VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED INCLUDES MATURE AND VIOLENT CONTENT THAT SOME VIEWERS MAY FIND DISTURBING
ABORTION BECAME LEGAL IN THE US IN 1973 IN THE 50 YEARS SINCE, THE MEDICAL PROCEDURE HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF FIERCE
DEBATE, WITH PRO-CHOICE SUPPORTERS INSISTING IT SHOULD REMAIN LEGAL AND PRO-LIFE ADVOCATES CALLING FOR IT TO BE BANNED
[ Kyrstin ]It was… I think when you mentioned what your documentary is about, I kind of…
[ Kyrstin ]I think I had like this moment of, do I just say it, tell my story?
[ Kyrstin ]Because I know that's not something people usually want to do or… you know,
[ Kyrstin ]I just keep that to myself and the few people that I've decided to share that with.
[ Lavinia ]But he proceeded to rape me anyway. He asked me how old I was, first of all. And I told him 12.
[ Kyrstin ]And I said, I can't keep the baby.
[ Protestors ]My body – my choice!
[ Lavinia ]You have people that… and you say the heartbeat. So, say if I would've
got pregnant at 13, what was I going to do with the baby? Just be honest.
[ Clint ]And yet as Christians, we believe that God knit together that child in the womb of their mother.
[ Anna ]Women are deprived of their rights. They're treated like sows, who are told: 'You must give birth!'
[ Yosef ]As a rule, doctors don't... intentionally kill.
ABORTION: AMERICA’S DIVIDE
[ VO ]On 19 May 2021, the Republican Governor of Texas Greg Abbott signed into law
one of the toughest and most scandalous abortion laws in the US, the Heartbeat Act.
[ Greg Abbott ]Our creator endowed with the right to life, and
yet millions of children lose their right to life every year
because of abortion. In Texas, we work to save
those lives. Now we're about to make it law.
IT’S THE LAW
[ VO ]As of 1 September 2021, the state of Texas prohibits abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
[ VO ]That's when a fetus has its first heartbeat, which means it is now a human individual.
[ VO ]This news unleashed a publicity firestorm in America. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of US cities,
claiming violation of their constitutional rights.
[ VO ]The biggest rally took place in Washington, DC.
[ VO ]Texan women were immediately backed by celebrities such as Uma Thurman, Billie Eilish, and Lady Gaga.
[ Protestors ]My body – my choice!
LAVINIA PRO-CHOICE
[ Lavinia ]You try to take the rights of women, especially
survivors of sexual violence and minimize us is how I saw it.
[ Lavinia ]And it's like, you're saying now I have complete control and power over you and I'm excited about it.
[ LAVINIA MASTERS, VISTIMS’ ADVOCATE, RAPE VICTIM ] That's what I saw. When you did
that, it's like, now I run everything about you. You don't own anything about yourself.
[ Lavinia ]You already have to pay taxes. You already have to abide by these different laws and rules.
[ Lavinia ]Now you can't even control your own body.
[ VO ]Lavinia Masters is well known in America - an advocate of victims, a survivor, and a
writer. She once found herself in a situation where her own life hung in the balance.
[ Lavinia ]So when I was 13 years old, we lived in the West Dallas area. We had just relocated back from Houston.
[ Lavinia ]My mom was a single mom and she had three of her children. I was the oldest at the time. And what
happened was in the middle of the night, the guy came in through the downstairs window and I was asleep
on the couch. I didn't hear anything, but I was… You know, he woke me up with a knife to my throat.
[ Lavinia ]I felt the pressure on my throat and I didn't know what it was.
[ Lavinia ]And then him… Next thing, I felt him moving my legs apart and
ripping my clothes for me. And so, I opened my eyes and I began
to… you know, have a dialogue. And I was like, Wait a minute.
[ Lavinia ]Who are you? What, what are you doing? And I still remember the
smell he had. He was very… is a putrid smell. I later realized
that that my actual evidence was sitting on a shelf for over 20 years.
[ Lavinia ]What was I going to do with a baby? Just be honest.
[ Claire ]A child that isn't given a choice
that people are saying is not a human being
CLAIRE PRO-LIFE
worthy of protection.
[ Claire ]My twin did not survive. My twin was successfully dismembered during a D and E abortion
[ CLAIRE CULWELL, ABORTION SURVIVOR, PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST ] ...that was meant to take my life.
[ Claire ]And so, if they had known that there were twins, they would have successfully aborted both of us.
