♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, r. kelly sentenced. the superstar turned convicted sexual predator facing 30 years behind bars. >> this is a significant outcome for all victims of r. kelly. >> one survivor who helped secure justice speaks out. >> i never thought that i would be here to see him be held accountable. plus the reality after roe. a patchwork of abortion bans leading to confusion and closed doors. how far one woman went to have a choice. >> i immediately knew i didn't want to proceed with this pregnancy. >> breaking the law by taking an abortion pill. now some leaving the country. as legal abortions end in the state at the center of this decision. >> being from the mississippi

delta, having access to quality health care, people of color don't have. >> how some health care providers are trying to fill the gap. married to britney. >> how is britney? >> she's amazing. doing great. she's my wife. >> sam asghari opening up for the first time about wedded bliss with pop icon britney spears. his new film with mel gibson. and the slumber party shoot where the romance began.

♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. he went from r&b superstar to convicted sex offender. now r. kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. the singer was found guilty of one count of racketeering and eight counts of sex trafficking after nearly a six-week trial during which some victims testified against him. allegations of abuse have long swirled around kelly but became a federal case after several women spoke out in the lifetime docuseries "surviving r. kelly." kelly did not make a statement during the hearing today but lizette martinez, who was 17 when she first met kelly, shared her reaction with linsey davis. >> i cried.

i just -- never thought that anyone was really going to care for us and our stories. it took so long, like 30 years he's been doing it. i just -- i just felt lighter, actually. i felt a lot lighter. like i was able to tell him exactly what he did to me and to tell the judge and to be heard nd listen. now to our other major story tonight, this one with historic consequences. the reversal of roe v. wade. women now turning to other medical measures, and for some health care providers, the best answer may be preventing unwanted pregnancies before they begin. here's abc's congressional correspondent rachel scott. >> every day that you're carrying an unwanted pregnancy is torturous. you're going through all of these physical challenges. and it's not even a goal that you want to achieve. i'd hoped to see a future where abortion care is freely

accessible. >> reporter: for emma, that future may never be a reality. she lives in texas, where abortion is banned after six weeks of pregnancy. she asked to be filmed in shadow because she had an illegal abortion earlier this year. i didn't want to be.egnant, and- i immediately knew i didn't want to proceed with this pregnancy. i didn't have any sort of dilemma internally about it at all. >> reporter: she felt the best way to end the pregnancy would be by medical abortion pills, an option that's quickly becoming harder to access. >> my immediate concern was to not leave a paper trail of the pregnancy. so i didn't work with any sort of physician. >> reporter: stories like emma's are becoming more common across the country. with a near-total ban on abortion now in 13 states, many women are finding themselves in confusing and difficult situations. >> hands off our bodies! >> reporter: now racing to find solutions for unwanted

pregnancies, exposing longstanding failures of our health care system. in emma's case, it was too late to get a legal abortion in texas. her local planned parenthood said they couldn't help her end her pregnancy. >> they instead offered me a phone number to a new mexico clinic. so that i could continue the conversation there. >> reporter: but she says traveling to new mexico, where abortions are still legal, was out of the question due to the debilitating nausea and fatigue of early pregnancy. and ordering medical abortion pills online would take too long. with the clock ticking, she needed them immediately. >> we know that medication abortion is safe and effective to end a pregnancy up to 11 weeks, it's fda approved and has been since the year 2000. >> reporter: emma didn't know exactly how far along she was. texas criminalizes those who help women get abortions, so she didn't want to go to a doctor for an ultrasound or sonogram. it turned out a friend had some pills she had gotten from mexico. >> i was able to begin the process of self-managing an abortion without seeking any medical counseling at all.

