Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull M_I_SForEver
Doctor. Phil McCombs, Washington Post.
Thank you. Good to see you.
Thank you for taking the time.
So, when you take them out, you don't see anything?
No, you don't see anything.
I-I-I mean, of all the thousands of second trimester abortions
that I've done, I mean, maybe I've seen half a dozen.
But didn't it bother you when you did?
No, not particularly.
It was the end product;
a lifeless, limp thing lying there.
They have a human form.
Oh, absolutely.
I-I-I'm sorry. I-I'm a little bit confused.
Uh.
First you said, "All you see is bloody meat."
Hm-mm.
But now you're saying you always knew it was a person.
So Doctor,
which one is it?
I didn't know what to say.
I felt I was caught in a lie.
So, you have to understand, it was the '70s.
The women's liberation movement was exploding.
Millions of women were taking to the streets,
and I got swept up in the way.
saying now that anything after eight weeks
is murder, which I'm all for.
I'm protesting the protesters.
Proverbs 14:12.
"There is a way that seems right unto man,
but in the end thereof, the way is death."
Well, sir, I was in the parking lot
and I saw some people's signs and I said,
"What's happening today?" And they said,
"They're protesting the governor's decision."
I don't want a bunch of old white dudes
regulating my body.
I want us to stand up
for the innocent lives of children
that are being aborted in the womb,
and to stop the bloodshed.
I mean, in proportion, 12-year-olds can get abortions
in public schools and without parental consent.
That's happened in the States.
In Virginia, if you have a baby,
they put it on a table and they ask the parents
do you want it to live a lie.
My life.
my decision!
My life.
my decision!
You have to sacrifice your pawn to save your queen.
It all started in my 20s.
That's Ruth, my first love.
See, my family was Jewish
so I tried to get them to warm up to her.
But I had a better chance of beating my dad at chess.
Check.
Pawns are the soul of a game.
You don't need the queen to win the game.
Checkmate.
You have to sacrifice for the greater good.
How could I have been so stupid.
Maybe we can get married.
No. Not like this. Not yet.
You do know I love you, right?
I can't take care of a baby right now.
Oh, that's what you want.
I can't tell my family about this.
My father won't help.
What am I going to do, Bernie?
Honey, it's we, and we're in this together, okay?
Okay.
I would have married her,
but she didn't want that.
So, I gave her $500. That way, nobody had to know.
I never thought I would lose Ruth.
I became a doctor
to make sure no girl ever had to go through that again.
I will give no deadly medicine, nor suggest any such counsel;
nor give to a woman a pessary to procure an abortion.
Like most doctors,
I would violate the Hippocratic oath.
But saving women was all that mattered.
I know everyone has their own version of events.
But if you really want to know
how abortion became legal in our country,
I will tell you the true story
of Roe v. Wade.
I wanted to get abortion legalized across the country.
Our master plan to do that
started right here in New York City.
That's Betty Friedan,
the leader of the women's movement.
You see, we needed her gals if we had any chance of winning.
Ah-ha. Not again. Mrs. Friedan.
The Plaza's Oak Room has a 61-year tradition
of men's only lunches.
Well, well, well.
If it isn't the world-famous author of The Feminine Mystique,
Mrs. Betty Friedan.
Mr. Larry Lader.
Larry was my best friend.
He was the father of the abortion movement.
And he was also mentored by Margaret Sanger,
the founder of Planned Parenthood.
Now, here's the ugly truth.
Margaret opened clinics in poor Black neighborhoods
and called it the Negro Project.
The mass of Negroes, particularly in the South,
still breed carelessly and disastrously.
The result that the increase among Negroes,
more than among whites,
is that portion of the population
least intelligent and fit.
Her goal was to reduce
the Black population,
either through birth control or sterilization.
She literally wanted to stop Black people
from having babies altogether.
And Larry continued her work by launching an organization
to legalize abortion,
and wrote the first nationwide book on the topic.
Have you happened to read my book?
Did you prance over here
to have me fawn over your vanity project?
Cyril here works for the ACLU.
We can have him sue the Plaza if you like.
A girl should not expect special privileges
because of her sex,
but neither should she adjust to prejudice or discrimination.
I-I'm Bernard.
An obstetrician officially,
until they get the laws repealed.
Cyril is also the lead counsel
for Planned Parenthood.
So, why are you boys so worked up about abortion?
Well, Cyril is gonna head legal,
Bernie, medical.
