapping) -Did terrific.
You can pat yourself on the back now.
(Helen laughs) Okay?
All I got to do is get a pad on you, and take you to recovery so you can relax for a while.
And that's all you got to do is just lay back and relax.
Get some crackers and some soda.
(loud beep) >> MORANZ: When you're doing an-an early pregnancy termination, the bulk of the material that you're examining is placental, and I-I can't get too involved with placentas.
I think that if I were in a situation where I was doing second-trimester abortions, where you're-you're dealing with... with fetuses, and, uh, we're involved with... in that sort of thing, um, I think emotionally it, over a period of time, would-would have more of a... of a toll.
>> KLAVAN: Good.
I think, uh, all patients are certainly aware of the fact that the fetus, as it grows in utero, attains a-a point in time in the uterus where it begins to resemble a human being.
It has a head, arms, chest, legs and what have you.
Uh, and there is certainly a heartbeat.
(loud whirring) Uh, the fetus, uh, is a growing mass inside of the woman's uterus.
Uh, it is an embryo.
There's no doubt of that.
I don't think there's ever been a question of that.
Uh, as to, uh, whether one accepts it as a... whether one accepts life, uh, as occurring post-birth or from conception or in utero is left to the individual person dealing with that specific, uh, decision.
>> ISAJIW: I could see her on Tuesday.
>> OBENHAUS: As part of his pro-life activities, Dr. Isajiw has counseled more than 500 women on alternatives to abortion.
>> ISAJIW: I would, I would probably...
I could meet her at the office, or I could meet her at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital.
This is the result of an abortion at about 11 weeks from conception.
And 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.
>> SUE: I don't see how anybody can do that.
>> ISAJIW: Well, what's important is, most women that I know who've had abortions simply don't understand that and haven't been told that.
And 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, there are very few who really want to do that to their baby.
Okay, this is eight weeks, and if you look close, this baby is actually sucking his or her thumb.
>> SUE: Looks like maybe a little baby pig.
(laughs) >> ISAJIW: Yeah, well...
This is at ten weeks.
Okay, I'm gonna skip over...
Here we have at 14 weeks.
Okay, and now the main difference is the baby is bigger, and the skin is becoming thicker so now, the baby is no longer transparent.
>> SUE: And that's what he looks like now inside me?
>> ISAJIW: Right, that's what he looks like.
Or she.
Okay, and what were your feelings when you found out that you were pregnant?
>> SUE: Oh, I could have hit the ceiling, really.
-I just wanted to forget about it.
>> ISAJIW: Mm-hmm.
>> SUE: You know, I still do in a way.
>> ISAJIW: Right.
So you were obviously not planning this pregnancy.
>> SUE: No, it was not planned at all.
(laughs) >> ISAJIW: All right, had you, uh, tried any kind of ways to try to prevent it, or avoid it then?
>> SUE: Uh, Dr. Lobo prescribed birth control for me.
ISAJIW: Mm-hmm.
>> SUE: And then, my husband was laid off from his job, so we moved to Jersey to find work down there, but there wasn't any.
And it came time to... for another pack of birth control pills, and we didn't have the money, so I just... stopped 'em.
(laughs) >> ISAJIW: You're a little bit ahead of the game with some of the other women.
You have a husband who's interested, who's helping you take care of your child, who's help... You know, who has committed himself.
Come on in, Gary.
Why don't you come on in, and I'll talk to you?
Okay, just have a seat right here, please.
>> GARY: Okay.
>> OBENHAUS: Sue and Gary are 19 years old.
They were married five months after the birth of their first child.
ISAJIW: Now, Sue had mentioned that there was some talk about abortion, I believe it was from your side of the family.
>> GARY: With my mother, 'cause, yeah, we're... You know, we're... got a nine-month-old baby now, you know, and, uh, we just don't have the money.
So she suggested abortion, but... >> ISAJIW: I've seen in cases of divorce where sometimes the woman had a hard time.
She had to bring up the children by herself.
Uh, sometimes a little bit angry at what had happened to her, and she wants to protect her children from that, and often doesn't think the whole thing through, and may think that abortion is a solution because "My God, what is my son and my daughter-in-law going to do with this situation if things get tough for them?"
>> GARY: Yeah, she was married young just like, uh, Sue and I was, you know, and, uh, she was pregnant.
