Reversing Roe (2018) - full transcript

Everything involved in an
abortion is sin and it's wrong.

I actually believe it's evil.

And so there's no value
in things that are evil.

The child is ripped limb from
limb while it's still alive,

while his heart is still beating.

I'm a mother.

I loved my pregnancies.
I love my children.

I'm now a grandmother of four.

When a woman becomes pregnant...

she loses a part of
herself to someone else.

Most of us want that
because it's beautiful.



It is not that way for everyone.

We can sit here
self-righteously and decide

that we always know best for
every person, but we do not.

There's no reason to come back
here, session after session,

and make it more
and more difficult

and drive women back into the
shadows of illegal abortions,

because it's exactly
what this will do.

They will not stop having them.

They've always had abortions.

We've always had abortions.
Women always had abortions.

And that will always be
something that will be sought.

If you want to stop abortions,

then help me stop
unwanted pregnancies.

Question occurs on the
adoption of the amendment.



Representative Klick voting aye.

Representative
Oliverson voting aye.

Have all members voted?

There being 92 ayes and 42
nays, the amendment is adopted.

A bill has moved forward
in the legislature,

placing more restrictions
on abortion...

They're trying to get
something in place...

Texas will have new
abortion regulations.

So that there's less and less
opportunity to have an abortion,

till, perhaps, there
is no option at all.

I was a young woman prior to Roe

v. Wade, when
abortion was illegal.

I know the difficulties
of that period of time.

The idea that we would go back to
that was just unbearable to me.

The bill banned one
of the most common

types of second-trimester
abortions.

This bill prohibits
one specific procedure.

But we made it very
clear from the beginning

that the legislative
priority needs to

be something that
will stop abortions.

The legislative priority
needs to be something

that reveals the truth about

abortion, and the
legislative priority

needs to be something
that will get

us closer to
overturning Roe v. Wade.

My goal is to make abortion at
any stage a thing of the past.

This bill actually
protects human life

beyond 20 weeks here in the
Commonwealth of Kentucky.

I am pro-life, and I
very strongly believe

that we must promote
life, defend life...

My goal is to end
abortion in Mississippi.

There is a steady chipping away of
the right to abortion in America.

There are places in
the country, it's

as if Roe versus
Wade never happened.

The Supreme Court today
legalised abortions.

Since 2010, 300
abortion restrictions

have been passed in this country,

and I think many
people are unaware

of how restricted abortion
has become.

The Republican Party's
the party of life,

because people want life,
they don't want death.

We want to end abortion.

If we're gonna do it through
continuous legislation,

then we're gonna go back again
and again and again, until we win.

I think the feeling was that

with the climate as
pretty tense around

the abortion issue in Missouri...

Missouri used to
have several places

where you could get an abortion,

but over the last decade,

more and more laws and
regulations have been passed...

Planned Parenthood confirmed
the Columbia clinic

has stopped performing abortions.

And because of that,

it becomes harder and
harder to provide that care.

Thursday was the last day women

could have an abortion
at the clinic.

And now there's just one
abortion clinic in Missouri.

She's the lady that
does the abortions.

The Planned Parenthood
in Saint Louis.

God does love you.

Please, think about what you're
doing today and not do that.

These babies don't want
to die today, Colleen.

When I started out,

I thought abortion would just be

part of my practise;
that, you know,

just like people
need hysterectomies,

people need abortions,

and I will take care of my
patients who need those.

But I realise that in
conservative states

it can be very hard
to get an abortion.

And so I became a physician who
really focuses on abortion care.

I live in Saint Louis,
but... three out

of four weeks, I'm
travelling somewhere.

And it might be Monday
and Tuesday in Oklahoma,

Friday and Saturday
back to St. Louis.

Then the following
Monday in Wichita,

which is one of the four places
where I provide abortions.

They kill people
for a living here.

We cannot stand by and say, "Well,
we're just gonna let that happen,"

or it's the woman's
choice and so on.

I'm happy with what we're doing,
and I'm gonna continue doing it.

And we're gonna win. I'm a
big-time Trump supporter,

and we're gonna win this.

It's... The time is
coming. The truth

is coming out,
that's what's happening.

Well, I've had these
people out here ask me

what my thoughts and opinions
of abortion itself is.

And I give them the same answer.
"My opinion." I keep it that way.

The main reason I'm
here is that girl

that flies up there
on that flagpole.

What I have against these
people more than anything

is that they keep trying to push
their religion up on someone else

in a nation that's supposed
to have religious freedom.

You know, you can think
whatever you want about it.

But, in America,

one in four women will have
an abortion in their life.

So, to me, abortion is
just basic health care.

We're gonna remove
the pregnancy, okay?

And when I think about how
politicised this has become...

I wonder, you know, well,
how did this happen?

In all the soul-searching
I have done,

I sincerely feel that
if they do it now...

that they are only
disengaging from me...

a kind of mass of tissue.

In the early 1960s,
abortion was illegal.

And there was a woman
named Sherri Finkbine.

She was a children's
television hostess in Phoenix.

Miss Sherri.

She had four children,

and she was pregnant
with a much-wanted baby.

But she had taken this
drug called thalidomide.

And she went to her doctor
and said, "What about this?"

And he said, "I recommend
that you have an abortion."

He said, "I can
arrange an abortion

for you in the hospital here."

Hospitals did some what they
called "therapeutic abortions,"

only to save the life of women.

But if the doctor
wanted to help the woman

out, he would interpret
that very broadly.

The woman might say,
"I'm gonna kill myself."

Then he could say,
"Her life is at stake."

If therapeutic abortion is done,
it's usually done on the basis

of the mental and emotional
disturbance to the patient.

Women had to go before a
committee of male doctors

to ask for an abortion.

And women were often
treated very badly. Like,

"Well, we'll do the
abortion for you,

but if you agree
to be sterilised."

It was a common procedure.

"We don't want to
clean up your mess."

They would say things like that.

But if you were a
wealthy white woman,

you could probably find a way
to get access to the procedure,

and it would be called
a therapeutic abortion.

Sherri had an appointment at
the hospital for the abortion.

And she felt that she had an
obligation to let this be known

so that other women in the same

position would have
the same option.

But once the...

the word kind of got out
into the local newspaper,

you know, the hospital said, "Oh,

no, we can't give
you an abortion."

She couldn't find a place for an
abortion any place in the country.

She had to go to Sweden.

I just want to do what's right
for myself and my family,

and I don't feel bitter towards

people who oppose
this religiously.

I think we're doing the right

thing. I'd like to
really emphasise.

We're not making a
decision for other people.

This is right for our family
and in our particular case.

This became a big story.
It was in Life magazine.

I remember as a very
young kid reading

it and thinking,
"What's this about?"

So, it focused people's attention.

If you were pregnant and did not
want to be, in the '50s and '60s,

you had very few options.

So, if you didn't
want to have a child,

either you were
lucky enough to have

a family doctor
who would help you,

or to have enough money to go to
Puerto Rico or some other country,

where you could get an abortion.

After I graduated from
college, I was pregnant

and I was in England. I
didn't know what to do and...

was terrified. And I found a

doctor in the phone
book in London.

And he said, "Promise
me two things.

One, you will not
tell anyone my name.

And two, you will do what you
want to do with your life."

And I'm grateful
to him to this day.

I didn't know anything
about abortion

until I became the chaplain
at Skidmore College in 1966.

And I told my wife at one point, I

said, "You know,
1,400 young women.

What kind of problems
could they have?"

And she said, "You're a
dope. You're gonna find out."

Students who were pregnant,

but didn't want to tell their
families, would come to me.

And I'd send the student
to a doctor in Schenectady,

who always found it
necessary to do an abortion.

And that's how I learnt that
I wasn't just a chaplain.

I learnt I was an
abortion counsellor.

There were many other
college chaplains

doing the same
thing around the country.

This is the Clergy Consultation
Service on problem pregnancy.

The first public organised group

was the Clergy
Consultation Service.

This was 19 Protestant
ministers and two Jewish rabbis.

Clergymen counselling
this week are Reverend...

And I was a part of that.

We would not ask them
why they were having

the abortion. That
was not our business.

But most of the
women wanted to talk

about it. They wanted
to tell me why.

And so it was quite an education
for a young male minister

into the lives of women.

We went into this apartment,
and it was dark, dingy.

He apologised. He
said, "I'm sorry you

have to be treated like
a criminal."