I would like him to open up a clinic.
Larry, listen, I've told you a million times.
I'm not gonna ruin my reputation over this.
The women need your help.
Opening a clinic will land him in hot water
like Vuitch.
Exactly. And I'm much better to you out of jail.
A bunch of disorganized men
are gonna rid this country of abortion restriction?
No, no, no. We're not disorganized, okay.
- If Bernie... - We're looking for
a pregnant girl to challenge the abortion laws.
If New York falls, the country falls.
If that doesn't work, we'll lobby the legislature.
I guess I can provide medical research
to prove our opinion.
We wanna rally behind the women's movement
to get the TV media on board.
So that's why you need me.
We need to continue Margaret Sanger's work.
Oh, well.
Thank you so much for this explanation.
But abortion is really not our focus.
You're gonna regret it
when you see Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug
hopping on board and everybody else.
You're our first choice.
Yeah? Why?
Because you're the best.
Betty came on board
and brought her core of feminists.
We all launched NARAL together,
the National Association to Repeal Abortion Laws.
Did I tell you?
Looks like I started a revolution.
I mean... I told you, you should open a clinic.
Well, you know, you're probably right about the clinic.
But listen, I-I gotta look after Adele and Joey, so.
Are you not seeing this?
Yeah, but do you really think
we should go for full repeal?
I say we go for abortion on demand!
Yeah.
Listen, come on. We don't need to get greedy.
Can't we just do this for health or if a woman gets raped?
You know, wouldn't it just be better for that?
We don't need to go for abortion on demand.
No, no, no.
We have to go for the full enchilada.
Otherwise, we'll get nothing.
Cyril's correct.
We can't turn a woman's body into a business negotiation.
You just won a fabulous trip to London.
It's worth over $1,000. Congratulations, sir.
Your dinner's in the oven, if you wanna heat it up.
Thank you, sweetheart.
Like always!
Oh, come on, not again.
Eighteen-hour days?
What's her name?
Betty Friedan.
Come on, you can't take a joke?
What you do isn't funny.
I don't understand. A woman doesn't support women's rights?
I mean, you should see what they go through.
Then go be with them.
Women are dying. I'm saving lives.
I just miss you, that's all.
Okay, you win.
The New York State Senate today passed one of the nation's
most sweeping abortion control bills.
Aggregates and enemies of the bill
brought tremendous pressures to bear on legislators
on the emotional issue,
and the drama was summed up late yesterday
in the State Assembly
when one man's vote made the difference.
As New York's Assembly passed a bill
legalizing abortions for any reason,
up to the 24th week of a pregnancy,
the decision to be made between a woman and her physician.
But then it became apparent that the bill would fail
unless one vote was changed.
But I cannot, in good conscience,
stand here and thwart the obvious majority of this House.
I therefore request you, Mr. Speaker,
to change my negative vote to an affirmative vote.
Completely devastated,
the pro-life senator, Earl Brydges,
read the Diary of the Unborn.
"My parents don't know it yet,
"I'm as small as the seed of an apple.
"But it's me already.
"I'm to be a girl.
"I shall have blonde hair and blue eyes.
"October 19th.
"Some say I'm not a real person yet,
"that only my mother exists.
"But I am a real person.
"December 13th.
"I'm just about able to see.
"It's-it's dark around me.
"But what I want more than anything.
"is to see my mommy.
"December 24th.
"I wonder if mommy.
"hears the whispering of my heart.
"It beats so evenly.
"October 28th... December 28th.
Today my mommy killed me."
The win shocked our opposition.
I mean, no one thought we would get abortion
legalized in New York.
Especially since the Catholics controlled everything there.
How does Rockefeller appoint Cyril Means
to head this committee?
It's a conflict of interest.
He works for Planned Parenthood.
Politicians are now playing God,
deciding on who has the right to live and to die.
This is Dr. Mildred Jefferson, she is the first,
uh, woman to graduate...
What he's trying to say is
I am the first Negro woman to graduate Harvard Medical.
Ellen, I run a pro-life women's group.
We, ah, tried to fight this in Albany.
Feminism is destructive.
I have no philosophical
or intellectual appreciation for it.
Oh, we're not feminists.
And they used to be against abortion.
It's not about women's rights either.
Would you like to head up
a right to life group that I'm starting?
I could write a few letters.
There's more that needs to be done.
I could attend some rallies.
Really? That's it?
This will be the National Right to Life Committee.
