d >> narrator: threeades ago, frontline told the story of a pennsylvania community divided over abortion... >> and this is a life-size, model of a pregnant uterus... >> narrator: now we return to examine a conflict that has only escalated... >> we realize, if we're ever going to outlaw abortion that we have to be able to help women who feel that's their only alternative. >> narrator: and to hear from the women caught in the middle. >> because i'm a mother, i'm not supposed to be doing stuff like this right it's not that simple though. >> narrator: as the battle continues... >> there was the sense that, women simply can't make moral decisions on their the state has to intervene and tell them what to do. >> ...there is a 24 hour waiti period... >> narrator: an intimate look at abortion. the people on both sides... this is literally a life-or-death decision. and to ask a mother to think

onable. for 24 hours is veryre >> narrator: and the struggle over complex choices. >> some patients are like, "i don't want to be doing this, but it is the right choice for me." only they know what they should do. >> narrator: tonight on frontline-ti "the abor divide". ntributions to your pbsssible by station from viewers like you. thank you.an by the corporation for public broadcasting. major support is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to buildinre just, verdant and peaceful world. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the frontlin of social change worldwide. additional support is providedun by the abrams tion, committed to excellence in journalism. the park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. the john and helen glessner family trust. supporting trustworthyfo journalism that s and inspires. the heising-simons foundation. unlocking knowledge, opportunity, and posbilities.

and by the frontline journalism fund, f with major suppom jon and jo ann hagler. (bells ringing in distance) >> m,k obenhaus: 36 years ago i spent weeks in chester, pennsylvania, making a film about abortion for "frontline'si t season. w it ten years after roe v. wade. >> tonight, on "frontline," for the first time on americansi tele: the experience of abortion. >> with this vacuum cleaner-type tube, the babys literally pulled apart and ripped to pieces. >> 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." ♪ >> obenhaus: the film revolved around the reproductive health and counling center. women who came to the abortion clinic spoke aboutth r decisions. >> can you tell me why you chose this option, as opposed to the you know what they are? >> no. >>ou don't know what your other options are? >> well, keeping it, adoption. >> mhmm. >> but i know if i went through the nine months, i would have kept it. >> mm-hmm. >> and then it wouldn't have had the life... a good life, mybecause i can't support lf yet. >> mm-hmm. >> and i wouldn't be able toe handle being a sinrent on my own. >> our father, who art in heaven... t >> obenhause in the community who steadfastly opposed abortion and the clinic's existence marched outside. >> girls are coming here on saturday morning to have abortions.

we pray for their babies and for them, and we also pray for the, for the abortionists. maybe some of them don't realize what they're doing. >> give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us r trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation buts deliver rom evil. ♪ >> obenhaus: last year, i returned to pennsylvania, once again to a community that is today even more bitterlyio divided over abothan it was 36 years ago. ♪ de the conflict may bdes-old, but one thing has not changed: women facing unplanned pregnancies still confront the

same uent and sometimes wrenching decision. (carorn honks) the original clinic from the first film merged with another clinic that now operates out of this unremarkable building in pladelphia. (car horn honks) >> mercy! have aeart! >> obenhaus: there are no signs for the clinic, but there are always protesters on the streets outside. >> excuse me, ma'am? do you know how many babies are killed here? ma'am? (whispers): can i give this to you? >> you'd le to make an appointment? >> obenhaus: the philadelphi women's center began providing abortis in 1973. as many as 6,000 pregnancies a year are terminated here. >> absolutely nothing to eat, drink, or chew. and do you have any ildren? >> six. >> six? one, two, three, four... >> nine, ten. >> nine,en. >> mm-hmm. >> obenhaus: dr. rebecca mercier has been an abtion provider for 11 years. ortions: um, women who ares

young, women who are oldwomen of all races, women of all religions, women who, it's their first pregnancy, women with loti ofren, um, women who never thought that they would be seeking an abortion. we see all of them here. >> obenhaus: the clinioperates five days a week. on some of the days we were ther there were as many as 6 patients. dr. lisa perriera habeen an abortion provider since 2003. >> the patients are so thankful and appreciative that they can come somewhere and be treated with dignity and respect, because they're making a choicet that is theimake. >> do you have any children? >> yes, four.ka >> four, any stillborns? >> no. >> any miscarriages? >> no. >> have you ever had an abortion before? okay.m, one. >> well, this is my choice that i'm doing, because i don't want to bring another child io the world, and i'm not financially

