- If I gave you a baby right now, what would you do with it?
- Where'd you get the baby?
- [Jadon] A stork dropped it out of the sky.
I gave it to you cause I'm 15.
- [Interviewer] Jadon, you do know
the stork is not real, right?
- Be quiet.
(classical music)
Who are you and what do you do for a living?
- My name is Christina Wilson and I am a medical assistant
in an independently owned abortion clinic.
- I am Sophie and I work in business development.
- I'm Jadon and I'm 15 years old.
- [Interviewer] Today you're gonna be guessing
who has had an abortion from a line of strangers.
- Okay.
- [Interviewer] What do you think about abortion?
- Well, personally, like if, like, let's say, like,
my wife wants an abortion,
I would lean towards keeping the baby but,
it's her decision in the end.
- [Interviewer] What types of people would get abortions?
- People with uteruses.
- People who don't really want to have kids
or like don't like children.
- [Interviewer] Have you ever had an abortion before?
- Yes, I've had three.
- Last year, I got pregnant.
I was unemployed and I immediately knew
that I didn't want to keep it.
I'm so grateful that I had that option.
- [Interviewer] Do you know if kids at your school
are sexually active?
- Maybe.
- [Interviewer] Do you talk to your friends about sex?
- We make sex jokes.
- [Interviewer] All right, you ready to do this thing?
- That's what she said.
- Hi.
- So everyone looks like they have a uterus.
- What's your name?
- Tiana.
- I'm Christina, how old are you?
- I'm 22.
- Are you on birth control right now?
- No I had the IUD for like a year.
- Did you not like something about it?
- I just feel like I gained weight on it
so I didn't like it.
- Yeah, that stuff messes with you, man.
As I've gotten older, I'm like, what the heck?
- Are you a virgin?
- No.
- [Jadon] Do you like children?
- No.
- Okay.
I'm going to say they did have an abortion
because they don't like children and they're not a virgin.
- I have had an abortion.
- Wait, I was right?
- Yeah.
- Can you tell me about that experience?
- It's very new to me, I only got it two weeks ago.
- Oh, good for you.
- [Tiana] Yeah.
So I decided to get the pill.
So you take one pill and then it stops the growth
of the pregnancy.
- Oh.
- [Tiana] And then the next day you take the second one
and you like miscarry.
So like you bleed.
- Oh.
- Don't forget to do the follow-up.
- They were supposed to call me and they haven't.
- [Christina] Oh, you can call them.
- I'm gonna, after this.
- Hi, I'm Sophie.
- I'm Erin.
- How old are you Erin?
- I'm 47.
- [Sophie] Do you have any children?
- No.
- Are you a virgin?
- Am I a virgin, no.
- Okay.
- How do you feel about sex?
- [Erin] I was an escort for almost 20 years.
So my feelings are complicated.
- I'm going to guess, no.
Because you said you were a sex worker and in my mind,
you're probably doing your best to not get pregnant.
- Yes.
If you're having sex for your whole life and you're over 40
chances are, you've probably gotten pregnant.
You don't have any children, okay.
You probably had an abortion.
- I don't why, but I just feel like, you're not,
you didn't have one.
- I've actually had four.
- Oh, okay.
- They were all over like 10 years ago.
I wasn't super careful at that time.
Like, I didn't really have a really strong method
of birth control.
At work, I always did.
But then with my partners, I didn't.
How many abortions do you think is too many abortions?
- I would say like, maybe three.
I think if like, they're responsible enough,
I think like one or two is fine.
- I used to feel kind of like similarly.
People are like, why did you keep making that same mistake?
And then I realized,
I don't think an abortion is a mistake or like a punishment.
If that makes sense.
- Do more abortions you get, like affect you at all?
- No, I mean, we've progressed a lot, like medically,
so it doesn't affect fertility at all.
And there's tons of people who've have had five abortions,
six abortions, seven abortions.
- I wonder what the record is.
- You look fantastic and happy and radiant.
- Thank you.
- But there's something about you.
Do you have children?
- I do.
- See, I also have children, it's a something.
Something in the eyes.
- What do you do now?
- I actually work in reproductive healthcare.
- Oh.
- Do you like young, young children at all?
- I do, yes.
- Probably my guess is, no.
Generally, I think people who like children
tend to not get as much abortions, but I could be wrong.
- I have not had an abortion.
- Oh, okay.
- What kind of reproductive health,
is that what you said you did?
- Yeah, I actually work with Cedar River Clinics.
- Yay.
- Who's also an abortion provider here in Washington State.
- Is it easy to like sign up or like get an abortion?
- It depends on where you go.
Sometimes in other states they will require that you have
an ultrasound first and then you have to wait a day.
We don't require any of that.
If you need an appointment, we can get you in today,
then we will.
- Hi. - Hi.
- What's your name?
- I'm Nina.
- Are you pregnant now?
- I am pregnant now.
- And how many weeks are you?
- I'm 25 weeks today.
- [Interviewer] What's your first impression?
Nina's whole look, whole vibe.
- You have giant earrings.
- I do have giant earrings, this is a true statement.
Is there anything else you notice about me?
- You have some colorful shoes.
- I'm gonna stop you, I'm pregnant.
- Oh.
- So I'm about 25 weeks pregnant.
- Do you have children?
- I have two kids.
- Between your kids, like, were you on birth control?
- Yes.
- Do you think you're responsible to have a third?