This 24-year-old
girl had an illegal

abortion less than an hour ago.

The laws which govern
abortion are broken

an estimated one million
times a year.

Even though they
suffered great indignity,

wealthy women often had a safe way
of ending an unintended pregnancy.

But during my clinical
training at Harlem Hospital,

I really was thrust
into an environment

where women were from a very
poor and deprived background.

And then I saw that
African-American women

who were disproportionately
poor were the most directly hurt

by the restrictive
policies of the time.

There were some pretty sad
cases of women attempting

to terminate their
pregnancies themselves.

The facts are astonishing.

350,000 women a year
suffer complications.

5,000 of these women die.

There were many terrified women
who were using coat hangers

and knives and throwing
themselves down stairs.

And going to an illegal abortion
doctor was often unsafe.

It was just a piece of
hanger, an ordinary hanger.

Not a whole one. Just a piece.

When you have an abortion,
you have to pay $700

to go through this
cloak-and-dagger business

to find you some guy who's
willing to stick a hanger up you.

I heard that there was a meeting.

It was being held in a
church in the Village.

What I'm talking about,

more than likely, look at your
neighbour. She had an abortion.

And, you know, women just got
up and told their stories.

Those men offered me a deal:

I couldn't have an abortion
if I wasn't sterilised...

And I had never, ever in my life
heard women telling the truth

about something that
only happened to women,

and saying, "This doesn't have to

be this way. We
have to change it."

Because the laws are made to
keep that woman in her place.

And suddenly, you know, that was

a great "aha." You
know, I thought,

"Okay, I had this experience.

One in three American women
has had this experience.

Why, why is it illegal
and dangerous?"

That was kind of the
beginning of the unravelling.

You got something to hide?

I'm not sorry I did
it and I would do it

again, and I think it
should be legalised.

The issue is reproductive freedom,

and that means the
right to have children,

as well as the right
not to have children.

Something really
profound is happening.

Mainly that women have
caught onto the game.

We don't know it completely yet.

You know, we haven't
really discovered

the total anatomy
of our oppression

and of what they've
been doing to us.

But we do know that
it's happening.

We're on to it.

Free choice.

This is going to be a battle,
and we will not give up

on the right of a woman
to achieve abortion.

Early feminists...
understood immediately

that abortion was a central issue

of feminism and to women's rights.

- What do we want?
- Free choice.

- When do you want it?
- Now.

If you didn't have control
over your own body,

what kind of right
could you ask for?

It is a political issue, and the
state means to control our bodies.

We produce the soldiers,
we produce the workers,

and they fear the
loss of that control.

It's the basis of democracy

that you control your own body.

And it's the basis
of hierarchy and

totalitarian
regimes that you don't.

Safe legal abortions are
not available to our...

All right. Will you please
sit down or be removed...

No, we aren't gonna sit
down. Why don't you...

A woman gets pregnant and
she's treated like a criminal.

She can't get an abortion.

She has to go through having that

child, whether she
wants it or not.

Before the courts got involved
in the abortion issue,

it looked as if the matter
would be settled in politics.

California passed a new
liberalised abortion law today.

California Governor Ronald Reagan
actually signed a reform bill.

I think one thing that
people don't realise today

is that it was the
Republican Party

that was the pro-choice party.

And there were states
with Republican

governors who passed
abortion reforms.

And then New York totally repealed
the old 19th-century abortion law.

One of the nation's most
sweeping abortion control bills.

The New York law said
you can have an abortion

throughout the first two
trimesters just if you wanted.

You don't have to give a reason
or anything. It's your choice.

And on July 1st, 1970,

the first legal abortion
clinic in America

was opened by the
clergy of New York City.

And that clinic did over
a hundred abortions a day

for 13 months,

until other clinics had formed.

This is the first radical step.

And that set off
the Catholic Church.

I have set before you

life and death.

Therefore, choose life.

The unborn child has no choice.

Does the Catholic
Church give you as

much help as you
need in this issue?

The Catholic Church
was very strategic

in its opposition to abortion.

They set up the Right
to Life committee,

and the cardinal and the
church pushed back vigorously.

Legal abortion in New York

has already claimed almost a
half million innocent lives.

And the New York abortion law
came up in the legislature.

To abort a human
foetus in the womb,

you oughta get sick
to your stomach.

There were a lot of
Catholic voters in New York,

and the church was saying,
"We're against abortion."

Ours is a nation with a
Judeo-Christian heritage.

Republicans were in
control of the legislature.

None of this justifies abortion.

And now they were repealing
legalised abortion.

The Republicans I
knew got angry about

taxes and how big the
budget's gonna be.

I think that the traditions of the

Republican
Party are the traditions

of an individual person
to choose what he wishes,

as long as it doesn't
infringe upon other people.

We were the party that
believed in individual liberty.

Congratulations.

Governor Rockefeller
was pro-choice.

One more committee...

And we felt, "Why should the state

be telling women whether or not
they could have an abortion?"

Rockefeller vetoed the bill...

and abortion stayed
legal in New York.

There was a Gallup poll
in the summer of 1972

that asked people to
answer the question,

"Do you believe that
abortion should be

a matter between a
woman and her doctor?"

Republicans by about two-thirds
said yes to that question,

"Abortion should be a matter
left to a woman and her doctor."

Not the government.

I think I'm probably
the oldest provider

of abortion services
in the country.

I did my first abortion in 1967.

Illegal abortion.

The Clergy Consultation
called, and they asked me,

"Curtis, would you
consider doing abortions?"

Do you have any problems
you want to discuss with me?

So, that's where it started.

And I thought I
could go to prison,

I could lose my medical licence.

And I grew up religious. I
became an ordained minister

my senior year in high school.

And I think the basic Christian

teaching is compassion
and service.

My head and my heart
and my hands said

to do this. I can
make a difference,

and I'm going take the risk.

I've done this work ever since.

I'm now 80 years old. And
after 80 years, I've decided

I'm not moving on to another
career. I think this is it.

I mean, I'm still needed.

Thank you for calling the

Southwestern Women's
Surgery Centre.

I'm Alicia. How may I help you?

Okay. I have availability
for tomorrow afternoon...

I've been urged by
people to pass on

what I have learnt
and experienced.

So, that's what I'm
doing, trying to

teach as many young
doctors as I can.

Dilate carefully...

My philosophy is that the
goal in providing abortions

is to assist the woman in
making the best decision she can

for her and her life...

in whatever that takes.

The most important moral
question of the abortion debate

is what is in the womb?

Is it a person?
Does it deserve our

moral attention and
protection or not?

That is the most
important question.

In the pro-life movement, we're
outraged, because we believe

that elective abortion is

the taking of an
innocent human life.

That is an act of injustice that
we can stop and we need to stop.

- This is Doctor Boyd.
- Dr Boyd.

If you have questions, we
want you to let us know.

And we'll take good care
of you and make this...

Women continue a
pregnancy and have a baby,

because they want a
baby at that time.

And they have an abortion because
they don't want to be pregnant

at that time in their life for
their own sufficient reasons.

The state of Texas requires

that you be seen at least 24
hours before your abortion.

And then I'm gonna
show you this sonogram.

That looks like between
five and six weeks, okay?

Sonogram technology is one of the

best friends of the
pro-life movement.

It is changing a
generation's mind about

what's going on in
the womb of a woman.

It is very common for expecting
mothers to have sonograms

on their fridge for
children to know what

that picture is. That
is their sibling.

And so this was a great tool that
we wanted to tap into and to use,

and we saw that
abortion clinics were

already using sonogram technology

before an abortion.

Good morning, everybody.
John Seago with tech...

We think very deliberately
about what are

we doing that is
taking a step forward

to challenging the very
foundations of Roe v. Wade.

And the sonogram
bill was an important

one because we were
pushing how much

we can require a physician to do.

All right. So Chapter
171 of the Texas

Health and Safety
Code require that

I provide you with
this information at

least 24 hours prior
to your procedure.

We wanted the sonogram
not just to be performed,

for the sake of the abortionist,
but also to be displayed

for the woman to see.
That was the whole goal.

This little blurry
thing right here.

If you focus kind of right there
and you see a little flicker.

Yeah.

That's the heartbeat.
Cardiac activity.

The law says a doctor
has to describe

what she sees on the
screen to the patient,

giving her a chance
to change her mind,

to see the error of her ways and
realise what she's about to do.

That's the idea.