stable. i'm already struggling with the four that i have. so i'm not sure what my other option would be. but if this wasn't an option, then i know i would be struggling. >> dominique.. yo i'm just going to take u upstairs, okay? >> obenhaus: most of the women we approached to be in the film declined.ak those who chose to slike shaharra and taryn, told usie they wanted their stto be heard. >> i'd had unprotected sex just one time with someone that i had "well, you know, surelught, time, you know, i would just get sort of a grace period on that." i had essentially talked myself out of the fact that i was pregnant. >> have you ever had a vaginal ultrasound?'t >> i dhink so. >> okay, a little bit of gel, a little bit of pressure, there's a camera on the tip, side the uterus.ce, clean look >> i already have two small

childr. i have a six-year-old and a four-year-old from a previousce marriage, and i'm ly single. i have a corporate career. and so i decided that the bestt thing for me to dois point in my life was going to be to terminate the pregnancy. >> so your ultrasound results, i saw a multiple pregnancy, so i saw twins. w . >> okay, i measured one at 5.4, so five weeks and four days. and twin b at 5.6. okay? >> okay. >> all right. so i'm going to do your blood pressure. now, does this change anytng in your decision today? >> no. >> and it doesn't change anything on our end, as well. >> okay. >> so everything stays just the same. >> this is not a position that i ever thought i would be in. my initial thought was, right, like, this shoutt this, be, you know, a secret that i, that i take to my, that i take

to my grave, because it'll change how peoe you know, see me fundamentally, or, or people will judge me for this." (women speaking indistinctly) >> okay. >> and you can set your thingsik down, anywhere you le. all right, i'm going to haveig you lay back where you are and just open your pants for me. >> okay. >> so the gel's going to feel a little cold on your stomach, okay? >> mm-hmm. >> muttering) i'm seeing something that, uh, resembles another sac. twins. >> oh, mgod. (exhales) g >> so i'm gointo do some...

what does that mean? so like, like, is the procedure any different?ac >> no, it's y the same, it's no different. >> why does it feel so different? >> why does it feel different? >> my god, yeah. sh >> whesaid that there were twins, i wasn't prepared for that at all. i didn't even consider the possibility. (sniffles) i don't know. it's not a rational thing. it felt... it made things a little different. >> it's a hard decision. >> it completely does. you guys, you're six weeks right plenty of time.s you have do you feel like, if you guys went home and thought about itik for, even, like, a few days and made sure that this is what you wt to do, like, that would give you a little more time to think about it?

like, i want you to be certains that t what you want to do. >> it was, it was a double punch. >> it was, um... we're not taking this lightly at all. >> i want you guys to be confident, and you can always reschedule and come back on tuesday, if you want.th >> i appreciat, and i, i... for, like... . our son couldn't do he is on the spectrum,sp noific autism, more leaning towards asperger's. he doesn't like to interact with humans, he doesn't likedr chil. at all. i think that this has a lot to do with noble. a lot to do with my son. >> we've been married for five years, we have two children that were very planned, um.

i've... one is four andsc starting pol, the other is two, just turned two. el and, um, we found ous unexpectedly pregnant. um... you know, motherhood is a huge a wasn't an easy decision to come here today, but it definitely was necessary. we just bought a house, we a recovering financially from that, and this was just not e time, not a good time. >> i grew up catholic, and, um, you know, they, they kind of teach you very young-- and i went to catholic school, too-- like, you know, this... "abortion is wrong, shouldn't do it, um, it's a sin," all that, all that stuff. no one's going down to the corner store picking uan abortion like they're picking up a pack of cigarettes. it's not, it's not that easy. >> you're going to have to lift your dress for me.

the gel's going feel cold. little pressure. okay, six weeks and one day, ay? >> (softly): okay. >> i'm going to wipe this off. you can sit up. ha >> wwas that? >> six weeks and one day. (sniffling) >> you know, i wanted to look the screen, but i didn't want to look, and...ik i don't know, i feelbeing

a, a parent already has made it kind of anven more difficult thing and even more reason, you know, for some that i shouldn't have had this today or shouldn't talk about it, um... >> why do you think that is? >> because i'm a mother. i'm not suppose to be doing stuff like this, right? umyou know, "what's one more?", right? it's not that simple, though, um, you know. >> i'm a medical doctor, this is what your baby looks like. i think you ought to at least i taket and look at it while you're sitting there in theg waitroom. >> obenhaus: d george isajiw is the pennsylvania director of the catholic medical association. i first met dr. isajiw on the siwalk outside the clinic where we shot the first "frontline" film 36 years ago. >> and this is a life-size, real-size model of a pregnant uterus ten weeks from

conception. and as a matter of fact, you and i were once this size and even smaller. so that's the first victim in abortion. my conviction is that life begins at conception. and every baby, by the time you even recognize that the's a pregnancy, is already an individual, unique human being that... uh, and then here's where the religion comes in, who is not only unique, but the soul will rvive the death. and the reason i'm explaining this to you is because. >> obenhaus: dr. isajiw's activism has always been rooted in the coueling of young women to reject abortion. when we first met, he was counseling as many as six women a week. >> this is the result of an abortion at about 11 weeks witha this vacuum r-type tube. the baby is literally pulled apart and rippedo pieces and killed by that process. >> i don't see how anybody can do that. >> i know that when women find out what abortion really does,wh an it's all about, there are very few who really want to