- I mean, yeah.
Yeah, I do, I do.
I do think I'm responsible enough to have a third child,
but thank you for questioning that?
- I'm going to say she has not have an abortion.
She has two kids right now
and she's pregnant with one right now.
- You've said you've always been on birth control
unless you didn't want to.
- Yeah.
- I'm going to say no, you haven't.
- I have had an abortion.
We had been trying for a while.
It was very much a wanted child.
The Friday that we all got sent home in the pandemic.
I found out I was pregnant.
I didn't go into the doctors initially because you know,
it was COVID.
I went in at about 12 weeks and the fetus was like,
malformed, like looked weird.
I started a miscarriage.
So I started like bleeding and I just wanted it to stop.
So I had what they call a DNC.
I had a surgical abortion.
- Did it feel like you had a miscarriage?
- Yes?
And like, I got to make a choice to be like,
I'm fuckin done with this.
Like my heart is broken in half
and I don't want to feel this way anymore.
- Mmhmm, that makes sense.
- I said goodbye to the by-product or whatever was,
you know, in the trashcan,
which I think creeped the nurses out and the doctor out,
but whatever.
But it was a great experience, honestly.
- I just want you to know that it's not weird
that you want to see it or say goodbye to it.
- Really?
- Not at all.
- Thank you for saying that.
- [Christina] Yeah.
Thank you for sharing your story, Nina.
- Thank you for listening.
- Sure.
- Do you like children at all?
- I don't mind children.
I prefer not to share space with children though.
- So judging by, you said that
you don't really like children, you have not had a kid.
- No, I have had a kid.
- Oh, what's his name?
- Maverick.
- That's a good name.
That's a really good name.
- It's a good name.
- How were you talked to about sex if at all?
- It was very weird.
Cause I knew when I was nine that, oh yeah, I'm non binary.
I'm trans.
- Okay, well you just said you were trans,
so I'm going to say you haven't had an abortion
simply because you don't have a uterus.
- I do have a uterus.
And I have had an abortion, twice, actually.
- Just cancel me now.
Please, like, God.
- No canceling.
It's just a learning process.
Yeah, so I identify as non-binary but I was born,
I was assigned female at birth,
not all non binary people identify as trans
and for the longest time, I didn't identify as trans either,
but I do now.
But yeah, I've had two abortions.
My pregnancy was very high risk.
I was also experiencing houselessness at the time
and I was just like, hmm, I don't want to do that.
- If I gave you a baby right now, what you do with it?
- Where'd you get the baby?
- [Jadon] A stork dropped it out of the sky.
I gave it to you cause I'm 15 and said it's yours now.
- I'd probably hang out with the baby.
- Do you have any children currently?
- I do.
I had him the day before my 17th birthday.
- Oh wow.
And what made you choose him?
Because to me that's such a young age.
- He chose me.
And it just worked out that way.
- I think that's great.
No, I feel the same way about my first.
- My guess is that you have not gotten an abortion
because you said you have your kid.
- You have not had an abortion.
- You're right.
- [Sophie] Okay.
- I mean, I think that if I got pregnant today,
probably flushing it.
- Oh, okay.
I don't know, like, it's probably going to go.
What are your feelings around virginity?
Does the whole wait?
- I don't want to have like,
lose my virginity before I'm like 18,
because I don't think that's when I should be doing it.
- Mmhmm.
- Are you still sexually active?
- I wish.
- Are you currently partnered?
- I have a baby daddy that I like,
occasionally have sex with, but I shouldn't.
- Well, it's attractive when they're a good dad, you know.
It's hard.
- Yeah he is a good dad.
- What was growing up for you like in your family?
- My mom's side is Catholic,
so I was like baptized Catholic and went to mass.
- Are you religious?
- No, I'm spiritual.
- [Christina] Okay.
I'm going to guess yes, that you have.
- You have had one.
Most of the time when I've asked people
if they have kids or not and they said yes,
that automatically made me think, oh, they did not have one,
but now I'm going to change that.
So I guess that's my final guess.
- You're right.
- I also had an abortion after only having two children.
But what was the reasoning for you?
- I was having a terrible time in postpartum.
My mental health wasn't good.
And I felt like it would be so unfair to myself and my kids
and my partner at the time.
I hate going into doctor's offices.
So I was so relieved to find out that I could do it
like just in the comfort of my own home.
- Yeah, nice.
- They send you the medication to your doorstep.
I had like new comfy pajamas
and I took it and it was like super easy.
- Well, I'm so glad you were able to take care of yourself
because I think a huge factor for a lot of women,
including myself is, where are you at?
Not just financially, but mental health wise.
- Totally.
- Thank you.
- [Interviewer] Did you learn anything new today?
- I've learned that I'm semi-good at guessing
if they had an abortion or not.
My opinion has always kind of been like, I would prefer,
like to keep the baby.
My opinion now is kind of like, it's their decision.
And especially if all the stories I've heard like
about like the miscarriages and stuff,
abortion would really be needed and stuff.
- [Interviewer] Why do you feel like
people don't talk about abortion more?
- People have a lot of shame about having abortions
and guilt about it being not a bad experience.
- I just really appreciate that people like myself
and all of these people as well, were able to share.
This should be the norm.
- [Interviewer] Are you going to
talk to your bros about abortion?
- I'll show em this video.
- [Interviewer] Thank you, Jadon.
- Thank you.
- Bye
- Bye.