>> ISAJIW: Uh-huh.
>> GARY: She was... She had a baby out of wedlock, also, you know, and, um, you know, I think it's... She didn't want us to get into the same bind.
>> ISAJIW: Mm-hmm.
>> GARY: You know?
My dad was always in and out of jobs, you know, and never... you know, just barely making it.
But, uh, I think that's all she's trying to do is protect us.
You know, giving us wrong advice, but p... trying to protect us.
ISAJIW: That happens commonly, and it may well be that your mother herself does not understand, uh, what it's all about.
A lot of times people think of it as a decision as to whether to have a baby or not to have a baby.
The reality is, the baby... You already have the baby.
-The baby is there.
>> GARY: Yeah.
>> ISAJIW: And the question is what to do with the baby.
>> NANCY: It was Christmas morning when I told Larry what hap-- what happened to me and I-- and I thought I was pregnant, you know?
Um, they didn't-- we...
It was January 6.
We went down to the Reproductive Health & Counseling Center and got blood tests.
I got, um, pregnancy test, and they told me, uh, it was positive, and I was 16 weeks pregnant.
>> LARRY: She told me that she was raped by, um, a photographer that she was getting pictures taken for, and 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.
Uh, she told me on Christmas.
>> NANCY: Um, he didn't... he didn't abuse me.
He didn't beat me up or smack me around.
He, like, just forced me onto the coach and... and had sex with me, and, uh, um, it was...
It happened so fast.
And I didn't want to... force him... force him off me, 'cause I was afraid that maybe he would start hitting me and... and beating up and abusing me, so I just let him go on and do what he wanted to do.
>> LARRY: And then... we were gonna decide... We decided right away that we should have an abortion.
>> NANCY: So then, like, Larry saw this little ad in the Town Talk paper saying, like, for pregnant people, pregnant women, you go away -and have a baby.
>> LARRY: Another alternative besides... >> NANCY: And there was other alternatives to... beside that.
>> LARRY: For somebody with a... Where you could go and have free, uh, housing and... um, all your medical bills would be taken care of, and, uh... >> NANCY: Right.
>> LARRY: And you can go live with somebody.
>> NANCY: And, so, I-I go ahead with that, um... >> LARRY: We didn't know what to do at that point.
>> NANCY: Right.
So, I talked to my friend Valerie, you know, and I told her about my problem.
Then she called up to Crozer Hospital, and they gave her the hotline number to-to... >> LARRY: George Isajiw.
>> NANCY: Yeah, to Dr. Isajiw.
>> LARRY: Doctor.
>> NANCY: And I... And, like, she was talking to the nurse on the phone.
She set up the appointment with me.
That's when Doctor...
I went in to see Dr. Isajiw Tuesday, and I talked to him for, like...
I told him all about it.
Like, you know, that everything that was happening.
And, like, then he told me about how my... (stammers) If I were to have an abortion, how the abortion would be p-performed.
And I... Like, a salt injection would be injected into my stomach, and, like, the baby would slowly die inside of me, like, skin be burning away.
So I said, "I'm just gonna go ahead with the pregnancy, "and I-I'll come live with you so I can get the proper care and all."
'Cause we ain't... We don't have the money for proper care.
>> LARRY: I hope I get a job, that's all.
So I can take care of Nancy when... when she has her... after she has our baby, if it's ours, or if it's not, we're gonna give it up for adoption.
And we might even give it up anyway, even if it is ours.
Because, um, we're not... We feel...
I feel, anyway, that we're not ready to have kids yet.
'Cause we're not financially sound.
I want to be...
When I have my kids, I want to be financially sound.
>> NANCY: Then we're gonna start planning on having children the proper way.
We don't want to bring unwanted children into the world and have them abused like other children are.
We want to grow... We want to raise our children up right.
>> LARRY: Not like our parents.
We both come from broken homes, and I don't want my kids raised in...
I don't want to feel that...
I'm gonna have my kids brought up, and me and Nancy are gonna split up.
-I don't want to feel that way.
>> NANCY: 'Cause me and Larry, we're not... we're not gonna split up.
We're gonna be together forever.
>> ISAJIW: The 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.
Uh, and the 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.
>> PAT: Okay, ready for grace?