This is the state imposing
it upon the woman.

She has engaged a doctor
to discuss this with her

and help her come to a resolution.

She did not engage the
legislature of the state of Texas.

It is the strong conviction
of Texas Right to Life

that the legislature should
work to stop abortions.

In the capitol, we have the

capacity to direct
the conversation.

All elective abortion
is a violent act

of injustice and
should be rejected.

Hey.

If you're running in
Texas as a Republican...

An inhumane action to a
human child in the womb.

You have to claim to agree
with pro-life principles.

Sid Miller helped pass powerful
legislation to protect the unborn.

Thank you and God bless.

You can be elected as
agriculture commissioner.

You can be elected as
the chief financial

officer of our state
because of abortion.

Not because of your
skills with numbers.

We must pass one of the strongest
pieces of pro-life legislation.

But because of your skill

at getting legislation passed
to obstruct access to abortion.

That's how powerful
this issue is in Texas.

That's how powerful pro-life
advocacy groups have become.

I signed a sonogram
law so mothers facing

that agonising choice
can actually see.

And I know it...

works.

We want to see all unborn children
protected, and we believe that

what we've been doing is still
the best way to approach it.

Yet another round in the abortion
battle has been fought on...

But our roadblock has always
been the Supreme Court.

The Court declined to
overrule Roe versus Wade.

We're gonna keep plugging
away to overturn Roe v. Wade

because we believe this country
shouldn't be killing its babies.

Is it a legal question, a
constitutional question,

a medical question, a
philosophical question,

a religious question,
or what is it?

There had been other
cases around the country

trying to challenge
local abortion laws.

But our case was the first to
get to the US Supreme Court.

The law in Texas was that
abortion was illegal,

and we had a woman who was already
pregnant who didn't want to be...

and she didn't want
her name public.

So, we thought, "Well,
John Doe, Jane Roe."

And Henry Wade was the
district attorney in Dallas.

And it was clear that so many
women were affected by this issue.

There was a flight
that left Dallas

every Thursday
going to California,

and there were usually ten or
a few more women on that flight

going out to California
for abortion.

People were going to Colorado.

And a lot of people
were flying to New York.

And there were thousands of women
who had had illegal abortion,

who had done their own abortion.

And so we filed a class action

to say that this is a case for all

women who are or
might become pregnant

and want the option of abortion.

I was 26.

And I was the youngest person ever

to argue a case in
the Supreme Court.

We are not here to
advocate abortion.

We do not ask this court to
rule that abortion is good,

or desirable in any
particular situation.

We are here to
advocate for the right

of a woman to determine
whether or not

she would continue or
terminate a pregnancy.

Roe against Wade was argued to
nine middle-aged-to-elderly men.

It was a conservative Court.

It was a Court with
four Nixon appointees.

Their presence is
expected to make the Court

more conservative than at
any time in recent memory.

But abortion was not a
partisan issue at that time.

It was a medical problem,
it was a social problem.

Basic constitutional question is

whether or not an unborn
foetus is a person, isn't it?

At one point a justice
had said to me,

"When do you believe
human life begins?"

And I said, "Well, Your Honour,

we did not try to say exactly
what moment that was."

There is no one answer to that.

Different religions have different
answers to that question,

but there is no legal
standard that said,

"At this point the
foetus becomes a human."

So, the question is, who
gets to make the decision?

Is it the woman,

or is it the government?

And my position has always
been it's not the government.

Good evening. In
a landmark ruling,

the Supreme Court today
legalised abortion.

The Court split seven to two

with Justices Byron White and
William Rehnquist dissenting.

The decision made abortion
largely a private matter

and ordered the states to
make no laws forbidding

it, except possibly
during the final months.

When Roe went through, it
was a shock to everyone.

To go so far over to
the other side,

to put everything in
the woman's hand

and essentially
dismantle the laws.

Now, in any other state, you

couldn't pass laws
against abortion,

not forbidding it directly.

It was a constitutional right.

The Roe decision held

that women have the right
to terminate a pregnancy

in the first two trimesters,

and then it's only at
the third trimester

that the state has the
right to prohibit abortion

except when necessary to preserve
a woman's life or health.

When the Roe v. Wade
decision was handed down,

Planned Parenthood
had been devoted

to women's reproductive health

and access to contraception.

And the local chapters
had to ask themselves,

"Are we gonna provide abortions
now that they are legal?"

It was really a
moment of reflection

that was very tough
for the organisation.

March 11th is...

When it first became legal,

Planned Parenthood was
not keen on abortion.

Various affiliates
around the country,

a lot of them didn't want to do
abortions. They really didn't.

The board would be divided.

Half the people would want
to, the other half wouldn't.

Now, after the doctor's examined
you and everything is all right,

the first thing he's going to do

is use the speculum.
This is the...

But one by one, they swung
over to the active side.

And when they did, the
people who didn't

like abortion would
resign from the board

and other people would come
on, and it's committed now,

committed to this right,
given by the Roe v. Wade

decision. No court opinion
can change the law of God.

Every legal possibility
must be explored

to challenge the opinion of the
United States Supreme Court.

Life begins at conception.

Protect the life of the unborn.

So, as long as there was no
New York law or no Roe v. Wade,

the woman was really,
you know, an outlaw.

She was moving
around, trying to get

some procedure that
was against the law.

And nobody really tried
to stop her very much.

But when the Court said,

"You have the right
to make this decision.

You have the right
to define your life.

Not religion."

That was unacceptable.

Get out.

There won't be any
murder here today.

So, the Catholics were already

involved with various
pro-life things.

But for Operation Rescue, the

genesis really was
more evangelical.

We rejoice, Lord.
Hallelujah. Glory to God.

The name comes from
Proverbs 24:11.

The Biblical verse
that says, "Rescue

those unjustly sentenced to die."

Someone else can be
hooked up to this pipe.

There'll be no abortions in here
today. No abortions in here today.

Amen.

And so our motto was,

"We're here to rescue the innocent
child sentenced to die today."

People out into the street.
There's hundreds more...

It was a very immediate thing.

Almost
militaristic. Operation Rescue.

We're here to rescue these babies.

The judges, the politicians,

they're getting the signal,
as is Planned Parenthood.

Legalised child killing's days
are numbered. We will win.

This is a phenomenon.

It was really an outworking
of our Christian faith.

So, this is the epicentre
of Operation Rescue.

This is a former abortion clinic.

We actually took this place
that was an abortion mill.

We closed it down,
we remodelled it,

and now we've made
it our headquarters.

Before we closed the place down,

the property line is
right down on this crack.

And we would stand right here

and minister to the women that

were going in this
abortion clinic.

If we stepped over the
line, we'd be arrested.

Just like that, be arrested.

Operation Rescue
has targeted Wichita

with virtually all
of its resources,

attempting to close the
city's three abortion clinics.

Thousands of people
came to Wichita,

and that's because
of George Tiller.

George Tiller's Women's
Health Care Services clinic

is just one of three in the nation
which perform late-term abortions.

The issue is a moral
imperative from God Almighty

to rescue those led to slaughter.

The pro-life movement here
looks bigger than ever.

Federal marshals were
escorting patients

through the protesters,
into the clinic.

Operation Rescue had really
caused a shutdown in that city.

And I received a message saying
that Phil Donahue wants you to do

a show in Wichita,

and he wants to do it
with Randall Terry.

And so, you know, to go to
Wichita in the midst of this,

we were kind of going into
the belly of the beast.

Faye Wattleton, I'm
saying this to you.

You have betrayed your race.

When you think... Absolutely.

To say that abortion
for black women

is somehow a favour to them
to kill their offspring...

To be characterised as being
engaged in black genocide

is just what it is.
It's incendiary rhetoric

that was designed to
inflame the debate.

- Let me finish, Faye.
- I do not need you

to tell me what my
choices are about my life

and my body because
I am a black person.

Planned Parenthood does a hundred
thousand abortions a year.

They've killed more children than
any organisation in the country.

I think this really is about
women's status in society,

controlling women's behaviour
and the limits of that behaviour.

Any contraceptive that
is an abortive agent,

such as the IUD or the pill,
I believe should be banned.

Mr Terry has in fact
revealed the ultimate agenda

of Operation Rescue
and all of its type.

No.

The emotion and the hot
emotion is around abortion.

It's murder, Phil. That's
what we have laws for.

It raises a lot of conflict
around sexuality, and...

without any question,
it's formidable.