[ Claire ]And so my twin actually, saved my life.
[ VO ]Claire Culwell is also from Texas. Her biological mother had a late-term abortion.
[ VO ]She could have had twins, Claire and her brother. But
only Claire survived. She now travels around America on a mission to
convince people that terminating a pregnancy is tantamount to murder.
[ VO ]Claire was to be terminated during a second operation. The only thing that stopped doctors was that her mother
could have died on the operating table... After a difficult birth, Claire was adopted by foster parents.
KYRSTIN PRO-CHOICE PRO-LIFE
[ Kyrstin ]We weren’t teenagers.
[ Kyrstin ]We were in our mid… like mid-twenties,
or I was just kind of starting out, still figuring out where I'm at, who am I?
[ Kyrstin ]And his first remark was just, you know, what do you want to do? And I said, I
can't keep the baby. I mean, this is not… We can't, I can't do this right now.
[ VO ]Kyrstin Grinblat was born in the most conservative state in the US, Texas. Republicans have always reigned
supreme here. And for them, the bonds of marriage and childbirth have always been of fundamental importance.
[ VO ]Kyrstin is 38. She's happily married and has two children of her own. A nine-year-old son and a seven-year-old girl.
[ Kyrstin ]Instead of dotting them, she puts hearts on them. - It’s better to be hearts than dots.
[ VO ]The fact that she became a mother is still regarded by Kyrstin as something out of the realm of science fiction.
[ KYRSTIN GRINBLAT, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER ] Five or six weeks when we ended up aborting…
[ Kyrstin ]Physical…I mean, it was really, really painful, very
bad cramping. And I know, again, like that's early,
so, I can't even imagine how it feels if you waited later.
[ Kyrstin ]I knew it was the right decision because, you know, yes, physically
I felt cramping and it just like a very heavy period. But it was just
like such a weight off your shoulders to, kind of, be like, Okay,
I can continue on with my, you know, education and my career goals.
[ Anna ]For me, September 1st is a black day in the history of Texas.
ANNA PRO-CHOICE They're depriving women of their basic rights and
freedoms. They're treated like sows,
who are told: 'You must give birth!'
[ VO ]Anna Sergeeva is from Moscow but has lived in Houston, Texas,
for ten years now. She works as a researcher at an institute.
[ ANNA SERGEEVA, RESEARCHER, PRO-CHOICE ACTIVIST ] If we are talking about
6 weeks, the size of an embryo is 3 millimeters. That's a grain of rice.
[ Anna ]Most women don't even know they're pregnant at this stage.
[ Anna ]And the fact that there are no exceptions for horrific
cases, like rape and incest, is simply beyond comprehension.
[ Anna ]I think a lot more people would've come if they had had information.
[ VO ]On 2 October 2021, Anna, along with other Houstonians, marched at a
protest, and similar ones were held in most US cities on that day.
[ Anna ]Wire coat hangers are a symbol for home abortions. I went with the hanger because I was
so angry that someone else was telling me what to do. When a woman is put in a situation
where she has no other way out. So,
the woman is left alone with a coat hanger.
[ Woman ]This is a 26-week baby, weighs two and a half pounds.
[ Clint ]Good morning. Would you be willing to talk with us just for a moment before you go in there? Just for a moment.
[ Clint ]I'm not saying I know, cause I'm not a doctor. I'm just a pastor and I'm here to pray for you.
CLINT PRO-LIFE
[ Clint ]They don't think they can handle a child and it is a lot of
work. It's a lot of work to raise a child. I know! We've adopted
[ CLINT MOORE, PASTOR ] ...two children, my wife and I have adopted two children
from Africa. And we know that it's a lot of work to raise children and…
[ VO ]This is one of the few clinics in the US where doctors are allowed
to perform late-term abortions. It's in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[ Clint ]Come and tell us your story. Let us help you. This
is a dangerous procedure. Please let us help you.
[ VO ]Clint Moore, a pastor, comes here twice a week, on a mission to reach out and sometimes even to scream at the top of
his lungs at the women who come here from all over America to terminate what they consider are unwanted pregnancies.
[ Clint ]Good morning, doctor Boyd! Good morning, doctor Boyd!
[ VO ]At that moment, Curtis Boyd, the director of the late-term abortion clinic, arrived in his car.
[ Clint ]Please repent and trust in Jesus, sir.