Father, I am still completing my residency
at Boston University.
I will not give them any more excuses.
I never heard Rosa Parks give excuses.
I'm sorry about Ellen, all right.
She's from Long Island.
I will not be used for the color of my skin.
I do what I do on principle, like Don Quixote.
Look, first they came after the Jews,
but we weren't Jewish, so we didn't say anything.
And then they came after the mentally deficient.
But we weren't deficient so we did nothing.
And now they're comin' after the unborn.
and so you're gonna do nothing?
That's a low blow.
No one is coming for the unborn.
This is akin to slavery, and you know the topic.
Because I'm Black?
Yes.
This can't come to you as a shock.
Dr. Haven,
perhaps the board could consider...
The decision has been made.
I've been in medicine for 20 years.
Dr. McConnell will be our new chief resident,
and that's final.
You've chosen Dr. McConnell.
The man can barely get through an appendectomy.
He's a fine doctor.
This position is way too precious
to be wasted on a woman.
I'll get it.
Professor Robert Byrn.
Father McHugh said you were gonna call.
There is not much time,
and Jim said you wanted to help out.
Well, supposedly
you're the best constitutional mind he knows.
The only one he knows.
"Any society that's willing to give up a little liberty
to gain a little security
will deserve neither and lose both."
Benjamin Franklin.
Susan B. Anthony said about abortion,
"Awful guilty is the woman who commits the deed."
No one will be passing a law to kill the unborn.
Our foundations are built on natural law.
Are you sure about that?
People can't humanize what they can't see.
Physicians need to balance the discussion.
But in order to win,
we need to take God out of the argument.
Nathanson's clinics are performing
a thousand abortions per week.
Nathanson?
Dr. Bernard Nathanson, the obstetrician.
The self-proclaimed savior of women.
Sounds more like an abortionist than a doctor.
The Abortion King, they call him.
That's why I'm sacrificing my time and taking up the fight.
I'm a woman. You have choices.
I understand.
You need to take care of your children.
No, we don't have any children.
We tried.
So glad you're here.
Look at this. Have you seen that?
"An unmarried Catholic law professor."
Now, Larry's strategy
was to always vilify the Catholics.
So, every time we leaked a story,
we made sure the writer identified the bad guys
specifically as Catholics.
I'm always described that way.
You never see them identify Betty Friedan "a married Jew,"
but us, always "a Catholic."
Could be worse.
Come on.
We're gonna go in here and over to the left.
Where are the graves?
Where are the names carved in stone?
Where do we go to pray?
I don't know, Father.
But I do know that they will never stop
the religious persecution.
Preaching on Sundays isn't saving babies.
"The fate of unborn millions will now depend,
under God, on the courage of this army."
George Washington.
We need to take God out of the argument.
Your father was a minister.
Yes.
Life begins at conception.
As a physician, I know this.
And so does the Scraper.
The Scraper?
That's what they call Dr. Nathanson.
I'm in.
I'll have someone from the Right to Life office
get it up and running until you can take over.
God bless you.
You know, it's cheaper to abort a baby
than it is to keep it on welfare.
Now that it's in the courts,
the interests of the baby will be taken into consideration.
And now that it is legal in New York,
Larry really wants me to open up a clinic.
Does he want to pay our mortgage?
Larry was right,
and from this point forward,
we were able to carry out over 70,000 abortions
throughout my career, making over $20 million.
Maybe this is worth your reputation.
I guess they could use your help.
If you're gonna do this,
I need you to do one thing for me.
Tell me.
Win!
Now that my business was booming,
I didn't have enough hours in the day
to take care of all the girls who wanted abortions.
So, we had to go to London to learn a faster procedure.
Uh, today, I'll be performing 32 procedures.
Thirty-two in one day? Impressive.
Yeah, it's much more civilized now.
What is that machine there used for?
Well, this is a suction machine.
The procedure is called suction curettage.
With this, I can perform an abortion in three minutes.
That's impossible. You can't do that.
You can thank the Chinese for this.
This and firecrackers.
Up until how many months can you use this machine?
Four and a half,
no problem.
Dilation and evacuation up to six and a half,
but some doctors even more than that.
Now, if you're looking for a nice shirt
while you're in London,
I can recommend MacCulloch & Wallis.
They get the cut just right. It is your body after all.
One thing to be careful of though is,
their guy is a little clumsy with the needle,
but who cares if it stings a bit, hmm?
Ah, suction machine, please?
