“The Fight Over Abortion in America” Pro choice. Pro life. The fight over
abortion has divided America...And the country’s highest court since 1973.
A leaked draft Supreme Court opinion showed the justices are very likely
to overturn Roe v Wade – the landmark ruling that legalized abortion on a federal level.
A change that would be a major win for conservatives and Evangelicals,
who are fighting to push back social liberalism.
It would mean each state can make its own rules on abortion.
One state preparing to take on that power – Louisiana. It already has some of the some
of the toughest abortion restrictions in the country. And now lawmakers are
getting ready to tighten them even further – the moment the Supreme Courts knocks out Roe v Wade.
“We are having a panic attack on abortion in Louisiana, in the country.”
“I immediately knew that I did not want to continue with the pregnancy.”
“I don’t think abortion is good for women”
“we're not looking for alternatives to abortion. We're looking for alternatives to pregnancy”
We went to Louisiana to see UP CLOSE how lawmakers are readying the ground to ban
abortion as soon as they can. It was a trip to a frontline of America’s conservative roll-back.
This is the last abortion clinic in New Orleans, a city of nearly a million people. It’s one of only
three that remain in the entire state. Protesters have left their mark. They
come here regularly to pray and try to talk with women coming for treatment.
The protests used to be much bigger. But the anti-abortion activists
seem to sense victory around the corner. “I think they may be beginning to shut down their
processes, seeing what's coming. You know, I mean, it's inevitable that the Supreme Court's going to
rule the way that they've already, that leak showed, I think it's going to be consistent.”
We meet a New Orleans woman who agreed to tell us how it was for her to get an abortion
two years ago. Cheyenne found out she was pregnant, at 4 and a half weeks.
One thing that really surprised me about This
process how difficult it was to access the abortion first.
She spent hours on the phone, and then appointments were cancelled.
The clinic also ran out of pills. The system
was barely functioning. By the time she received her abortion, she was 7.5 weeks.
It's really important for me to share what a relief it was. To have my abortion.
I felt like I got my life back. I felt like I got my career back. The process
of going to grad school, my finances, control over my life. It was an extremely
positive feeling to know that I was able to control that decision.
It's barbaric how we treat women in this way. we are a country
that is secular, that is not based on religious beliefs. That is how our country was founded.
And right now, this debate is so steeped again in religion, in racism and classism and in power.
Pearl Ricks tells me how people with fewer resources have a much harder time navigating the
difficulties of the Louisiana abortion system. And that often means the Black community. Pearl works
for the pro-choice Reproductive Justice Action Collective -- an organization advocating for
reproductive rights. Many in the Black community are tired of fighting this battle -- and losing
their rights anyways...Black women and trans people face more hardship even before a pregnancy.
“When you think about practical expenses, so travel, lodging,
if you already have a family - who's going to watch your family while you're recovering,
while you're going through whatever journey you are prayerfully empowered to choose // not just
the expense of travel and lodging and childcare, but the expense of the abortion itself.”
And Pearl says the network of abortion providers is stretched so thin,
it’s hard to help even those who manage to persevere.
There are multiple circumstances where our clinics are backed up because there aren't enough. So
people are scheduling farther out or they need to leave already to get the access. So I want us to
think about that, the repercussions that this has for other states that we'll be traveling
to and thankfully the states that are welcoming people from this area to access what they need.
For these pro-choice advocates – including many
doctors - abortion access is an important part of healthcare.
Nicole Freehill is an obstetrician and gynecologist.
She’s just wrapped up her last surgery of the day.
The services she provides includes abortions. And she's started working
with the organisation Lift Louisiana, which fights to protect reproductive rights.
“There are so many women who should not continue a pregnancy for many different reasons,
health reasons, personal reasons. There are so many women who it's safer for them
to have an abortion and not continue a pregnancy than to continue a pregnancy.
And it's, in my opinion, not my job to say, should someone have an abortion or
not. That is each woman's own decision.” We wrap up our conversation and agree to
meet the next day, when Dr. Freehill will play her small part in the enormous battle
over abortion rights – by testifying at the state house of representatives.
Baton Rouge. This is the state capitol building, where the house of representatives meets.
Where the state is shaping its own laws on abortion.
Dr Freehill has come to the capital to lend her voice.