[ VO ]Most of the patients travel to Albuquerque from Texas, a neighboring state,
where the number of abortion clinics has dropped dramatically in recent months.
[ VO ]The example of Texas could be contagious, especially since there have been many attempts to impose
severe restrictions on abortion in the US. Until now, the Supreme Court has held back this tide.
SUPREME COURT 1973
[ VO ]But if they can find a reason to revise the 1973
Supreme Court Decision, it could trigger a domino effect.
[ VO ]At least 22 states would return to total prohibition.
[ VO ]That would affect 38 million women of reproductive age.
[ Clint ]And yet as Christians, we believe that God knit together that child in the womb of their mother.
[ Man ]Idiots, why are you standing there?
[ Yosef ]Every time I drive by, I see people standing there with posters
and… I don't know where they find the time to stand around with
posters all day. There are a lot of people in our country who
don't have to work, and I don't understand this. I just don't.
YOSEF
[ Yosef ]These are hospital grounds. They recently
built an outpatient building here.
[ VO ]Yosef Raskin is a physician with 40 years’ experience. He was born and raised in the Soviet Union.
[ VO ]He’s worked in Azerbaijan, Tatarstan, and Israel. He now works at a clinic in New Mexico.
[ VO ]To a doctor, how acceptable is the wording of the law passed in Texas: the Heartbeat Act?
[ Yosef ]The first heartbeat… It looks scientific and carries an emotional charge. They say,
[ DR. YOSEF RASKIN, HOSPITAL CARE PHYSICIAN ]'Oh, the heart is beating!' and talk
about the heart. I think the idea is to give it some form, which then, from a legal,
emotional, and ideological point of view,
makes it possible to push through this total ban.
[ Lavinia ]Okay, to me, the lesser evil is the abortion. The greater
evil is having a child. Because you don't know, I've spoken to
survivors. They have told me they have… I've known women that
have tried to…Well, they have killed those babies themselves.
[ Lavinia ]They go to places that's not abortion clinics and they
use those coat hangers. And then if you have those children, I've
known women that have murdered those babies, had those babies in bathroom stalls, walk away, throw them in dumpsters.
[ Lavinia ]I’ve never said it has to be done as an abortion. At
least give those survivors, those victims an option.
[ Lavinia ]“You’re going to have that baby”, you’re throwing them into abyss.
[ Claire ]If you’re familiar with the late-term abortion, Dr. Tiller is a
famous late-term abortionist who did late-term abortion procedures in 1988, 1987, when I was born.
[ VO ]Who was doctor George Tiller, really? He survived several attempts on his life. But in 2009,
in Kansas, he was killed by a pro-life supporter. Americans still argue about him to this day.
[ JULIE BURKHART, TRUST WOMEN, FOUNDER AND CEO DR. TILLER’S FORMER ASSISTANT ] He was a
hero, and it came from the words of the people: the women and the families that he helped.
[ Claire ]What doctors like Dr. Tiller are doing is pure evil. They know what they’re doing performing those
long-term abortions. They know that it is taking the life of a human-being, just like you and I.
[ CLAIRE CULWELL, ABORTION SURVIVOR, PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST ]But they simply don’t care.
[ Claire ]They are making money off of these abortions and off of not telling women the truth.
[ Yosef ]Doctors are easy to blame. And
it's also easy… it's a simple idea.
'Killer doctors'… This is… The
idea comes up from time to time
all over the world. Late abortions are a very small part of total abortions, it's one
or two percent. To be honest, I think they should only be done for medical reasons or
by court order. In general, this situation is extremely difficult for all participants.
[ Yosef ]But, as a rule, we doctors don't intentionally kill anyone... at least not at work.
[ Kyrstin ]I’ve heard from a family member before who, you know, having a dinner
conversation, mentioned that, “Oh, you know, I hate Planned Parenthood,
because when people walk in there, they just want to get those
girls an abortion.” Like, it was some kind of a profitable business.
[ KYRSTIN GRINBLAT, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER ] That’s not right. That’s not at all. They’re
not trying to get you. They’re there to support you and whatever it is that you’re needing.
[ Man ]Morning, guys! We know you guys have travelled a long way. But we would like to help you, guys!
[ Kyrstin ]Sometimes the protesters will approach them and say, “There's
another way we can help you out financially, — like — Keep your baby
and we'll help you out financially.” And when the baby’s born, they just, you know, they disappear. They’re not there to help.