do that to their baby, okay? here we have at 14 weeks. and now the main difference is,i the baby ier, and the skin is becoming thicker, so now the baby's no longer as ansparent. >> and that's what he looks like now inside me? ke-- or she.at's what heooks what were your feelings when you found out that you were pregnant? >> oh, i could have hit the ceiling, really. it, and i still do, in. about >> right, so you obviously werei not planningpregnancy. >> no, it was not planned at all. >> sir, are you, are you the father of the baby, sir? if you're the father of the baby, you have a stake in this.o >> i neeto stand over there without harassing anyone, >> wait a minute, harais. in the eyes of the beholder. i'm not prepared to go to jail. i've been in jail over this, but, but... >> okay, do you want to >> i don't think this stand up in court. >> would you like to go back to jail? >> do you think this ould standup in court? >> would you like to test that theory?

>> if it was different circumstances, i would. >> obenhaus: in 1986, dr. isajiw was arrested and convicted of a felony for trespassing inside the clinic where the first film was shot. >> at this particular time, i don't have the time to get arrested and spend that time in court. >> our father, whort in heaven, hallowed be thy name. thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth... >> obenhaus: the first thing you encounter when entering the clinic is the bulletproof glass separating the publiareas from the clinic itself. (door buzzing) recent years have seen an increase in intimidation of patients andat thagainst doctors, like dr. perriera, who was singled out onlinen a website run by the group operation rescue. >> i'm not afraid of being threatened by them, but it is framed in reality, there are people that are violent toward abortion provide. yesterday was the anniversary of the murder of dr. george

tiller, who was one of the idols in our community. and he was shot in his church while he was an usher on a sunday morning. so many of us think about that, sure, we think about that. that can happen. >> obenhaus: the presence of protesters outside the clinic is a persistent reminder of the threat. >> do you want your baby to die, ma'am? >> they're outside most days that i'm here, they walk up and down the sidewalk, they holdr thsigns. >> you'll live with this the rest of your life. >> they yell things at the patits. i've never seen them become violent. w but everyone whoks in this community should be and is aware of the threat of violence. >> obenhaus: in 1982, when the first fi was shot, security was light. the waiting room w relaxed and felt like a doctor's office. the staff wore street clothes. then, the procedure rooms weremi spare, with mum of equipment. (woman saking on p.a.)

the clinic today has the look of hospital. ti-abortion groups in pennsylvania and 23 other states have pressed for thege of laws that mandate abortion clinics operate as "ambutory surgical facilities." >> pennsylvania implemented regulations under the ambulatory surgical facilities act that goves everything from the width of hallways, to where sinks are located, to the hvac systems, to the job descriptions abortion care providers have numerous regulations at great cost, at great financial cost to the women who need abortions, and also it's limited the number of abortion providers in this state. >> we had to spend over $500,000 on improvements, um, that did nothing to improve the health of r patients. >> obenhaus: anti-abortion activists see this as progress. >> our most recent bill on abortion facilities, uh,

restricted supply. it said if you want to operate an abortion facility, you have to meet certain requirements,me the s any other ambulatory surgical facility. and several of them did not. we went from 22 free-standingwn abortion facilities o 14. (people talking in background) >> i'll get you all checked in. >> hello, my name is dr. mercier. pennsylvania requires that we gi you the following information before we see you for an abortion procedure. >> obenhaus: like many other states, pennsylvania nowt requires tctors read a script to inform women of alternatives tabortion and the potential risks of the procedure. >> infection, heavy blding, or clots in the uterus needing removal, problems with future pregnancies,nfertility, damage to the cervix, vagina, or gans requiring hospitalization or additional surgery. for abortion, these risks are very low. >> obenhaus: pennsylvania was the first state to mandate the message be delivered 24 hours before a woman's abortion. >> thiis literally a life-or-death decision.

and we should be doing whatever we can to, to save mothers and children from abortion. to make women think about it. and make no apologies for that. >> there is the sense that women simply can't make moral decisions on their own. the state has to intervene and, and tell them what to do. i think it's pure hypocrisy. >> okay. now, as far as getting you scheduled, with that information session, there is a 24-hour waiting period. >> we'reoing to review your medical history, and we can get that appointment all set up. >> do you remember the first day of your last normal menstrual... >> obenhaus: the clinic's call center is open seven days a heek, and when we visited, was a constant flow of incoming calls to schedule abortions. >> are y looking to do the medical abortion by pill or the surgical procedure? oc>> a medical abortion predure is very simir to inducing a miscarriage. um, it is safe for women to do up to about ten weeks of their pregnancy. so do you have any questions before we get you started here?

