{"id":200914,"date":"2019-04-24T14:22:03","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T19:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=200914"},"modified":"2020-04-20T15:24:48","modified_gmt":"2020-04-20T20:24:48","slug":"frontline-abortion-divide-painful-decades-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/frontline-abortion-divide-painful-decades-later\/","title":{"rendered":"FRONTLINE’s ‘The Abortion Divide’ shows abortion is just as painful decades later"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nearly 36 years to the day “Abortion Clinic” aired, PBS released “The Abortion Divide,” another Mark Obenhaus documentary in Darby, Pennsylvania, and the lives of the women who choose it or refuse abortion. “I’ve made many films, but one that has stayed with me is ‘Abortion Clinic,’ part of Frontline’s first season in 1983,” Obenhaus said on Twitter<\/a>\u00a0this past weekend. “Last year I returned to the subject of abortion and the same community where I filmed 36 years ago. The ‘Abortion Divide’ is the story of what I discovered.”<\/p>\n

Joined with co-producer Elizabeth Leiter, Obenhaus embarks on a 21st century upgrade of the subject matter, spliced with contrasting footage from his earlier documentary. The content is fairly even-handed but the narrative slants somewhat in favor of abortion ‘rights.’ All pro-life advocacy is labeled “anti-abortion,” and pro-life options are portrayed as sweet but insufficient, haunted with questions about what will happen to the mother and baby years in the future. Additional regulation of abortion facilities is depicted as cumbersome red tape rather than as a safeguard.<\/p>\n

The “divide” seems to be instigated primarily by extreme opponents of abortion in this film, with a key visual being facility staff burrowed behind bulletproof glass. “I’m not afraid of being threatened by them, but it is framed in reality – there are people that are violent toward abortion providers,” says Dr. Lisa Perriera, who calls the late Dr. George Tiller “one of the idols in our community.”<\/p>\n

Medical information is skirted, despite showing preborn remains on screen. “Up to 9-10 weeks, it’s just a small little piece of translucent sack tissue with nothing that looks recognizable as any kind of fetal parts,” says Dr. Rebecca Mercier of Philadelphia Women’s Center, a completely false statement in light of training documents from the National Abortion Federation showing abortion workers how to identify body parts after an abortion<\/a> (warning: graphic photos). Reversal protocol for non-surgical abortions is described as no more than “anecdotal,” rather than something seriously studied by women’s healthcare providers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Abortion pill dangers are unknown because half of U.S. states don\u2019t report complications<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Below are some photos of an preborn child from 8-10 weeks:<\/p>\n

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Preborn child at 10 weeks gestation (3-D ultrasound)<\/p><\/div>\n

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8 weeks from conception<\/p><\/div>\n

And here’s a video of a 9-week preborn child:<\/p>\n