Must be decided by the
woman and her physician,

and not by Randall Terry and other

people trying to
make that decision.

But the ultimate decider here
must remain women.

And that's what we're
really fighting for.

If abortion is illegal,

what happens to those who
perform the abortion? Mr Terry?

Let me say this.
Dr George Tiller's

gonna do hard
time when this is all over.

He is a mass murderer. He
is an enemy of humanity.

The abortion battle has
taken a violent turn.

It was just one
round after another.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

Dr George Tiller shot by a

protester. We take
no blame for this.

The blame rests with the
child-killing industry.

They're the ones that
are killing children

and breeding such
frustration in people.

We didn't know where
the gunshots was

coming from. Just
shooting and shooting.

Two women were killed in Boston.

A doctor was killed
in Pensacola. Then

a doctor and an
escort were killed.

Two bombs rocked an
abortion clinic in Atlanta.

Every abortion
clinic is a potential

target for those
who would do this.

And at that point,
I think, there was a

gravity that came
out of the movement.

We lost another doctor in '98.

And we lost Dr. Tiller... in 2009.

Dr George Tiller was shot dead
at his church in Wichita, Kansas.

A man shot him in
the Lutheran church,

in cold blood.

The suspect is in custody,
and right now the police...

And you really have
to think about this,

that you would do
this kind of thing.

That's really astonishing.
That's just astonishing.

Did there come a point
in time where your faith,

your religious beliefs changed?

Yes.

I had been watching
The 700 Club regularly.

Because that baby is made in
the image of God Almighty.

I was alone in my
living room, and...

that day I kneeled
down and I did accept

Christ as my saviour at that time.

Religion can make people
crazy. It really can.

And it can be
wonderful, but it can

also be just
incredibly intolerant.

All those people who shot

these people at the clinics and
so on, they were all religious.

The tie that this
clinic has to Dr Tiller

is really important to me.

You know, that even in the face of

assassinating one
of our providers,

we were still gonna
provide that care

because women still
deserve that care.

And we do a checkup for you,
make sure everything's okay.

Right.

There's a lot of
traumatic memory of

things that have happened
in the abortion movement,

of clinics being bombed,
providers being targeted.

You are a killer, condemning
your own soul to hell.

You know, the potential that
your family will be targeted.

Dr Johnson has been killing
children in our city.

That people may show up at your
home or at your kids' school.

And you layer all
of this difficulty

of actually practising medicine

with the threat to safety or
harm to you or your family,

it becomes a really difficult
choice to make for many people.

And one of the strategies
of the antichoice movement

is to shame people.

They kill your baby.
They won't let you...

People who provide abortions
and people who have abortions.

If you don't kill your baby.

If you think about
controlling when and if

and how many children
somebody has,

it's sort of the absolute
demonstration of patriarchy.

Because controlling people's
fertility can affect

what education they can get
and what career they can have

and sort of how far
they can go in life.

The weak link

in the abortion chain

is the person doing
the actual abortions.

And there's fewer and
fewer abortionists

that are doing them here
in the United States.

And they're retiring
and they're moving on.

And so we've been very effective

in targeting particular
abortionists.

If they don't have an abortionist,
the place closes down.

And when abortion clinics
close, babies get saved.

These are abortion clinics we've

closed down, put
them out of business.

This is in San Diego,
Oceanside. Lawrence, Kansas.

I like to look at
it as a trophy wall.

We have probably
closed down hundreds

of abortion clinics, and it's
the one thing I'm most proud of.

Right now, there are seven states

that have only one
abortion provider,

and those states
have been under siege

in terms of restrictions
on women's health care.

So, we are constantly monitoring
the patterns in the states

in terms of legislation
that restricts

women's access to abortion...

We've seen a lot of state moves
to defund abortion providers.

Thinking about what we need to do
to block legislation from passing.

We got that law
preliminarily enjoined.

And then if it does pass, we

consider bringing
a court challenge.

So, for Kentucky TRAP...

And Kentucky is a perfect example.

We are going to do
the best that we can

to usher in a new
day for Kentucky.

Before Governor Bevin took office,

there were three abortion
providers in Kentucky.

I'm unapologetically pro-life.

And he sprung right into action to

pick off abortion
clinics one by one.

Governor Matt Bevin has ordered a

Louisville Planned
Parenthood clinic

to stop performing
abortions immediately.

For the second time,
Bevin administration

has sued a clinic over abortion.

And we gave them an
immediate cease and desist.

We said that we would seek
an injunction if necessary.

The Republicans now have control
of both the House, the Senate...

We had three abortion clinics.
We are now down to one.

And now Governor Bevin
is trying to shut down

the last remaining clinic,
EMW Women's Centre.

Bevin administration's new
rules for abortion clinics.

And at the ACLU, we think
what Governor Bevin is doing

is blatantly unconstitutional.

If a judge sides with
Governor Matt Bevin,

Kentucky will become the
only state in the nation

without an abortion clinic.

The situation in Kentucky
really is unprecedented.

We have never seen a situation
where we have been on the cusp

of a state that has
no abortion provider.

It's incredibly dire for women.

Close this place down. Governor
Bevin, close this place down.

It's exciting to see
pro-life activity at

the last abortion
clinic in Kentucky,

because I have been
looking so forward

to the moment when we have
an abortion-free state.

And let's see if we can't put
the final nail in the coffin

of the abortion clinic there.

We in the Commonwealth of Kentucky

respect the sanctity of
human life...

And Governor Bevin's
been fantastic.

Republicans stand
against abortion,

stand for the Ten Commandments,

and they stand for marriage
between a man and a woman.

And the Republican Party has kind
of become the party of morality.

And there's a war for the
heart and soul of America.

This debate is about little babies
who haven't given their consent,

and it's about time we
said enough is enough.

Nobody's saying that
Planned Parenthood can't be

the leading advocate of
abortion-on-demand in America,

but why do I have to pay for it?

Washington needs to defund
them, send a clear message.

I come here today to
ask my fellow senators

to vote to defund
Planned Parenthood.

Because this language
and messaging

around defunding
Planned Parenthood

has been so pervasive,

I think the general
population believes

that defunding Planned
Parenthood means

not paying for abortions.

But in fact, and by law,

no federal dollars go
to pay for abortion.

Two and a half million patients

depend on Planned
Parenthood every single year

for birth control,

for testing and treatment
for sexually transmitted...

We don't want our tax dollars
going to that organisation

for any service that they provide.

Planned Parenthood is a
mega abortion provider. It's

about a third of all abortions
performed in this country

are done by that one organisation.
We just see them as...

as baby killers.

Please join me in welcoming the
President of the United States,

Barack Obama.

And when it comes to abortion,

they pretty much get to control

the agenda in the
Democratic Party.

Planned Parenthood is not going

anywhere. It's not
going anywhere today,

it's not going anywhere tomorrow.

And it's a known fact.

Republicans will pass
pro-life legislation.

We voted to defund
Planned Parenthood.

Republicans made huge gains,
not only in the House,

but in governors' races
and state legislative

campaigns. We now
have Republican...

majorities in state
legislators and

I believe 33 Republican Governors.

We've had a game plan for many
years, we're following it,

and I think it's
coming to fruition.

What's so important for us to

stand up for the
cause of pro-life?

I cancelled their
vacations and I brought

them back for a pro-life
special session.

And I'm convinced that we're
going to get the job done.

The general assembly
is heavily Republican.

They have a two-thirds
majority in both Chambers.

I provide abortion care in
several clinics in the Midwest.

And the clinics have
to be able to comply

with the layers and
layers and layers

of regulations that have
been put on them.

Legislation is on
its way to the House

that would require inspections
of abortion clinics

and enact other new
restrictions on the procedure.

And now we're facing more
legislation, more regulations,

new bills being introduced, new
laws going into effect, and...

on an almost day-to-day basis,
what we can do might change.

Missouri lawmakers have
enacted one of the nation's

longest abortion waiting periods.

Governor Greitens calls
a special session.

State lawmakers are back...

And there's so much

factual inaccuracy in these
bills and in hearings,

I felt that somebody
really needs to be a voice.

A voice for medicine
and a voice for science.

Okay. Good afternoon. I'm Dr
Colleen McNicholas. I'm an OB-GYN.

I practise in St. Louis.

There shouldn't be a
pro-life or pro-choice law.

There should be a law
in healthcare policy

that is important
and science-based.