PHIL PRO-LIFE
[ Phil ]So, by 1973, I was… I was part-time helping, helping the handicapped and demonstrating at abortion clinics, but…
[ Phil ]God bless you! God bless your beautiful baby! Take this information! Abortion is never
the answer, it causes breast cancer. You can have nightmares for the rest of your life.
[ VO ]Phil Leahy is 87, but despite his advanced age, he is one of the best-known anti-abortion
activists. He is also known as the 'Saint of the pro-life movement.' He has been involved in this
cause for almost 40 years, and even now, every day at 7 am, he can be found here, outside the
clinic in Albuquerque, urging women to change their minds and not terminate their pregnancies.
[ Phil ]I was in front of an abortion clinic on the sidewalk and holding sign, and this
woman pulls up and she gets out of her parking lot, and she says, “You’re my sign!”
[ PHIL LEAHY, PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST ]Because she’s been praying for several hours. She had an
appointment to get an abortion, and she was asking God for a sign. And I turned out to be the sign.
[ VO ]Leahy agreed to take us with him to the temple tonight, where a girl has
approached him and asked his advice on whether to have an abortion or not.
[ Lavinia ]My question is, who are you thinking about?
[ Lavinia ]Who are you speaking for? When you say ‘the heartbeat’ — whose heartbeat? Your heartbeat?
[ LAVINIA MASTERS, VICTIMS’ ADVOCATE, RAPE VICTIM ]Your conscious? You know, what did you do wrong that
you're trying to correct? That's how you make me feel that you've done something wrong and you're
trying to fix it. No, you're making it worse. I'm a survivor of child sexual abuse as well. Who do I
tell? Where do I go? A lot of times you won't know what happened to me, until if I do come up pregnant,
you know, “Oh my God! How did this happen? She's 11 years old!” And these are things that happen.
[ Lavinia ]Those who don't know, you know, those families, it's shameful for them. So, they tried to cover it up
back in the day. And this is what they don't like to admit. I know what happened in black cultures.
[ Lavinia ]That's the reality. And they don't report those things because of this shame, the trauma behind it.
[ VO ]Claire had no desire to see her biological mother until 21 years later.
[ Claire ]I thought that meeting my birth mother would be a great experience.
[ Claire ]And I would get to see who I looked like, who I acted like and, get to
thank my birth mother for giving me my life. But when I met my birth
mother, 12 years ago, I found out the most shocking news of my life. I
had given her a gift and a ring with my birth stone on it, and I wrote
in a card
THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING LIFE FOR ME. LOVE, CLAIRE
[ Claire ]And, she… she broke down into tears after receiving this gift from me and this card with the
words. And she said, “Claire, I didn't. I didn't choose life for you.”
[ Anna ]There's not one iota of concern for children in this law. If it were about taking care
of children, there'd at least be a line in it telling women in difficult situations,
[ ANNA SERGEEVA, RESEARCHER, PRO-CHOICE ACTIVIST ] 'Just give birth and we'll pay for it'. You'd think so. But no!
[ Anna ]The problem will now be the mother's to deal with. And the other question is what
will happen to these children, whose mothers don't want them or can't afford them.
[ Anna ]These kids are doomed to a very hard life.
[ Clint ]I mean, we take the shoes off sometimes when we have too many shoes on. Huh?
[ Clint ]Well, we're not going to take them upstairs. We'll just take… Hello! Hi there! This is my
family: my son Ivan, he’s our oldest son, he’s 14 years old.
[ Clint ]This is Niko. Niko is 13 years old. This is my wife Joanna.
[ Clint ]We adopted Niko ten years ago when he was three years
old. And then, three years later, we adopted Ivan, when he
was seven years old. Uganda, both of them are from Uganda.
[ Correspondent ]How many years ago now? Four or five years? It’s been five years?
[ Correspondent ]Sorry for asking this question.
[ CLINT MOORE, PASTOR ]It’s okay. No, it’s okay. And here’s the thing, like, of course it’s a painful thing to discuss a lost
pregnancy, because we’ve been married 16 years and we’ve been trying to get pregnant for ten years. About ten years! Yeah?
[ Ivan ] I’m just very thankful for, you know, being adopted and having
a new family, waking up in the morning, having something to eat, and…
[ Ivan ]I’m just very happy and thankful for my family.
[ Joanna ]Nico! Good job!
[ Ivan ]I’m sure I’m really happy that God put me in a great family that loves and cares for me.