>> no. >> a great procedure for women who want to feel like they have controover the procedure, who wants to just have everything happen in the privacy of their own home. >> obenhaus: the drug mifepristone ru486 was approved by the fda in 2000. >> we'll have you do the first pill. n >> "medical abortion all abortions in pennsa.ird of >> this is the first pill you're going to take. this is the one called the mifepristone. egnancy stop growing and starthe to unattach a little bit from the uterus. okay.s the process started. >> so you swallow that down like a regular pill. >> okay. >> 24 hourlater, she takes another pill called misoprostol that helps to induce the cramping and the bleeding that will actually help her body push the pregnancy tissue out of her uterus. >> this is the misoprostol medicine, gives you a littlehe bit ofiscarriage symptoms. >> okay. >> okay? and do you have your follow-up appointmt made? >> i do. >> okay, in a week or two? >> yes. >> okay. that's really important, because... >> what i hope i feel is a sense of peace not only with myself

and in the decision that i've made, but also a sense of peace with these two beings at i've chosen not to bring into the world. or "thank youhoosing me, and i'm honored to be given this gift of life, and also i, i can't do it right now. i can't accept that mantle iner terms of the oives that i'm taking care of and i'msp sible for." >> i think i'm always going to a feittle bit of guilt, but we have to feel comfortable with the decisi we made. >> i know i'll definitely be sad, um, because if things hada just beettle bit different, you know, maybe this wouldn't have happened today.t, ou know, i'm confident in the decision we made. >> this is the medicatio abortion pill, the mifepristone, i'm going to have you swallow this with a small sip of water. or as much of a sip of water as you want.

okay. so that's the one that starts the abortion process. >> holy mary, mother of god, pray for us sinners... >> obenhaus: dr. monique ruberu is an obstetrician-gynecologist who frequently protests on the streets outside the women's center. >> the destruction of any life is a definite affront to god. so when an abortion takes place, sd an innocent life that not done any harm to anybody isl destroyed, ive that that is one of the greatest sadnessep of god, but ases the devil. i'm an ob-gyn physician, sir. she deserves to have options. i know she feels boxed in, i u know you guys feel like ve to do this. we can help her. it used to be that people tried to be present on the

killing days, the days when the surgical abortions wown to happen in the abortion centers. but ru486 pill has completely changed the landscape of abortion. and it really necessitates that somebody is present outside of these abortion centers every single day, every hour that they are open. >> sweetie, you took the abortion pill, we can reverse it. you have 72 hours, honey. they don't want meo talk to you, but this is information that can help you. you deserve to know all of the options, okay? >> obenhaus: dr. ruberu is part whof a network of doctors cite acdotal evidence to support the controversial practice of prescribing the hormone progesterone tove ree the effects of ru486. >> i think there's only maybe three of us in this philadelphia ar that volunteered for th hotline so far. then you get the, the se, and history, and you don't even have to see her. you call into theipharmacy, and you get them these high doses of progesterone, which are

easily available. >> the babies that are saved from the ru486 do awesome, and they don't have any problems following, as far as we know. we can help you. if you took the abortion pill, we can reverse it. in my office alone, weded. three reversals. it's so nice to see at the end of the road, those moms are so grateful and, um, so happy that they chose to reverse. >> and would you like to know how far you are today? >> mm-hmm. >> oka okay, i'dating at nine weeks and one day. >> okay. l >> i'm grateat i'm getting this taken care of. if i wasn't, i would be at home, you know, trying to... stressed out trying to figure out what my next move is or, what my next plan is. so it is, it is a relief, because i was stressed out r before i walked in the dis morning.

>> good morning.gh i'm dr. liveri nice to meet you. >> you, too. >> any questions, concerns about anythiay? >> no. >> about three minutes start to finish, okay? >> mm-hmm. >> this is the last part of the consent form the nurse alr dyreviewed with you. i just need your signature and date here on the top line. >> okay.ha >> obenhaus:rra chose to to have a surgical abortion under i.v. sedation. >> you might feel a little warm feeling gorough your i.v. site, okay? it's normal, and it will go away. >> obenhaus: i.vsedation was not an option for patients at the clinic where the first film was shot. >> easy does it.ic just breatheand slow. lots of cramps. >> obenhaus: patients then weree awake, androcedure was uncomfortable, even painful. >> you're drifting offo sleep, okay? take some nice, big, deep breaths. >> obenhaus: most patients opt . have a surgical procedu like shaharra, they want to ave the clinic with the

abortion behind them. >> surgical abortion isly incredafe. the woman is in stirrups. we do a bimanual exam to feel the positioning of the uterus. i place the speculum, clean off the cervixand then place a small clip on the top of the cervix to straighten out the uterine canal.th second part of the procedure is dilating the cervix, which is using instruments to gently open the entry into the uterus, and then removing the pregnancy tissue using suction.um (sucking, vacu whirring) it takes somewhere between two and five minutes. complications are incredibly rare. (people talking indistinctly) >> one of the most important components of safety with abortion procedures is making ansure that all of the pre tissue has been removed from the uterus.