The Health and Welfare committee is debating two new abortion laws.…
One will further restrict access to abortion pills, no matter what happens to RoevWade.
The legislation would affect mail-order and at-home abortion pills. It would make them
harder to get, and mean a doctor would have to be present when they're taken.
“These pills are essential healthcare, essential for my patient we’ll call Susan
who at the age of 21 became pregnant after being raped.
She was already traumatised and wanted some control over the process of her abortion
and that option for medically inducing her abortion was the most acceptable to her.”
But the legislation’s proponents argue the pills are making it easier to forget what is at stake.
Angie Thomas is from the Louisiana Right to Life, which helped draft these bills.
“These pills are used to end a baby’s life up to 10 weeks when that baby has a unique DNA,
all of its organs are formed, its eyes and eyelids are continuing to develop,
we must never forget that that’s what we are talking about here.”
It’s a staunchly pro-life legislature.
The committee approves the bill – it’ll now to go the full house for a vote.
The main bill being debated will anchor Louisiana’s trigger
abortion ban into criminal code. It will make people who provide abortions guilty of a crime.
This will map out the landscape for women post RoevWade. And lawmakers are clear - at
the moment this landscape doesn’t include abortions for anyone, even victims of violence.
“I have been pro-life my whole time but I’ve always been, always for the Reagan exceptions
for rape and incest and the health of the mother, anywhere in these amendments is that covered?”
“No the only thing I covered in this amendment, there was confusion over whether this bill banned
the morning after pill and it doesn’t so I went in and made that clarification that it does not ban
contraceptives or the morning after pill.” “What about rape and incest and the
health of the mother?” “This is not covered
in this bill. I am recodifying laws and right now and it doesn’t include that.”
Opponents of the bill argue it is unnecessarily harsh – Ellie Schilling, a New Orleans attorney
who specializes in reproductive rights law, says it will create unintended consequences.
“This over-criminalization will wrap other people up into it. That's what
over criminalization does. We’ve seen that in all other contexts in our state. People being
charged with aiding and abetting. The example with a medically futile pregnancy, or if you’re helping
someone to get out of state to out of an abortion.
Are you going to be charged or thrown in jail? Are you going to be thrown in jail for 10 years?
The committee approves this bill too. It will also move towards the house for a vote.
We ask a pro-life legislator why these bills have so much support, despite the concerns over
what they will mean for women in Louisiana. Louisiana is predominantly Catholic and the
Catholic Church has been pro-life, anti abortion for decades, maybe forever. I live in north
Louisiana, where we're predominantly Protestant, but we have the same general beliefs. whether
you're a Protestant or whether you're Catholic, people's Christian beliefs are a driving force of,
of their voters and of the way they handle themselves in this legislature.”
Campaign groups from both sides of the debate head outside.
Angie Thomas sees a greater transformation around the corner.
we understand that it's a culture change. For so long in America,
women have been told that abortion is the answer to the to those underlying problems.
And now we're seeing this culture shift where we're going to allow states to say,
no, abortion is not the answer. It's not the loving answer. It's a violent answer.
We need to go after the industry, the abortion industry that is preying and
exploiting on those women and make sure that women understand that, that resources
are available to them and that we want to walk alongside of them and help them.
The pro-choice camp is tired and frustrated...but committed to continuing the fight.
“it's sort of the crazy thing is that they're about to win. Most likely, you know, Roe is
going to be overturned in a matter of weeks. So, they're sort of doubling down, though, on this
effort to criminalize this effort to put, you know, even more draconian penalties in the law
Cheyenne says an abortion pill gave her control back over her life. She fears if
the supreme court overturns Roe v Wade, her state and others will remove that option. She
says the fight back against social liberalism is likely to affect women across the country.
It's going to be horrific for the region as well as the country. You know, our neighbors
next door in Mississippi and in Texas are following suit. So the entire southern region
is really going to be an unwelcoming place for women... So it’s really important. To make sure we
are leading with the data, leading with the facts about what happens when we deny women abortions
and make sure we are not only leaning on emotions and religions to dictate policy.
As we leave Cheyenne and Louisiana, We've seen emotions and deep-seated beliefs driving
both sides of this culture war. Neither of those things are good omens for compromise.