[ Clint ]Both of our boys like to play soccer, as we call it our football. We spend a lot of time with our church family, we
spend a lot of time reading the Bible. Even Joanna and
the boys have come with me to the late-term abortion clinic.
[ Joanna ]Our goal is to support the mom. All the way, yeah.
[ Lavinia ]And then, being the first black woman in the
state of Texas to have a law named after her. That is
amazing! Yes! Yes. Yes! Yes! I’m a black woman.
[ Lavinia ]I say, it’s not about me, it’s about other survivors.
[ VO ]Lavinia has written an ironclad rule into her law. Evidence in incest
and rape cases is tested within a short time frame: a maximum of 90 days.
[ Lavinia ]And then, this is a newspaper article in the… I think, it’s the Observer. Yes. At the Texas… I can’t see.
[ Lavinia ]The Lavinia Masters Act is actually my day in court. That’s how I feel. I
feel that it’s actually my day in court. And finally, justice restored on my
behalf. But I can’t give up, because many still don’t have that opportunity.
[ Lavinia ]And everybody in the state of Texas can’t have the law named after them.
[ Ted Cruz ]And that ate Texas!
[ Claire ]The Heartbeat Bill was written by the Republican Party. And so, the Republican Party — the majority
of the Republican Party — is pro-life, and the
Democratic Party is almost 100% pro-abortion.
[ JERI LYNN SCOTT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RESOURCES FOR WOMEN ] Abortion is my story. I had an abortion
at 16, and so I know the pain and the heartache abortion brings to a woman late on in life.
[ Protestors ]My body is my choice!
[ Jeri ]Women want to shout “My body — my choice!” But they don’t know the truth in what they’re saying.
[ Jeri ]See, I’ve been that woman. I took that “My body — my choice!” and realised that I was lied to and deceived.
[ VO ]This is one of the best venues in San Antonio, Texas. That's where a
meeting that the Republicans helped organise is held. They raise funds for
those who oppose abortion. Claire Culwell is among the honored guests.
[ VO ]Republican Senator Donna Campbell takes the floor to make concluding remarks.
[ DONNA CAMPBELL, SENATOR, TEXAS ] But this is what we are fighting for. This what God meant. We are part of His
plan, and we are to save the next generations, right? We don’t have another Texas to move to, right? Thank you!
[ Protestors ] You’re responsible for the blood of our murdered children!
[ Yosef ]When abortion is banned, illegal abortions flourish. They poison fetuses with God knows
what. We've already been through this! Why do we need to beat our heads against the same wall
[ DR. YOSEF RASKIN, HOSPITAL CARE PHYSICIAN ] ...and step
on the same rake? Why not just admit that's what usually happens?
[ Yosef ]So, if it passes, we'll wait for the pendulum to swing back, which will happen in 10 - 20 years.
[ VO ]The consequences of the abortion Kyrstin had in her fifth week of pregnancy were severe. When
she finally decided to become a mother, she had to seek help from doctors to regain her health.
[ Kyrstin ]I did feel some regret, because we were having trouble getting pregnant.
[ Kyrstin ]I’ve had friends who’d gone through fertility treatment would say,
[ KYRSTIN GRINBLAT, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER ]“Oh, after going through all that, it gave so…
such an emotional experience, how could someone ever want to, like, give up their child?”
[ Son ]Mom, I won the lottery today and I won the Rubik’s cube. [ Kyrstin ] Wow! Awesome!
[ Daughter ]So, what did you say, Mom? [ Kyrstin ]Do you want to go for a walk and look at Halloween decorations?
[ VO ]Kyrstin prepares to celebrate Halloween with her children, even
though she doesn't like the holiday. It triggers past memories.
[ Kyrstin ]They have different animals, they have bats, they have skeletons. [ Son ]Look at that broken arm!
[ Son ]They’re not ghosts, Sasha, they’re skeletons. [ Daughter ]Yeah, I know that. That’s what I said.
[ Kyrstin ]I want all women to have that choice. And I do wonder, like at what point would I say, “Oh no,
I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” It’s one of these areas that I just… I don’t know how me personally.
AS OF TODAY, THE SUPREME COURT DECISION THAT FORBIDS US STATES FROM BANNING ABORTION STILL STANDS
HOWEVER, THERE IS PARITY BETWEEN ABORTION SUPPORTERS AND OPPONENTS NEITHER HOLDS AN OVERWHELMING ADVANTAGE
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