the tissue is taken to a speciac room within the clin it is rinsed off and it's looked at in a specialish with a little backlight on it that lets us confirm that we ate seeing all the tissue would be expected for the gestational age of the egnancy. and that lets us know that there weren't any complications.au >> obe the gestational age of this fetus was nine weeks and one day. >> up to nine to ten weeks, it's just a small little piece of translucent sac tissue with nothing that looks recognizabley as aind of fetal parts. after that, you do see, um,ts small f tissue that are recognizable as fetal tissue. >> forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of ll, lead all souls to heaven. ♪ bless us, oh, lord, hear our cry for justice ♪ ♪ bless us, oh, lord, our god give us this day our daily ead... >> obenhaus: dr. isajiw introduced me to pat stanton. pat comes from family of pro-life activists. in the 1980s, his late father

organized the protests that take place every saturday outside the philadelphia women's center. >> moms, we can help you. change your mind, we're out here. it's barbaric to chop a baby up, put it in a little canister, take it out, and count t pieces. that's what they have to do. who's doing this?d what k world have we entered into where we do this to our children? sometimes it causes me to ♪tremble, tremble, trembl te predominantly, the prot are older white males, and thepa ents are young women. >> obenhaus: lynne molters coordinae volunteers who escort women into the clinic. >> i don understand why older white men think it's appropriate for them to be, um, standing at a clinic wre young women come them, interacting with them,to

sometimes touching them. >> please, don't do this. the baby's heart is already beating. >> what sometimes happens is, the women will get there and >> real help. >> and realize what it is that they're walking into. the magnitude and the yelling can be very upsetting to them. >> mercy! i think 's a spiritual battle, myself. it's between us and satan. uh, and i think when we, uh, do our best to follow our lord and the ten commandments, we willri conquer and, and others to our side in a loving manner. this is life, that's death. we're here to help you. >> obenhaus: stanton often tes to speak to the men who accompany women to the clinic. >> pray for strength and pray for wisdom. if there's any chance that this girl can come out of there, lord, let it happen, let it be a miracle. let this baby grow up to be a great man. i ask this in your name, jesus, amen. >> my girl just said the only way she's walking out of there t

is if she sat they're twins, and i'm, like, "what's the difference between one and two?" >> yeah, that doesn't make any logical sense. >> but, i mean, what the hell, like, i just can't. i don't want to make it seem like i'm controlling her, like...hr >>tian, sometimes all they need is a word from you. they got to feel that the man's behind them 100%. >> how many kids you got? >> nine. >> nine? >> i'd go in there and give it one more shot, and bring ar couple of otmen out, brother. >> obenhaus: christian did go back into the clinic, but he told us later that his girlfriend went ahead with the abortion.>> o we know that we just have to stay the course. and we're going to be beaten upa and, and hav, uh, many failures. but have to continue. so i would say perseverance has been a virtue that's instilled by our faith. you can't be a part-time christian and fight a full-time devil. c >> obenhaus: tarest symbol of today's anti-abortion movement is the crisis pregancy center. there were only a few operating in the early 1980s.

now there are thousa across the country. >> they're very well-connected, and they're very ll-funded. their whole existence is to norsuade women who go ther to have abortions. and, um, it, it ranges from gentle persuasion to fairly coercive persuasion. >> obenhaus: there are as many as 150 in pennsylvania, many located near abortion clinics. but unlike abortion clinics, they are not required to be licensed by the state. >> the crisis pregnancy center is a beaiful phase of the pro-life movement that offers real help and hope for women in crisis pregnancies. uh, we realize, if we're ever have to be able to help women who, who feel that's their only and we've provided an , "no, that's not your only alternative." and it has literal saved thousands of lives every year in the philadelphia area. >> obenhaus: amnion is a crisis pregnancy center that caters to low-income women.