But every single time
I've testified...

Why is your opinion

so much different than theirs?

Lobbyists from the anti-choice
group will also testify.

Here's some written testimony...

And they can say
whatever they want.

Case by case, to
protect the health

and safety of women in Missouri.

Is it Dr Lee?

No, Senator.

So, you're not a physician.
Are you a pathologist?

Not at all.

Which is infuriating.

Especially from sort
of the standpoint

of science and evidence and...

just facts.

The abortion clinic in St. Louis

has not been
complying with the law

in terms of turning over
complication reports.

Every year we have dozens of
pro-life bills introduced.

Lawmakers who come to me and
say, "Sam, what can I do?"

What type of bill can I
introduce to reduce abortions?"

It's a bit of a cat and mouse game

between the pro-life
pro-choice side,

is not turning in
complication reports.

Once again a bill on
abortion regulations

moved through the legislature.

They have to have a
complication plan.

This is how I feel.

Okay? We're not in the
field of medicine here.

When did the government start
approving complication plans?

I thought the doctors or the
physicians would do that.

Our complaint is that that
should be for all clinics.

If abortion facilities have to
comply with certain things, then

so too should other
clinics that are

providing similar levels of care.

Are you putting plans
together for anything else?

I mean, you could
eat too much pork.

And have a gallstone and you'd
have to go through surgery.

Why is it that we're
just doing this

when it comes to individuals
wanting to have an abortion?

- Well, I mean it is...
- It sounds so ridiculous.

Abortion is different than just
any other medical procedure.

I know that the Democrats
and Planned Parenthood

want to treat it that way. I know

they want to talk
about in that way.

But talk to your average
person on the street.

And they're going to tell you that
abortion is not the same as having

a colonoscopy or having
your tooth pulled.

It's something
unique and different.

There is no other
medical procedure, none,

not one, that is legislated
in the way that abortion is.

Enough is enough.

I'm ready to go down
fighting, because

I'm tired of the Republican Party

bullying women when it comes
to their right to choose.

I'll tell you what.

I am proud to be
with so many people

standing for life
here in Missouri.

Message received. Thank you...

You know, from the
perspective of today,

I think it's important
to remember that

abortion was not
always so partisan

and it wasn't always a requirement

for the Republicans
to be pro-life.

In fact, it took years
of cultivation...

We're concerned that a
million babies are dying...

by very smart
Republican strategists.

It took years to bring about
that kind of party realignment,

the placing of abortion
front-and-centre as

a social, cultural
issue in our politics.

We're concerned about the moral

problems, the breakdown
of the family.

We've come to seek the
welfare of America's children.

God bless you and
have a great day.

And it was accomplished in
the 1980s, by this coalition

of social and religious and
political conservatives.

And it was done with the
rise of Ronald Reagan.

The 1980 election is when abortion

really becomes a political issue

and particularly a
Republican issue.

We have a threefold
primary responsibility.

Number one, get people saved.
Number two, get them baptised.

Number three, get them
registered to vote.

Falwell saw evangelical
Christians as

the basis for a
political movement.

Falwell wanted to
organise evangelical

voters, who up until that time

had not been politically active.

It's always seemed to me we
haven't improved by one iota

on the Ten Commandments.

Falwell and the religious
right identifies

Ronald Reagan as a candidate
who would push their agenda,

their socially
conservative agenda.

Religious America is awakening,

perhaps just in time,
for our country's sake.

But what got evangelical
leaders interested in politics

was this notion that the Bible

mandated the separation
of the races.

And several so-called segregation
academies were applying

for tax-exempt status.

And the district court ruled that
any organisation that engages

in racial segregation,
or discrimination,

cannot claim tax-exempt status.

That was the catalyst

for the religious right
becoming politically active.

We have a fight going on...

on the question of tax
exemptions for Christian schools.

Paul Weyrich was one of
the chief strategists of

the New Right movement.

Questions involved are
religious liberty questions.

It was a movement that said we
are going to win the presidency

through bigotry, but we are not

going to come right
out and say it.

This coming election's gonna
be a big test for us...

This election is to make
America great again.

I have told the Republicans

that you are loyal to a
certain set of moral precepts

in which you deeply believe.

Weyrich recognised the
electoral potential

of evangelical voters, but
he needed a populist issue

that would appeal more generally
to religious voters.

And he was savvy
enough to recognise

that overt racism probably
wouldn't work on a wide scale.

The pro-family movement and
the American people do not want

the women's lib ideology
forced upon all the rest of us.

Phyllis Schlafly had
been able to mobilise

voters around moral issues.

Well, I am certainly
opposed to abortion,

because I think it's
killing an unborn child.

And as the presidential
election begins to take shape...

What are the key issues?
In our judgement,

the right to life,

protect the unborn.
These are key issues.

Weyrich says, in effect,

"We found our issue.

Abortion is going to work
for us as a political issue."

Millions of unborn
defenceless babies...

When you are trying to

change the dynamic of the
political system in the country,

you have to do it
through emotional issues.

In our Washington
studios is Jerry Falwell.

America has violated the principle
of the dignity of life since 1973.

And we're very strongly pro-life.
Our first order of business...

And what is more emotional
than motherhood and babies?

At that point the
Reagan campaign begins

to embrace abortion
as a political issue.

I believe that...

that when you interrupt
the pregnancy,

you are taking a human life.

Which they ride through
the 1980 election.

It's interesting. One of the
nation's leading pollsters

says Reagan is winning the
votes of the white electors,

who are followers of the
evangelical preachers,

the so-called Moral Majority, who
have been active in the election.

This group is providing
Reagan with his clear margin

in the election. Ronald
Reagan's overwhelming victory...

Reagan won 44 states,
with 479 electoral votes.

They set out to change the
dynamic in the Republican party.

So they nominated somebody that

would be useful.
And they succeeded.

It was now eight years
after Roe versus Wade.

And it seemed like the
future of ending abortion

was going to be in
the Republican party.

And Reagan really gave a lot of
hope to the pro-life community.

Can a person be a Christian and

support federal
funding of abortion?

I believe in an abortion
you are taking a human life.

If you believe that, it very

definitely has a
religious connotation.

He just reaffirmed his support of

everything the pro-life
movement represents.

There's never been any
question that he was with us.

We love life. We want life.

In the mind of the pro-life
community, the right to abortion

was an aberration in the law.

So, with the election
of President Reagan,

we thought the next step would be
to try to reverse Roe versus Wade.

We want life.

It is the Supreme Court
that has abolished prayer

and the Ten Commandments
from the public schools.

It is Supreme Court decisions

that have brought upon us forced

busing and put our
children on buses

and send them across
town to some school

that their parents don't
want them to go to.

It is Supreme Court decisions

that have unleashed
the pornography

that has invaded our
news-stands and our television.

It is Supreme Court decisions

that have abolished
capital punishment

and deterrents against crime.

And, of course, it is the
Supreme Court decision

that has brought about this
tragic evil of our time.

A Supreme Court decision, in 1973,

that invented this new right of
a woman to kill her unborn baby.

If abortion is a
constitutional right,

the most important thing was
to overturn Roe versus Wade.

In order to do that, you had to
change the justices on the Court.

There's no other way.

You need, as quickly
as possible, a

reconstituting of
the Supreme Court.

We just didn't think
that the current

justices would have
changed their minds.

I will send to the Senate

the nomination of Judge Sandra
Day O'Connor, of Arizona.

The first woman on
the Supreme Court,

Judge Sandra Day O'Connor.

She told the Senate today that
she is firmly opposed to abortion.

In the area of abortion
is that I am opposed to it

as a matter of birth control.

So, President Reagan
appointed O'Connor,

then appointed Justice
Scalia and Justice Kennedy.

And in the pro-life
community there

was the hope that Roe versus Wade

may get overturned.

And we thought the
Court was moving

much closer in that direction.

Are you getting the feeling

that some sort of
movement is under way

that would ultimately
erode Roe v. Wade?

I'm not only getting a
feeling. I'm part of it.

- It's happened?
- It's happening.

The Americans United for Life is
one of the main players in this.

They have a strategy of one

anti-abortion
restriction at a time

which could pass
state legislatures

and maybe get up to
the Supreme Court

and overturn Roe against Wade.

And it looked like it
actually might happen

in an abortion case in 1989.

But Justice O'Connor surprised the

world by sustaining
Roe against Wade.