>> ALL: Bless us, O Lord, for these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty.
Through Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
>> OBENHAUS: The Isajiw family helps women who decide to continue their pregnancies by offering them a temporary home.
Nancy will be the sixth woman to live with the family -while awaiting the birth of her child.
>> NANCY: Hi.
-How you doing, Pat?
>> LARRY: Hello, Pat.
>> PAT: You know where it all goes.
>> LARRY: Up steps?
>> NANCY: All the way upstairs.
We'll just bring it right up.
>> PAT: You want coffee or tea before?
>> NANCY: Uh, I'll have a cup of tea.
>> PAT: Okay.
Anybody else who would like coffee or tea?
>> LARRY: I'll take a cup of tea, too.
>> PAT: Tea.
>> NANCY: Okay.
>> PAT: I was also a rape victim.
And I was found pregnant.
And I had...
Through sources, I could have had a back-alley abortion, which was a doctor.
It wasn't a Bloody Mary, as, like, people like to call them.
I couldn't do it.
I went to Saint Vincent's Home.
That was here.
They housed me, and there was a priest that got me through it.
I put my son up for adoption.
My son is now 18 years old, and I know he's well.
And when the girls come to me... That's why we get the difficult cases.
I've lived it.
I have been on both ends of the spectrum.
And when they see that I can make it because I met my husband when he was an intern.
We married, and I had five more pregnancies, three successful.
They see that, they know you can live with the decision if it's done out of love.
And that's the message I'm trying to get across.
Don't kill the baby, because you don't know what the Lord has for you down the road.
Anybody else for tea or coffee?
>> NANCY: I'm so glad I didn't get an abortion.
I am.
>> BARBARA: I never could have a baby and give it up for adoption 'cause I've alwa...
I always would wonder where it would be.
Who it would look like and... would I have been able to give him what they're giving him now?
That would be too much.
This is bad enough.
>> OBENHAUS: Barbara is 17 years old.
She's the mother of a two-year-old boy named Michael.
>> BARBARA: My boyfriend, he used to... well, punch, slap, kick.
He hit... Snatched me up against a radiator one time and sent me to the hospital for stitches.
He gave me bloody noses, fat lips.
Little bit of everything.
This is the letter he wrote and, um...
The day after I asked him to leave.
And he stuck it in the mail slot.
"Sit down and read this... letter very clear "and don't let no one else make up your mind.
"The last four days has been hell "without you and Mike.
"I 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.
"It's not just loneliness.
It's love.
"I don't want to run your life.
"I just want to be a part of it.
"Now I know how you felt "all those times I kicked you out.
"But I was always sore after.
"Please let me come back.
"If you are pregnant, "I don't want you to do something you'll regret "the rest of your life.
"But whatever you do, "I would like to be there with you.
"You don't know how happy I was coming over there.
"I would like to spend "the coming holidays with you, please.
"And call-call me now.
Please call me."
(exhales) But he hasn't come up.
He hasn't... slipped me another letter.
He hasn't given me any kind of message through anybody.
So that was just another one of his little tricks.
>> JENNY: The funny thing about it, you never know what's gonna happen when you walk in there.
Um, you never know how many patients there are gonna be.
You don't know how many people you're gonna need to talk with.
You don't know if somebody's gonna have a lot of emotional problems.
One person can possibly drain you for the rest of the day.
Um... You don't know who the doctor's necessarily gonna be till you get in there.
Um, it's different.
It's different every single day.
Don't know if there's gonna be picketers coming to your door.
Um, we usually expect them on Saturday, but you, you know, you have to keep your guard up, because you never know what people are gonna do.
>> GIRL: Back here.
>> PAT: You and the girls put the sign... >> JENNY: Years ago, we had bomb threats.
Who knows if it's ever gonna happen again.
Who knows if, uh, anybody's gonna come to our door and try and stop people from doing what they believe is right.
Um, you don't know, and it's sometimes scary.
That frightens me.
But that's the only thing that frightens me.
>> ISAJIW: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
>> ALL: Give us this day our daily bread; forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
>> ISAJIW: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
>> JENNY: Go on in and sit down.
What I'd like you to do is have a seat right there.
Okay.
You sure you want to carry that around with you all day?
>> BARBARA: Yeah.