>> the mission of amnion is really to serve, um, anybody in an unplanned pregnancy. if someone is calling to schedule an abortion, i will tell them that we don't perform abortions here, becae i want to be truthful with them right up front. um, but i always say to them, "but you've lled the right place," because i want them to know that right away, that we do have services for them. >> obenhaus: amnion's approach is to offer counseling, parenting classes, clothing, diapers, and pregnancy testing-- >> thank you. you can have a seat. so have you already tested at home? s if you were pregnant? >> yeah, i did last, um, friday. >> okay, what did you get? >> oh, it was a negative, but me riod is late, so i don't know. >> mm-hmm. we offer pregnancy testing, but we don't provide contraception here. we don't want people engaging in behavior that's risky to themnd

emotionally, um,hysically. we want to encourage them tor make betoices with their behavior. >> we realize that promiscuity drives abortion, so therefore part of our, our great cause is promoting the chastity message. contraception takes away a natural barrier to promiscuity, and promiscuity is what drives >> all right, so this per is just saying you were here today for a pregnancy test, and it was negativeokay? >> mm-hmm. >> so either that means you're not pregnant, or you are pregnant, but it's too early to tell. now, you would still be pretty early. so if you haven't gotten your period when you come back, we'le you. >> andriana, come on back. >> obenhaus: andriana is 22 with an eight-month-old daughter. >> your test is coming up positive, congratulations. tell me how you're feeling about your pregnancy. >> i'm fine. >> yeah? were you trying to get pregnant? >> no. >> okay.bu so it wasn't plannedit's okay. >> no, it wasn't planned.

>> your mom, what does she have to say about it? is she hap for you? >> she was not happy. >> was not happy, okay. >> we use ultrasound as a tool, uh, for helping our clients, uh, choose life. >> so you're gng to be able to look up here and see everything we're doing, okay? we set up a big screen up on the wall, so that they can look up and see what's going onte inside theirs and how the baby's growing. >> so we want to see the baby inside your uterus. >> (fussing) >> and then we want to measure and see how far along you are, okay?(b aby babbling)ur now, did i do yoltrasound with her? >> yeah. >> she's talking to us. sister.", "that's my brother or okay, we have eight weeks, one day, plus or minus six her andriana, this is your baby right here, okay? th flickering here is the heart beating. you see that? >> that beating heart.

it's hard to then, you know, deny that the's, um, there's a baby. it's not, it's not just tissue there. it's not something that's easily, um, disposed of. >> and i'm going to measure the body length again here. the women who are happy that they're pregnant or on the fence, a lot of times th're just really surprised. you can see it in their face that there is a, a joyful reaction. some women who are maybe considering abortion are, are t kind of, um... nilled. you know, they might be looking, and it might bring up a lot of complex feelings for them. i have offeredo pray with women, and i will do that if i feel like they're open to that. um, st of the time, they've said yes. (chuckles) i have only had a couple ofpe le who have said no. and re's your pictures. >> thank you.>> ou're welcome. >> that's really where we have an opportunity to form a relationship with a client, show them that we care about them on all those different

levels. "we care about you as a person, as a spiritual person, and as as with an eternal soul, and we want to be able to really sh you that you're loved here." >> (fussing) counsels against abortion, based on their christian faith. unpersuaded and came to the philadelphia women's center. skyes 23 years old, and this is her first pregnancy. >> and i just ne to confirm that you're here for abortion services today, obviously. >> mm-hmm. >> you're conf ent in yourdecision to terminatr pregnancy? >> mm-hmm. >> no one is forcing you to terminate your pregnancy today? >> nope. >> i went to amnion pregnancy center. um, it's in upper darby. al >> just breathe normly. >> the services that they provide are free. the nurse did, though, say to me, like, "are you sure you don't want to just, you know, put it up for adoption?" you know what i mean? like, shwas kind of, like, pro-life. (chuckles)

"listen, you know you can come back with your boyiend. we can talk about different options. we can do another ultrasound again, and then he can look atbe the baby, as well, mhange his mind with that." i'm just, like, "no, no, let me just get this over with. i'll, i'll deal with the depression or sadns later." >> there you go. >> thank you. >> you're welcome, and you canll go ahead andow that. >> i'm going to be upset about it for a little bit. i'm going to pray, probably every single night now. i just fellike i was a horrible person for deciding to actually go through with an abortion, to kill a human being, even though it was only, like, an embryo. so that was, that was sad, but i got to go back to rk. >> obenhaus: skye earns less than $300 a week. like other women we met at the clinic, she struggles to support herself.

these women no longer can. they are homeless. assistance. msome form of public they are living athers' home in upper darby, pennsylvania.or it's a shelter fregnant women that's housed in what was once a convent. >> hi, how're you doing today? okay, very good. >> obenhaus: it was founded in 1991 by a group led by dr. isajiw. >> being able to promise them a place to live was extremely powerful tool. that gave them the courage to choose le. >> obenhaus: mothers' ho can house up to 20 women. r six months after theygnant and deliver. >> the common circumstance that brings the majority of our residents here is trauma. there's abuse. there's a lot ofomestic violence. there's drug addiction. um, there's trauma that's just overflowing from childhood, things that ner heal,