And that was a matter of

extreme frustration to
the Court's conservatives.

I think Justice O'Connor
didn't want to be

the first and lone
woman on the Court

taking away a settled
constitutional right.

And so she upheld Roe versus Wade.

But Justice Blackmun made a very,

very important
statement, and he read

it from the bench
and he said, "Roe

versus Wade is
hanging by a thread.

We are in a very
tenuous circumstance.

We're only one vote away.
The next case could do it."

And after that, the political
situation really changed.

Like a thousand points of light
in a broad and peaceful sky.

When H.W. became president,

we thought that he would
be a pro-choice president.

Abortion divides. We have room
in our party for people that feel

one way, pro-life, or pro-choice.

This is an issue that divides.

When he was a congressman,

he had been known
as a big supporter

of family planning,
to the point that

some of his colleagues
called him "Rubbers."

Do you favour a constitutional
amendment against abortion?

I oppose such an amendment.

The 35th Republican
National Convention.

What's the big challenge
here this week?

I really don't know.
I... Abortion, mostly.

People really need to
understand that the pro-lifers

are now the backbone that
is holding up George Bush.

George Bush has to take a
strong pro-family position.

And frankly, that means a
strong position on abortion.

And Bush turned against choice,

and he took on a position
that was stronger than...

than anything Reagan ever did.

I believe that abortion is wrong.

I believe that we should work
to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

And I believe that states should

have the right to
prohibit abortions.

I don't make many guarantees,
but I'll make you one.

Pennsylvania will be the
first state in the Union

to end the nightmare once and
for all and to outlaw abortion.

Supreme Court case number 91-744.

Planned Parenthood of South-east
Pennsylvania versus Casey.

Planned Parenthood versus Casey.

That went up to the
Supreme Court in 1992.

One of the most restrictive
abortion laws in the nation.

And a lot of pro-life
people thought

this was going to be the case

that would overturn
Roe versus Wade.

The Bush administration
asked the Supreme Court

to support further
limitations on a

woman's right to have an abortion.

President Bush has
done all he can do

to ensure that my arguments are
likely to fall on deaf ears.

I was totally convinced
that we were going to lose.

For he has packed the Court

with justices who are
hostile to a woman's

fundamental right
to choose abortion.

Abortion litigation is a
lot like Sesame Street.

You got to learn to count.

And the only number
that's important is five.

Are there five votes
on the Supreme Court?

Five votes that
would overturn Roe.

He is the best person
for this position.

The president nominated Clarence
Thomas to the Supreme Court.

And I thought he would be the
fifth vote to overrule Roe.

And I remember there was a silence

in the courtroom
that was palpable.

Ms Kolbert.

Mr Chief Justice, and
may it please the Court.

Whether our Constitution endows

government with the
power to force a woman

to continue or to end a
pregnancy against her will

is the central
question in this case.

And then the Solicitor General of

the United States
stood up and argued

that Roe versus Wade
ought to be overturned.

The State does have
a compelling interest

in the potential life,
in foetal life, and

that interest runs
throughout pregnancy.

But I wanted the Court to
understand the implications

of changing a standard that
was very protective for women.

This Court has recognised
that the rights of autonomy,

bodily integrity, and equality are

central to our notions
of ordered liberty.

Roe lies at the heart
of those interests.

Because, ultimately,

abortion is not
about whether or not

women should have particular
medical procedures.

It's about equality.

It's about a view of life, about

who should make
important decisions.

It's very rare that
you know the date

that the Supreme Court is
going to issue a decision.

You know that the case will be
decided, but you don't know when.

But this time we knew when,
because every other case

that they heard that term
had already been decided.

We're waiting outside
the Supreme Court now

for the announcement of
the Court's decision.

So, there were media
trucks parked outside.

Everybody was ready and waiting
for the overturning of Roe.

Release 91-45 Standing Orders.

The clerk of the court handed
me a copy of the decision.

And frankly I was
confused in many respects.

You know, it's a 50, 60 page
opinion. It's complicated.

You have to read it
and understand it.

At the same time, I'm
shepherded out to talk to

American media about
what just happened.

I am Kathryn Kolbert. I am
counsel of record on behalf of

Planned Parenthood and the other
abortion clinics in Pennsylvania.

It was a very ambiguous decision.

Three Republican-appointed
justices had gotten together,

and they decided that rather
than overturn Roe against Wade,

they were going to
reformulate it...

with what they called the
undue burden standard.

So the Court upheld
the right to abortion.

But the new standard meant
that states can undertake

to persuade a woman to
carry a pregnancy to term,

but they cannot prevent a
woman from choosing abortion.

Under Roe versus Wade,

most abortion restrictions
were unconstitutional.

In Casey, the Court
basically said that

states had the
latitude to restrict

abortion in more
ways than under Roe.

Many, many kinds of restrictions,
waiting periods, informed consent.

Things found
unconstitutional under

Roe have been validated
by this Court.

And therefore we are much worse
off than we have been in the past.

At the time, I thought, you
know, this is really horrible.

To place roadblocks in
the path of women...

But whatever problems the
undue burden standard gave us,

it was still preferable than
a total outlaw of abortion.

For a woman in need of
a medical procedure,

there's a big difference between
having to jump through hoops

and not being able to
get the procedure at all.

Four justices have said Roe
versus Wade must be overturned.

All it's going to take is one more

and I can only hope that
President Bush gets re-elected.

It makes a difference whether
the president believes

in a woman's right
to choose. And I do.

There was some momentum

around the Clintons and
support for abortion rights.

I am proud to nominate
Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg to

the Supreme Court.

It is essential to
woman's equality with man

that she be the decision-maker.

I'm proud to nominate
Judge Stephen Breyer

to serve on the United
States Supreme Court.

And there were bills
pending at the federal level

to protect access to abortion.

The Clinton team has begun
to systematically wage war

against unborn children.

And abortion
opponents were looking

for a way to stop this momentum.

So they came up with this new idea

and they honed in
on later abortion.

Specifically they came up with
the term "partial birth abortion."

Some of you stay
on this side, some

of you go on the other side, okay?

Not everyone. Try and
spread out and get

the signs as many
places as possible.

Partial birth took
off like wildfire

inside the pro-life movement.

It so horrified and
shocked the conscience

and stripped this
veil of respectability

from Planned Parenthood
and the abortionists.

It's terrible. Which side of
the fence are we gonna be on?

We had to educate the public.

Are we gonna continue
to support child

killing in America
and call it choice?

We made it an issue. We
forced it on America.

This is partial birth abortion.

The abortionist grabs the
live baby's legs with forceps.

The Republicans introduced the
partial birth abortion law,

even though there's no such thing.

They made up the word
and it was a strategy

that really went to challenging

the question of when late
abortion would be permitted.

With the idea that, if you could
push it earlier and earlier,

you could eliminate
a number of abortions

And we knew immediately that this
was going to be a huge issue.

Abortion advocates
are claiming that,

by banning partial-birth abortion,

we are mounting a direct
attack on Roe versus Wade.

For them, there is
never an instance

when abortion is inappropriate.

For them, the right to
abortion is absolute

at whatever time, for whatever
reason, and in whatever way,

a woman or an abortionist chooses.

Ninety percent of
women who have an

abortion have it in
the first trimester.

That's the vast majority of women.

And then a smaller proportion
have it before 20 weeks.

Between 20 and 24 weeks, we're
at probably about one percent.

And then, as we get
further along, we're

getting to smaller
and smaller numbers,

exceedingly low numbers.

So the majority of abortions
are in the first trimester.

But we spend most of
our time talking about

abortions that happened in the
second and third trimester.

And this is one of the strategies
of the anti-choice movement.

Why do we call something
the partial-birth abortion,

when really that's not
a medical term.

You always go after your enemy
where they're the weakest.

And they know that, once
we win, in the ninth month,

the rest of the card house
comes crumbling down.

We destroy their arguments.

They created a narrative that

women late in pregnancies were

killing their babies
because they, you

know, wanted to go
to the gym instead.

Totally false. Doesn't happen.

But there's no 30-second sound
bite to counter that image.

They were very good
at creating optics,

creating language that
supported their point of view.

And so we had to figure out how
to challenge it politically.

And we were able to
introduce President Clinton

to women who would be
affected by the law.

Women who were

losing pregnancies very
late or finding themselves

carrying a pregnancy with
very severe foetal anomalies.