>> JENNY: Okay.
Give you something to hold on to.
What I want to do is go over your medical history with you.
Okay.
You say that your last period was in September.
-Was that a normal period for you?
>> BARBARA: Yes.
>> JENNY: Was not different in any way?
Why did you stop taking your birth control pills?
>> BARBARA: I, um, I lost a lot of weight, and I wasn't eating anything during the day.
And when I took them, they just didn't agree with my stomach, and it made me sick, so I stopped taking them.
>> JENNY: Is that when you got pregnant, when you stopped?
>> BARBARA: No, I had...
Couple months after.
>> JENNY: Okay.
-Barbara, you have one child.
>> BARBARA: Yeah, right.
>> JENNY: How old is he?
>> BARBARA: He'll be two -in three weeks.
>> JENNY: Two?
Okay.
Had you thought about this when you were pregnant the last time?
Had you thought about abortion at all?
>> BARBARA: No.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
Why did you, uh, decide to have him?
>> BARBARA: I don't know.
>> JENNY: What makes it different now?
>> BARBARA: Having him around and, um... worrying about him.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
Why?
>> BARBARA: 'Cause he needs everything I have now.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
>> BARBARA: And, um... >> JENNY: You mean financially?
>> BARBARA: And emotionally.
>> JENNY: Emotionally.
>> BARBARA: And, um...
I'm tired of depending on my mom.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
>> BARBARA: 'Cause when she takes Mike when I say I don't have no food, then she brings stuff up to me, and I don't...
I depended on her too much when I lived with Eddie in the other house.
And I didn't want that.
So instead of calling her, sometimes I just go hungry.
I don't worry about it.
>> JENNY: How often have you gone hungry?
>> BARBARA: When I first moved in, um...
I was, uh, just a couple days.
>> JENNY: With nothing?
>> BARBARA: Eggs.
>> JENNY: Eggs?
>> BARBARA: Just eggs.
But Michael... >> JENNY: Your main meal, huh?
>> BARBARA: Yeah.
Michael was down my mom's.
When I was in regular school all day, she would have him all week.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
>> BARBARA: And, um, I'd have him on the weekends.
This way I wouldn't have to walk from 23rd Street down to Chester High and back with him.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
>> BARBARA: And, um, I'd come home.
-I eat eggs constantly.
-(Jenny laughs) -Eggs and water.
>> JENNY: Uh-huh.
>> BARBARA: I never want to see another egg.
Never.
>> JENNY: Is it better now?
>> BARBARA: A little.
-Yeah.
>> JENNY: A little?
Not much, though?
>> BARBARA: I've learned how to... stretch things more than I did.
I'm not ready to have another one.
>> JENNY: Uh-huh.
And you're sure about that?
Have you explored all your other options?
Do you know what they are?
Can you tell me what they are?
>> BARBARA: Adoption.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
>> BARBARA: And that's the only one I've thought about, but I wouldn't... consider that.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
And do you know that there's financial aid for women who want to continue the pregnancy and keep it?
There are... there are ways that things can be worked out.
Do you know that?
>> BARBARA: I wouldn't.
'Cause they can't help you forever.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
>> BARBARA: And, um...
I would lose my family, and then I would have no help at all.
No one would be there.
>> JENNY: Why don't you think they would approve?
>> BARBARA: They don't like Michael's father.
>> JENNY: Uh-huh.
>> BARBARA: And, 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 this last time this time.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
And you live on your own, right?
>> BARBARA: Yeah.
>> JENNY: Do you work?
>> BARBARA: No.
(clears throat) >> JENNY: And how do you support your child now?
>> BARBARA: Public assistance.
Until I can get my diploma.
>> JENNY: Are you going to school?
>> BARBARA: Yes.
>> JENNY: Good.
>> BARBARA: And then I can...
I'm gonna try to get into a school, a business school, and find a job.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
Start your life.
>> BARBARA: Yeah.
>> JENNY: Uh-huh.
So this'll be a start for you, then.
Does the... other person involved with this pregnancy, um-- that's your boyfriend, right?
Uh, he's the father of your child?
>> BARBARA: Mm-hmm.
>> JENNY: How does he feel about this pregnancy?
Does he know about it?
>> BARBARA: Yes.
>> JENNY: Uh-huh.