>> reporter: mexican pharmacists and doctors are bracing for a surge of american women crossing the border, looking for reproductive health care. in nuevo progresso, a five-minute walk from the u.s. border, pharmacist miguel mejia says he only sells abortion pills to people who have a prescription. the majority buying them are young americans. >> reporter: medication abortions account for more than half of all abortions in the united states. according to guttmacher, an organization that supports abortion rights. >> medication abortion is accomplished using two sets of pills. the first is mifepristone.

what that does is causes weakening of the attachment of the pregnancy to the uterine wall. the second causes the uterus to contract and expel the pregnancy. those medications work together to be synergistic to end the pregnancy. >> reporter: emma's friend only had high smystoprostol pills. she experienced cramping and bled heavily. >> i thought it had been successful. i was very happy to, in my mind, no longer be pregnant. about a week and a half passed and all the symptoms started coming back slowly. >> reporter: another at-home test showed she was still pregnant. >> misoprostol alone can be effective in ending a pregnancy, but it's not as effective as the combination of the two. the risk is that it might not work. >> reporter: after getting both pill combinations from a nonprofit organization, emma was able to have a self-managed abortion at home. her dog sitting by her. >> it was excruciating pain. i uttered the words "i just want to die."

it was that level of pain that i was experiencing. and that went on for over four hours. >> this is not like going in for a haircut or going into a nail salon. this is basically the same process, at the end of the day, as a miscarriage. in some cases with a medication abortion or a miscarriage, emergency surgery is required in the setting of a potentially life-threatening hemorrhage. that's uncommon, but it absolutely happens. >> reporter: but the pain, worth it to emma. >> it was the greatest sigh of relief of, okay, i'm not pregnant anymore. abortion medication is very safe, but we're utilizing it in a criminally risky environment. it's the fact that i couldn't have an honest conversation with a medical professional to understand what the correct way to terminate this pregnancy was. >> reporter: medication abortion is generally considered safe and

effective. but dr. christina francis says in rare instances, using medical abortion pills without consulting a health care provider can be life-threatening. in cases of an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy in which an embryo implants outside the uterus and ultimately ruptures. they are rare, less than 2% of all pregnancies in the u.s. are ectopic. but the abortion pills don't work on them. >> the symptoms of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy are similar if not identical to the symptoms a woman experiences when she's having a medication abortion. the concern is she'll stay at home, be bleeding into her abdomen, not know it. she's losing precious minutes that might be life-threatening for her. >> reporter: as a woman of color, emma knew she was already at a disadvantage for accessing health care. >> unfortunately, abortion restrictions are going to impact communities that are already overpoliced, overly criminalized. that's a community i am part of.

i have my doomsday prepper kit for my reproductive care. i have plan "b" at the ready. i have home pregnancy tests ready to go. i have a spare set of mifepristone and misoprostol just in case. >> reporter: in mississippi, plan "a," a mobile health clinic, is helping provide reproductive care to patients in the mississippi delta. julia thomas and antoinette robin often drive hundreds of miles to vulnerable communities in the state, addressing the lack of access for women of color to health care. do you feel that people in this state, particularly people of color in this state, have equal and fair access to the health care that they need? >> not really. being from the mississippi delta, you know, a lot of clinics have closed due to lack of funding and other things. so having access to quality health care people of color don't have.

even being educated on what questions to ask when they go to their provider. you know, that's kind of not done in the african american communities. >> reporter: mississippi is known for its strict restrictions on abortion. it's the thing at the heart of last week's supreme court decision. plan "a" doesn't provide abortion services but takes a holistic approach on helping patients prevent unwanted pregnancies before they happen. including offering plan "b" or emergency contraception. >> a lot of communities, the clinics are not trained to do family planning or anything like that. so therefore, they don't have those services. yes, they may come in for a plan "b." but we counsel them on how to use that and we counsel them on contraception, period, whether it's birth control or whatever it is. we want you to be educated on sexual and reproductive health. and your options. >> reporter: dr. francis says

increased access to health care is a good thing and that abortion is only a symptom of the racial and economic disparities in our system, not a fix for them. she's a rarity. an ob-gyn against abortion. most medical organizations support a woman's right to abortion. >> there's a horrendous disparity in maternal mortality rates between african american women and caucasian women in this country, and that absolutely needs to be addressed. it needs to be fixed. but instead of throwing abortion at it, what we need to do is fix the root causes. >> i'm saddened that people will not have access to health care in the way that's most comfortable for them. they would rather be able to speak with a doctor. they would rather be given the options and be able to take their time considering their options. and that's not going to be available for many. that's going to be a thing of the past.