Good morning. I'd
like to thank the

subcommittee for inviting me here.

I went in for a routine
seven-month ultrasound.

They were saying, "This
looks good. This looks good."

Then suddenly, they
got really quiet.

The doctor said,

"Your daughter has no
eyes, and her heart...

and other major organs
are also failing.

And your child will not live."

I remember just looking out the

window. I couldn't
look at anybody.

So my mother-in-law asked, "Do we
go on? Does she have to go on?"

This terrible problem affects
a few hundred Americans

every year,

who desperately
want their children,

are trying to building
families and are

trying to strengthen
their families.

And they should not become

pawns in a larger debate.

And therefore I had no
choice but to veto the bill.

I vetoed it just a few minutes ago
before I met with these families.

Bill Clinton vetoed it,
but it really spread.

And we started to see new
iterations of these bills,

using slightly
different language, in

order to withstand
a legal challenge.

It's a shame that child sacrifice
can be allowed in this country.

We are being arrested for speaking
and showing the truth of abortion.

Okay, careful. Walk carefully.

We need to ban partial-birth
abortions. I believe

banning partial-birth
abortions would be

a positive step toward reducing

the number of
abortions in America.

We were able to get George W. Bush
elected with the promise that,

if we got another ban, he'd
pass it again and sign it.

And he signed the
federal ban into law,

and it went to the Supreme Court.

Hey, hey. Hi, ho.
Anti-choice has got to go.

The issue of abortion's
before the Supreme Court.

Justice Sandra Day
O'Connor announced

this morning that she will retire.

Chief Justice William
Rehnquist has died.

The nomination power is one

of the most serious
responsibilities of a president.

I will nominate Judge
Roberts to the Supreme Court.

And Chief Justice Roberts
will have as his colleague

a proud member of The
Federalist Society,

Judge Sam Alito, Jr.

In a 5-4 landmark decision, the
Court's new conservative majority

today upheld a nationwide ban

on a procedure critics call
partial-birth abortion.

In court, an angry Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg

took the unusual step of
reading her dissent aloud.

I strongly dissent
from today's opinion.

The Partial-Birth Abortion
Ban Act cannot be understood

as anything other than an effort

to chip away at a right

declared in Roe v. Wade.

Roe versus Wade

prevents us from
prohibiting abortion.

But it does allow us,

the states, to...

do some things to protect life,

if they can show there is a
compelling state interest.

Governor Rick Perry wanted to end

access to reproductive
health care.

And because the legislature
is so disproportionately

led by the Republican party,

they proposed abortion
restrictions, which

were the most extreme
in the country.

House Bill 2 was a
good example of these

kinds of laws that
were being passed in

many states controlled
by the Republicans.

Laws that really focused on where
the abortion could be performed

and regulations to either the

doctor's office or
a surgical centre.

Thank you for calling the

Southwestern Women's
Surgery Centre.

This is Alicia.
How may I help you?

This is what are
known as TRAP laws:

Targeted Regulation
of Abortion Providers.

And the purpose of these laws is

to make it as
difficult as possible

to provide abortion services,

prohibit as many
abortions as you can,

make the ones that do occur
as expensive as possible.

It's so obvious
what they're doing.

My goal is to make abortion,

at any stage, a thing of the past.

So these restrictions would shut

down dozens of
women's health centres

all across Texas.

And that's why Senator Wendy Davis

decided to stand up and fight
for the rights of women.

So this bill went to the Senate.

But, because it was
the final day of

the session, the
clock was ticking.

And that gave me an
opportunity for the filibuster.

Members, I'm rising
on the floor today...

That meant I had about
13 hours of talking

to make sure that this
bill did not pass.

The rules in Texas say that
you cannot have a sip of water,

you cannot have anything to drink,

you cannot lean on your desk and

you certainly cannot
leave the floor

to go to the restroom.

So I had a pair of
running shoes on

my feet and I had a catheter bag.

A doctor had come over at
about six o'clock that morning

and inserted a
catheter so that I'd

be able to make it
through the day.

Senator Wendy Davis must
make it to midnight.

That is the end of
the special session.

Essentially she's wasting
time, running out the clock.

The way she's doing
that? Right now,

she's reading letters
from Texas women

who oppose this legislation.

In order for their
voices to be heard.

Told me any
pregnancy will be very...

And the filibuster went viral.

Not only was she a woman

opposing the bill, but she was
one of the only women in the room.

It was an internet
moment. People had

left their kids with
their neighbours

and driven hours to
Austin to be there.

Students had left
their college campuses

and came to Austin to
hear Wendy filibuster.

These are Texans who
relied on the minority...

I'm a Texan.

Never seen the outpouring of
activism like we saw there.

You literally could
not get in the capitol.

Every annex was full,
every room was full.

It was extraordinary.

Another ruling she made
was if there was a...

And about 15 minutes
before midnight,

procedural rules of
order were broken...

and the third...

in order to bring my
filibuster to an end.

And the people who
were there understood

that rules were
being broken in order

to silence opposition to a bill.

After consultation with the
parliamentarian and after...

- And they'd had enough.
- Well taken and is sustained.

Bullshit.

The chair recognises Senator...

Let her speak. Let her
speak. Let her speak.

Let her speak. Let her
speak. Let her speak.

Wendy. Wendy. Wendy. Wendy.

Wendy. Wendy. Wendy. Wendy.

Wendy. Wendy. Wendy. Wendy.

And as they began to scream,

everyone up and down the
hallways began to scream,

and at every level of the rotunda
and outside on the capitol lawn.

And I could literally feel

the vibration of their
voices and their energy

and the pounding of their feet.

If I can have order. We are
in the middle of a vote.

The secretary has
started the vote.

It ate up enough of the clock

that the final vote
wasn't taken until 12:03.

Members, it's now past
midnight. And so...

And it became known as the
people's filibuster. Rightly so.

This is straight from
Senator Wendy Davis, okay?

Hold your applause.

- First, "I love you guys." Okay?
- We love you, too, Wendy.

"So the lieutenant governor
has agreed that SB-5 is dead."

The woman who filibustered
the Senate the other day,

she was born into
difficult circumstances.

She's the daughter
of a single woman.

She was a teenage mother herself.

She managed to eventually
graduate from Harvard Law School

and serve in the Texas Senate.

It's unfortunate

that she hasn't learnt
from her own example

that every life must be given a

chance to realise
its full potential

and that every life matters.

We had successfully
killed the bill.

But we were called right
back within a few days.

And, of course, this time
there was no way to filibuster.

♪ Where have all
the babies gone? ♪

♪ I pray to heaven for every one ♪

Get ready to do it all again.

Governor Rick Perry called a

special session
early this evening.

We talked about the choice.

Do you think if the mother had a

conversation with
the baby and said,

"You know, this just isn't really

convenient to give
birth to you right now.

Do you mind dying?"

I can't take it any more.

- I think...
- That was very offensive.

I think that baby would say...

This is an assault on women.

I don't get mad with those
folks. I pray for her.

You are failing Texas.

You are failing Texas.

In just a few moments,

we are going to vote on a bill

that has deeply and
profoundly divided us.

Separating us by
political party...

by gender...

by life experience...

by what our religious
beliefs bind us to.

Not in this life.

We all believe in the beauty and
the wonder that is human life.

But I also believe that
women already here

are beautiful.

And that they deserve to live,

they deserve to determine
the direction of their lives,

they deserve to be
recognised as full people...

fully capable of making
difficult decisions

with the help of their family,
their doctor and their God.

Wendy. Wendy. Wendy. Wendy.

Wendy. Wendy. Wendy. Wendy.

No woman should be
judged by someone else,

someone who believes they would
have made a different decision.

No woman should be
judged by someone else,

because these decisions
are never ever easy.

They're not made
casually or quickly.

And those of us in the Senate

should refuse to
make this decision

casually or quickly.

Because the fight for
the future of Texas

is just beginning.

Thank you, Mr President.
Thank you, members.

There being 19 ayes and 11 nays,
House Bill 2 is finally passed.

We won't go back.
We won't go back.

We won't go back.
We won't go back.

Come on.

We won't go back.
We won't go back.

It is our responsibility
to improve

the quality of care for women

in the state.

Of course, the argument was
made all along that somehow

this is being done in the
interests of women's health.

And in spite of
incredible scientific

pushback to that statement,

House Bill 2 passed.

Shame. Shame. Shame.

Shame. Shame. Shame.