disconnected families. our goal is to support those women who, in spite of their circumstances, still want to give birth to these babies. when women come in for the interview, they've already made the decision that they want to keepheir baby. they are just looking for a safe place. where are you living? y um, some guy let me sta his house, he said i had untilto y. >> today is your deadline? >> yes. >> all right.u so do ve any interaction with the father of your child? >> no. >> okay.t >> i jnt to get my kids home. >> you want to get your kids home. >> my oldest daughter has cerebral palsy. my youngest stays with my aunt in connecticut. >> okay. >> ty're able to come home, just don't have a home. >> okay. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. (shushing) >> once you have the baby, a lot of people forgetbout you. she can't raise that baby if she's not healthy mentally and

physically. so there's no sense in ending ke, yes, everyone can say they're pro-life, but you have to, to put that into, like, motion. you have to help the woman after she has the baby. >> you're tired. >> often the criticism that is leveleis that we're only interested in the, in the baby in the womb and only helping the woman until the baby left the womb, the baby was, uh, delivered, and after that, uh,we uhwe weren't interested in helping women. but that is not the case. >> how're you doing, pat? ed obenhaus: before he sta mothers' home, dr. isajiw and his wife invited young, pregnant women to live in their own home. >> anybody else who'd likeff co? >> obenhaus: this is the scene in 1982. >> we found in the counseling that women were saying, "i don't really want anbortion. but if i don't have an abortion, my husband will, will leave me, or he'll kick me out, or my parents will kick me out." >> i went in to see dr. isajiw tuesday, um, and i talke

to him for, like, anld him all about it. like, you know, that everything that was happening. t and, likn he told me about how my... if i, if i were have... if i were have an abortion, how the abortion would be... (stters): ...performed. it, like, a salt injection would be iected into my stomach, and, like, the baby would slowly die inside of me, like, skin would be burning away. so i said, "i'm just going to go ahead with the pregnancy, and,i' uh come live with you, so i can get the proper care and all." o nhaus: nancy decided to put her baby up for adoption. >> because, um, we're not... we feel... i feel, anyway, that we're not ready to have kidsse yet, bece're not financially sound. i want to be... when i have my kids, i want to be financially sound. t >>n we're going to 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.w. we want to we want to

raise our chilen up right. >> not like our parents. we both come from broken homes, and i don't want my kids raised in, had... i don't want to feel that i'm going to have my kids brought up, and me and nancy are going to splitntp. i don't o feel that way. >> 'cause me and larry, we're not going to split up. we're going to be togetherre r. i'm so glad i didn't get an abortion. i am. >> okay, ready for grace? >> mm-hmm. bless us, oh lord, for these... >> ...thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through christ our lord. amen. >> 38 women over a period of 15 years, high school students and college students.et over time, we wereng a different kind of woman. uh, somebody who was ad.getting, sometimes we were getting, uh, peopleho had h.i.v. and other problems, was a little more tension in terms of trying to house them in private homes. and en the whole movement throughout the country to create maternity homes was very important.

>> hey. (people talking in background)s: >> obenhhere are now 17 similar homes in the philadelphia area. many were founded by people like dr. isajiw, who oppose premarital sex. >> when i was a teenager, if you had sex with a girl, if she got pregnant, you're, you're the father, you're responsible for not only the baby, but her,l for the rest of yoe, or you're going to have to marry her. i would think if we still had all the nuns, and we still had w the teaching t it was, we'd have fewer girls needing housing, because they wouldn'tgn be getting pt. >> obenhaus: it's not a view shared by the residents we met. what many do share with dr. isajiw is his view on abortion. they reject it. and for some, it is a choice they've now made over and over again. >> i was just kind of ing crazy, like, "no, i don't want to be pregnant no more, no more babies." but i don't believe in abortion, so... f i com a big family.

i think babies are a blessing. that's why i have all eight of mines. and i guess that's just how my family is. don't none of my family believe in it, like, abortions. >> obenhaus: two of rosie's chilen live with her sister, five are in foster care. >> i need a big house; i have a lot of kids. (chuckles) >> society has allowed women to say, "it's okay toe a single mother to multiple children." for it when she doesn' any her better. maybe her mother was that way.ho uh, the whole neighb was that way. this is what's happened to our society. >> his name is dominic jayceer. he was premature, like, a have previously had a drug problem. i'm ing way better than i have. i did good before, but, uh, i've do, i've done worse. a shelter may not be the best thing in everybody'sind, but it helped us a lot, so...