And how's he feeling?
>> BARBARA: I don't know.
I haven't seen him.
I haven't talked to him.
>> JENNY: Uh-huh.
(Barbara clears throat) Do you think he would want you to keep the pregnancy?
>> BARBARA: Yeah.
>> JENNY: And how does that make you feel?
>> BARBARA: If I kept it, it would be just me.
-It wouldn't be him, because... >> JENNY: Why not?
>> BARBARA: He'd get tired... and... of being in one spot and want to move around again, like he did before.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
>> BARBARA: And, um...
I'd have no help with him, this one, like I had with Michael.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
Does he live with you?
>> BARBARA: No.
>> JENNY: No.
Do you still see him?
>> BARBARA: No.
Not in the last... months.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
How come?
What happened?
>> BARBARA: I got tired of the things he did and said and the way he acted, and I asked him to leave.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
>> BARBARA: He seen me starting to grow up, and he didn't like it.
That's what it was.
I was making friends other than him.
He didn't believe you needed anybody but him, and... he didn't like that.
He didn't want me to finish school, to go onto anything else, because he didn't.
And he didn't want... to think that I was gonna be... um, smarter than him or do better -than what he's doing now.
>> JENNY: Mm-hmm.
>> BARBARA: And, um, he didn't like the idea of going back to school.
>> JENNY: That's a shame, isn't it?
>> BARBARA: That's what I said.
-(laughs) That's just a shame.
(laughs) If it was...
I said, "If it wasn't for you, I'd be graduating this year, a senior."
And I said, "Now look at me.
I'm a year behind my class.
I can't make it up."
I said... >> JENNY: Well, you're not doing too bad for yourself right now.
Let's face it, you're living on your own... which doesn't happen to a lot of people.
Okay?
You're taking care of yourself.
You're taking care of a two-year-old child.
You're going to school.
You're doing something about your life.
You're not sitting back and-and letting the world pass you by.
And that's pretty darn good.
>> BARBARA: I'm gonna get a piece of it.
>> ALL: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners... (vehicles passing) (crow cawing) Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death, amen.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen.
>> MAN: Hail Mary, full of grace.
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
(speaking indistinctly) >> JENNY: Okay, you're gonna go right in here.
It's okay.
Come on in.
Just go right to the table.
Okay, turn around.
I'll take your purse.
And just sit down for a minute.
Okay?
Cold?
>> BARBARA: Yeah, it's cold in here.
>> JENNY: I'll see what I can do about getting you a blanket, okay?
Now, just go back for me?
Now, while you're laying there, I need you to scoot up some more towards me, okay?
And I'll tell you when to stop, so keep coming.
Keep coming.
That's fine.
Okay, Barb, Dr. Moranz and I will be back... in just a few minutes.
So I'll give you a few minutes to be by yourself.
Okay?
You're sure this is what you want to do, now, right?
Okay.
Here.
You can put this over your arms.
You want to cover?
>> BARBARA: Yeah, it keeps me warm.
>> JENNY: Okay.
I'll work my hands underneath to hold yours, okay?
All right.
I'll be with you in a few minutes.
(footsteps departing) (door closes) Barbara?
This is Dr. Moranz.
>> MORANZ: Hi, Barbara.
Barbara, I just want to check your uterus first.
Size.
Your last period was the 20th?
Of September?
>> BARBARA: Yeah, I don't know the exact date.
>> JENNY: You can have this, okay?
>> BARBARA: Thank you.
(indistinct chatter) I'm just gonna get a few things ready, and I'll be with you in just a minute, okay?
(metallic tools clacking, scraping nearby) Barbara, the first thing you're gonna feel is a speculum.
Okay?
It's gonna be real cold.
And you're gonna feel some pressure from it.
Your hands...
Okay?
You're gonna feel a pinch.
And it's gonna go away as fast as it comes.
That's it, easy does it.
You're gonna feel some pulling, you're gonna feel a sting, and you're gonna feel some pressure.
Just breathe nice and slow.
Easy does it.
Good.
(stifled crying) It's okay.
It's all right.
-(sniffles) -(whispers): It's okay.
Sting and some pressure.
-Easy does it.
-(stifled crying) Easy does it.
Easy.
Squeeze my hand.
You might feel a little cramp now.