The law went into
effect and over half of

our abortion clinics
in the state closed.

We went from 41 clinics to 19

as a consequence of the
implementation of the law.

In central Texas,

there were no clinics left open.

And that was pretty demoralising.

But there was something really
important that had happened.

We as a state woke up to the
reality of an assault on women.

We woke up to the
reality of our power.

And it's a power that
has continued to grow.

The first major abortion
case in almost a decade.

It centres on a case in Texas that

has already forced
clinics to close

and could force even more
to close down as well.

The stakes are huge. And they're
not just huge for Texas women.

They're huge for women
all over the country.

Anti-choice. Anti-women.

If the Court affirms
the law in Texas,

I have no doubt that other states
will immediately follow suit.

And so many women will
no longer have access

to abortion care.

It's almost like a perfect
controlled experiment, isn't it?

It's like you put
the law into effect,

twelve clinics
closed. You take the

law out of the fact, they reopen.

That's absolutely correct.

I went to the argument,
and I was struck by

the difference between a
Court with one female justice

and a Court with three.

Can I walk through the burden?

She has to travel 200 miles
to get two days of treatment.

How many women are
located over 100 miles...

The women could reinforce
each other's viewpoints.

There has to some tie between

benefit and burden, doesn't there?

I think they were very good

at throwing aside all of
these specious arguments,

that the state was
making that really

all they cared about was women.

There are benefits for the ASC
and admitting-privileges...

What is the benefit...
What evidence is there...

Just said, "You know,
what's going on here

is you are making
it more difficult

for women to exercise
their choice...

This is one of the
lowest-risk procedures.

And we are going to
respect her decision."

this law was targeted
at abortion only.

Many procedures are
much higher risk:

colonoscopies, liposuctions.
We could go on and on.

And I have to tell you, they
took over that argument.

What it's about is that a
woman has a fundamental right

to make this choice for herself.

Today the Supreme Court
struck down a Texas law

that imposed strict requirements
on clinics and doctors,

finding those limits
place an undue burden

on the constitutional
right to abortion.

For me, the highlight
of that decision was

the justices' incorporation of
actual medicine and science.

We've seen a decision
about abortion that

says, "If you're
going to make a claim,

the claim must be
factually accurate."

But the reality is

that the appointing of our
justices is highly political.

And so, at any time, the
balance of the Court can change.

And the decision may
be different next time.

The Supreme Court
decision in Hellerstedt

motivated pro-life people,
reinforced, once again,

that if we want to
change the laws,

we have to change
the Supreme Court.

Donald Trump meeting privately in

New York with
leading evangelicals.

Donald Trump came and
had a conversation.

Now we don't agree on everything.

I've been working on national
elections for a number of years

and there's always been an effort

to try to consolidate
conservative evangelicals.

It is a critical voting block
for any Republican candidate.

To win in November,
Donald Trump needs

75, maybe even 80
percent of evangelicals.

Our goals are very simple.

It is to advance faith in public

policy and in our
culture as a whole,

from a Christian world view. We
are unapologetically Christian.

Evangelicals have
been under constant

attack by the Obama
administration.

And quite frankly,
they're tired of it.

And under Barack Obama, this
heavy hand of government tried

to force society to
accept things like

abortion and the
redefinition of marriage.

These things run
counter to nature.

They run counter
to the moral law of

God. And so what
you saw is pushback.

Obviously, there's
not many choices here.

The choice is between
Hillary Clinton,

and we know exactly what
she will provide to America.

Or we have Donald Trump.

He's considered the least
religious of the candidates.

If Ivanka weren't my daughter,
perhaps I'd be dating her.

You know about sexual
predators and things like that.

You are one.

All right, wasn't gonna say that.

I'm very pro-choice. I
just believe in choice.

Evangelical Christians
aren't fully on board yet.

Some say they may sit
home come November.

You cannot ignore
this constituency.

But remember, George
H.W. Bush was pro-choice,

became pro-life.

Mr Bush has something
to think about.

Human life is precious,
born or unborn.

Ronald Reagan signed
the most liberal

abortion law in America
in the late '60s,

and was a pro-life hero by 1980.

I think when you interrupt the

pregnancy, you're
taking a human life.

So all Donald Trump has to do
is, as those prior nominees did,

make it clear.

We came together in a national

crusade to make
America great again.

- And to make a new beginning.
- Make it clear.

"I changed my views."

The justices that I'm going
to appoint will be pro-life.

The pro-life constituency
is absolutely

essential for a
Republican victory.

Donald J. Trump.

Make it clear that if he becomes

president, he'll fight
for those things.

It's not only about Roe v Wade.

It is about what's happening
right now in America.

So many states are putting

very stringent
regulations on women that

block them from
exercising that choice...

I believe what sold the pro-life
community on Donald Trump

was the final debate in Las Vegas.

I will defend Roe v. Wade, and I
will defend women's rights to make

their own health care decisions.

I was in the audience. I
was watching him. Which

divides you... a woman's
right to abortion?

And when he went into a discussion

of partial-birth abortion,
late-term abortion...

If you go with what
Hillary is saying,

in the ninth month,
you can take the baby

and rip the baby out
of the womb of the

mother... I knew those
were Donald Trump's words.

Now, you can say that that's okay.

Those were not the words
of some speechwriter.

It's not okay with me.

Because based on
what she's saying...

It was clearly Trump
speaking at that moment.

You can take the
baby and rip the baby

out of the womb,
in the ninth month,

on the final day. And
that's not acceptable.

And when he did that,

I believe he sealed the deal with
pro-lifers across the country.

And will, to the
best of my ability,

preserve, protect, and defend...

preserve, protect, and defend...

the Constitution of
the United States.

The Constitution of
the United States.

- So help me God.
- So help me God.

Congratulations, Mr President.

When I became a physician,

the oath that I
took was that I was

gonna provide the
best medical care

for all patients who needed it.

And patients need
access to abortions.

And they need care delivered to
them with dignity and respect.

All right, you ready?

So if that means getting on planes
or driving hundreds of miles,

I'm going to continue to do that,

because that's what's
needed right now.

Women have built their lives

around the ability to make
decisions about pregnancy.

So, we have to make sure that
their right is protected.

And we have to remain vigilant.

Because there is a
very real concern

that the Trump
administration is going

to appoint anti-abortion judges.

President Trump announced
nearly a dozen new nominees

for the lower federal courts.

Hundreds of seats are going to
be filled by this administration

thoughout the judicial system.

These people will be serving
for the rest of their lives.

It's life term. It's generations
of impact on American law.

The Court of Appeals,
circuit judges...

whether it be district judges...

When you really think
about the way we're going,

years from now, picking good
judges even at the district level

is extremely important. And that's
how we're going to finish this

to overtun Roe vs. Wade.

Today I am keeping
another promise,

by nominating Judge Neil Gorsuch

to the United States
Supreme Court.

We're putting out strong pro-life
bills and so, eventually,

the Supreme Court will
weigh in on the issue.

I don't know how long it will take

to overturn Roe v. Wade, or
when it will be overturned.

I have no doubt it will be.

All across the nation,

life is winning again in America.

In a monumental moment
for the Supreme Court,

Justice Anthony Kennedy is
retiring from the Court.

The crucial swing vote
is now stepping down

and President Trump
will get the chance

to shape this Court
for a generation.

This is an opportunity to restore
a culture of life in this country.

This is a historic moment.

And we have a chance to
take down Roe v. Wade.

I think this supercharges
the president's base.

Seven out of ten of
his evangelical voters

said that the Supreme Court has
an effect on their daily lives.

And I think he should put forth a
candidate that is above reproach

on this issue of the
sanctity of human life.

And I think Roe can be overturned.

I do believe it
could be overturned

and I think it goes
back to the states.

And I think that the
states will decide

what policies to
handle. And I think...

we will be a predominantly
pro-life nation.

You're gonna see 20 states

pass laws banning
abortion outright.

Because they know

that there are now going to be
five votes on the Supreme Court

to overturn Roe v. Wade.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned
by the Supreme Court,

we will see some states that
will say abortion is not allowed,

there will be some states
that are going to...

probably not place many
limits on abortion at all,

but we are not going to
stop. We will keep working

to protect the unborn babies.

Whether or not Roe is overturned,
the rights granted by Roe

are almost gone for
many women already.

So, if doctors can't
perform the procedure,

or clinics can't keep
their doors open...