i have four, four babies. yep, t girls and two boys. they live in western pennsylvania. my aunt has them. so... so they're good. but they do call her mommy. so i was offended at first, butn understood, like, they needed a mommy, and i was not proving capable of doinghat at the time, so... w we're trying again. he's pretty special. and nobody taking this one. (chuckling) >> themay not have been able to get it right the first time or the second time or the third or the fourt but this is another chance. >> me and her dad, trinity's dad, wpartied a lot together. and we were both sent to prison, um, when i was, like, en i got out, i was homeless.r.h

i was literally homeless. a week. out of my car for, >> there we go. >> (trinity whimpering) >> i know, it's okay, it's jus water. >> she has a rare, um, condition called septo-optic dysplasia. it affects the hormones in her body, and then her optic nerves are also affected. it's an abnormality in her brain. i didn't know for four months i was pregnant. i was still on birth control. and i was drinking, like, i was smoking, like, living, like, the fast life. then lo and behold, there was a ttle heartbeat. and that's when they told me how far i was. um, i was going to go and... abort her, but i was literallyir in the cabout to get it done, and, like, i had to leave. i got up, and i walked o, and i said, "i cannot kill my baby."

so i just accepted tha whatever was meant to be would be. so just one day at a time, and i'm prepared for whateverpp can with her. >> the stigma that society says about single mothers who are poor, "they're a drain on thenc fi of the community, they've made mistakes, these children are mistakes, why do we have to take care of them? they should give their children to other people." they've been even advised tove n abortion, because there's nothing that they can give to a child. but every single woman thath comes througat door, that's their desire, to give their child a better chance at life. ♪ m >> obenhauhers' home lacks the resources to follow residents after they leave. the obvious question of what happens to the women and their children goes unanswered.

♪ >> mercy on their face! >> hail mary, full of grace. >> mom, we can help you. (woman talking on p.a.) >> obenhaus: christine and micah made what was for them a veryic diffult decision. >> okay, i love you, thank you. >> obenhaus:hey chose to go ahead with the abortion. ♪ >> how're you doing today? nervous? >> no, no, i'm not nervous. >> some patits are, like, "i don't want to be doing this, but it is the right choice for me." and it's okay to feel those emotions. it's okay. i try to just let them know it is okay.ou doesn't mean they n't do it. only they know what they should do. >> nice, slow, deep breaths, a little oxygen. at they should do."they know it's a statement i heard 36 years ago and continue to hearat re today. >> i'm almost done with the

dilation. >> i respect people th say abortion is wrong, but people have abortions. people have babies. life is complicated.in (equipment whi>> ll right, we're all done. that's it. ♪ >> are you ready for me? >> i am. >> women are not vessels for just carrying pregnancies. they are full human beings who deserve to have, um, control of their lives, and being able to choose whether you're going to continue with a pregnancy or non is a lifng thing. u. >> love yo e

>> ♪ we are ght of the world ♪ ♪ may our light shine before l ♪ >> obenhaus: but the anti-abortion forces i met here in pennsylvania are unmoved by any argument f abortion. they are more organized, more dedicated, and even more uncompromising than they were 36 they are committed to one goal: ending abortion, no matter how long it takes. >> it's going to be brutal and bloody. and we're only in the second or third round of this fight. this fight is going to be multigenerational, just as the fight agnst slavery was. and it'll be our successors that'll entually win this fight. i'm not predicting the quick will at some point win.e, we >> obenhaus: the endf the battle over abortion, here in pennsylvania and everywhere else, seems a long way off. ♪

e it will not be long bef there will be no first-hand survivors alive. during the holocau... >> i saw the word auschwitz... >> the doors opened, terror hit. us immediate >> how many people have seen a i remember looking at the flames and thinking, "which is my mother?">> e are the last ones, you want to hear? here it is. >> go topbs.org/frontline to find out how access to abortion is changing around t country. >> tonight on frontline...or >> and stream "on clinic," the original 1983 frontline film by prucer mark obenhaus. >> can you tell me why you chose this option, as opposed to the other ones?

do you know what they are? >>ouo. >>on't know what your other options are? >> no. well, keeping it. a-adoption. >> connect to the frontline community on facebook, twitter, and pbs.org/frontline. >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbsn statom viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation foric puroadcasting. major support is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism. dedicated to heightenilic awareness of critical issues. the john and helenlessner family trust. supporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. the heising-simons foundation. unlocking knowledge,rt opity, and possibilities. and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and.

jo ann hag captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> for more on this and other "frontline" programs, visit ouro website at pbs.orgline. ♪ to order "frontline's" "the abortion divide" on dvd visit shoppbs,-p or call 1-800-pl. this program is also available on amazon prime video. ♪

♪ you're watching pbs. ♪ ♪ e said you'd favor middle-class tax cuts. -the front line is just up here. that's where the river... -she took me out to those wetlands. -i think we're off to a great start. ♪

(gentle music) mike forsberg: we are primarily made of water. all life on this planet depends on water. (gentle music and water sounds) forsberg: you can live in a place your entire life and see it in one way. you sort of see it in a box. i want us to know where our water comes from. pete stegen: whallwe're doing here is teg a story. and there's loads of facts in this. and numbers and charts and all that stuff. but to really set the hook, you've got to make it personal, and you've got to make people care.