(stifled crying) (metallic tools clacking) You might feel lots of pulling and maybe some cramps, okay?
Just hang in there.
-You're doing really well.
-(crying) Easy does it.
-Okay.
Take it all in.
-(inhales) -Let it out.
-(panting) Out all the way.
-Easy does it.
>> BARBARA: Ow... >> JENNY: Easy.
>> BARBARA (quietly): Ow.
>> JENNY: Easy does it.
-(pants) -(crying) -This is it.
-It's the last one.
-(grunts) Okay, I'll be right with you.
Hang on here for just a second.
Be right with you, Barb.
>> BARBARA (groans): Oh... (Barbara grunts) >> MORANZ: Barbara, you'll feel a bubbly sensation.
>> BARBARA: Uh-huh.
(loud whirring) >> JENNY: You'll feel some cramps now, okay?
I know the cramps aren't feeling... good.
(groans) (whirring continues) They're the ones you're allowed to have.
(groans) Easy.
Just breathe nice and slow, Barb.
Slow.
Real slow.
-(groans) -Real slow, honey.
-(sobbing) -It's okay.
(whirring continues) >> MORANZ: You're gonna hear some air, Barbara.
>> JENNY: It's just air.
-(air hissing) (machine turns off) -(crying quietly) -Easy does it.
-(crying) -It's okay.
Barbara, what are you feeling?
(grunts quietly) Is it hurting?
-(mumbles) -No?
(crying) >> BARBARA: Not physically.
>> JENNY: Okay.
(panting) (groans) (panting) >> MORANZ: Okay.
(panting) >> JENNY: Barbara, you're gonna hear the machine go on again.
(groans) (loud whirring) >> MORANZ: Now you're gonna feel some cramping, Barbara.
>> JENNY: Okay.
>> MORANZ: 'Cause your uterus is contracting.
>> JENNY: It's okay.
Easy.
Breath.
Slow.
Breathe.
Easy does it.
-Easy.
-(quiet groaning) (air hissing) That's more air.
>> BARBARA: Ow... >> JENNY: Easy.
Is it hurting right in the middle?
>> BARBARA: Yeah.
>> JENNY: Okay.
-(grunting) -Well, these cramps you're supposed to get.
That means the uterus is tightening up.
(air hisses) It's doing what it's supposed to be doing, okay?
-(groaning) -Relax this part of the neck.
Let your neck come back down.
Let your neck go back down.
-Let it come down.
-(groaning) Let it come down.
(air hissing) (groaning) (machine turns off) -(panting) -Barbara?
Barbara?
Listen to me.
I want you to take a deep breath in, and I want you to hold it.
Listen to me.
-Take a deep breath in.
-(inhales) Hold it.
-Now let it all out.
-(exhales) >> MORANZ: Barb, you're gonna hear the machine for about four seconds, and we're all through.
(panting, grunting quietly) -(loud whirring) -(groans) (machine turns off) (Barbara groans quietly) >> JENNY: Scoot your legs back together so you're more comfortable, okay?
(groans quietly) -What's the matter?
>> BARBARA: It hurts.
>> JENNY: Okay.
It's allowed to hurt.
Okay?
Something's bothering you now?
What else?
>> BARBARA: Everything.
>> JENNY: What do you mean, everything?
(panting) It's gone.
Yes.
And that hurts.
Okay?
You've chose to have this done, but something has still been taken away from you.
And that doesn't feel good.
It's even tougher when you already have... one child and you love it a lot and take care of it and do the best you can... to have to go through something like this.
Okay?
(grunts quietly) So be upset because of that.
Okay?
(indistinct chatter nearby) (bells chiming) (bells continue chiming in distance) >> In the end, no matter how any of us feel about abortion, beyond the rhetoric of answers on both sides, it is the individual who must face the question... alone.
♪ ♪ Next week, a tragic drama is being played out in Zimbabwe, the hope of black Africa.
Three years ago this month, Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, won its independence.
Now the hope for a peaceful transition to black majority rule is being seriously tested.
"Frontline" shows evidence of a massacre by government troops, and looks at the problems being faced by Prime Minister Mugabe.
Charlie Cobb reports on the crisis in Zimbabwe.
That is next week on "Frontline".
I'm Jessica Savitch.
♪ ♪
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