>> our thanks to rachel scott. up next, they met on the set of "slumber party." now he's the man married to britney spears. an exclusive interview with actor sam asghari. enuva. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by a healthcare provider every other month. it's one less thing to think about while traveling. hiv pills aren't on my mind. a quick change in my plans is no big deal. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions, post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver problems or mental health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects

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♪ ♪ the world watched as britney spears fought for and won her freedom in court. by her side the whole time, her new husband, actor sam asghari. so how is he adjusting to marriage, and what about his own growing career? here's abc's will reeve.

>> 15 years after "coming to america," you are in these huge movies, a public figure married to an icon. >> it's unreal. this is not something i've ever thought of. so that's definitely something that i'm super grateful for. >> reporter: sam asghari is living out his wildest dreams. a model and personal trainer turned actor, asghari is getting his big break. >> let's discuss asset elimination. >> reporter: starring alongside mel gibson in the new film "hot seat." >> hiding in there, hoping they would blend in with the heat of the servers. this jackass could be an accomplice. >> reporter: the 28-year-old is perhaps best known for his relationship with pop superstar britney spears. the longtime partners were married in an intimate ceremony earlier this month. >> i have to wear this thing now. you know, it's just surreal, man. it's been a minute. it was way overdue for us. and we imagined this thing being

a fairytale, and it was. we only had 50 to 70 people. we wanted to celebrate, and that's what we did. >> reporter: he's opening up in his first tv interview since their fairytale wedding. nearly seven months after a judge released spears from the conservatorship that controlled her life for over a decade. how is britney? >> she's amazing. she's doing great. she's my wife. >> what does that feel like, "she's my wife"? >> it hasn't hit me yet. i'm not -- it hasn't -- the husband thing hasn't hit me yet. >> do you feel that you're going to be able to be more spontaneous or more planned as life goes forward now that britney has entered this new phase of her life with you? >> we love to be spontaneous. we want to go somewhere, make it happen right now. we want to do something, make it happen. i think the best things in life are spontaneous things. ♪ >> reporter: the two first met in 2016 on the set of britney's music video "slumber party" where he was cast as her love interest. when you think of her, what do you think?

>> it's like, a person on that level that's so humble and so sweet, and it's just -- the energy is so contagious and that's what i love about her. >> reporter: for about a decade, asghari has been carving out a path for himself in hollywood and is now acting alongside some of the film industry's biggest stars. >> wouldn't be the first psycho with kids. >> want to weigh our options before we orphan his baby. >> me and mel gibson going back and forth, i called him a few bad words here and there, and it's definitely something that i apologized for. i'm like, "i'm sorry i had to do this to someone i admire." asghari came to america in his early teens and credits his immigrant journey to set up his current success. >> coming from a different country, seeing both sides of the world, gives you a little bit more experience. makes you appreciate the opportunities that's happening in this country a little bit more. >> what does it feel like to be developing your own career, being in the public eye?

>> if you go into acting, you have to understand you're going to fail. i failed 1,000 times before i booked my first job. with acting, auditioning, all that, i didn't really get noticed until my wife gave me this amazing platform to work with. so i'm always appreciative of that, but let's not take away from the fact that i've been working hard and i was already acting. i don't take any opportunity that i have for granted. and i really try to stay positive with everything that's happening. i'm just so happy with every single job that i'm doing. >> a year from now, what do you think your personal life and professional life will look like? >> professionally, i'm very selective with the jobs that i'm taking. because everything i do is in the public eye. and i want to be able to deliver the best performance, be in the best projects. personal life is going to be really, really beautiful. we got married, we moved, we're going to go to a honeymoon,

we're just happy. >> reporter: as asghari makes his own way in the entertainment industry, he says he draws inspiration and advice from his number one supporter. >> just being in a relationship with someone that has achieved so much, so many great things, at such a young age, kind of gives me the understanding and teaches me so much for the little things i'm going to achieve, or the big things. god knows what, it's up to me. >> what does britney say when you need encouragement to go out and achieve your dreams? >> she says, "go, go get it." i want to be able to make my children or my future children happy. at the end of my life, i want to be able to have a great career, but more importantly i want people to look up to me. my loved ones, my children, my wife. things like that. >> our thanks to will. "hot seat" opens in select theaters on digital and on demand this friday. when we come back, the curious case of the cup lost and found in c

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good for them. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.