You got it.
The fetus is quartered.
The torso disemboweled.
The head is then crushed and extracted in parts.
Then the placenta is scraped off the womb.
The last step of dilation and evacuation is,
you must reconstruct the fetus
to make sure all the vital parts have been removed.
Thank you.
Look, if you follow the New York model,
you're gonna be able to maximize patients. Okay?
If you need any help...
We have regional centers.
Planned Parenthood has centers all over the country.
Yeah.
Thank you, gentlemen.
We found a girl in Texas.
Our gal at Planned Parenthood Dallas, Ginny Whitehill,
organized the whole thing.
Did you get a lawyer in Texas, too?
A woman, and this is where it gets good.
Ginny found the perfect one.
No.
Young, inexperienced, and in need of guidance.
And it gets better.
She works for us.
What are you talking about?
For Planned Parenthood.
No.
She even volunteers for your group, NOW.
Henry's a civil rights lawyer but he does adoptions, too.
That's how we found the girl.
Norma McCorvey. She's perfect.
She was a runaway,
she became an alcoholic,
a drug addict, a lesbian.
She has a criminal record and a ninth-grade education.
She is just what you're looking for.
Ginny, this is great.
We need to legalize this across the country in one swoop.
Fighting state by state will take forever.
And the lawyers?
Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington.
Henry McCluskey was the guy
who not only found the pregnant girl,
but the lawyers, too.
They are super excited.
Plus.
they desperately needed a job.
Planned Parenthood
needed Texas lawyers they could control.
And they wanted women.
Sarah and Linda couldn't get hired anywhere else.
They were the perfect pawns.
You're gonna make a constitutional claim.
How are we gonna do that?
Between Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and NOW,
you got a lot of help.
And Norma's background?
Are we worried that's gonna affect the case?
We'll give her a pseudonym. Call her Jane Roe.
Calling Norma Jane Roe,
made sure our opponents would never be able to
find out who she was; never be able to question her,
and never, ever be able to find out the truth.
That's genius.
That way, no one will ever know about her past.
I'll oversee the case.
I'll bring in Harriet Pilpel from Planned Parenthood.
She's the country's top constitutional expert.
This is going to the Supreme Court?
We'll make sure of it.
But, I-I've never even tried a case.
Don't worry, we have.
Larry liked to go to St. Croix.
He called them working vacations.
Okay, Bernie.
He said that's where
he got his best ideas.
- This time, I went with him. - Look, they do need us.
We were going to celebrate
- winning New York. - Here's the strategy, okay.
First, we have to get the media on our side.
That's a good idea, okay.
Second, they need to know
there's no life at conception.
Yeah, but I'm not really sure that's accurate.
Well, you're a doctor.
We're gonna need testimonials.
What about what the other experts say?
We'll make sure no one's gonna hear what they have to say.
I couldn't believe what he just said.
Larry wanted me to bury the truth.
I was really conflicted but. I went along with it anyway.
Right? Listen.
Most important, every revolution needs a villain, okay?
Whether it's a dictator or a king.
People need to see a face, something to rebel against.
It's easier for them to perceive.
We need to narrow the focus, okay,
identify it with a person
or a small group of shadowy, powerful people.
Don't you see?
In our country there's been one group associated with
reactionary politics,
behind-the-scenes manipulations,
and backward ideas.
Wait, not the Catholics again?
Oh, well. What did I really care?
I mean, although my parents were Jewish,
I was more of an atheist.
Of course, the Catholics. Yes!
Norma.
good to see you again.
Come here.
This is Sarah.
So, you're seeking an abortion?
Yeah, you know where I can get one?
I'm so sorry, I do not.
How about an illegal one?
No!
Okay, well, Sarah did know
where to get an illegal one.
She had one in Mexico.
But we needed them to say whatever it took
to get her to come on board.
It was for the greater good. This was lie number one.
Why the heck not?
Because it's dangerous.
What am I even doing here then?
Mr. McCluskey said I could trust y'all.
He's great.
We'll still consult with McCluskey, okay?
I can't be having no baby, okay?
I got no job, no husband, no home.
You don't wanna to put your child up for adoption?
No, I can't go through that again.
Thank you.
How did you become pregnant in the first place?
Can I?
Norma, if we are gonna represent you,
we need to know everything.
Did anything bad happen?
I was, uhm, raped.
Norma may have been suicidal,
but she admitted years later, she lied about being raped.
Raped?
I'm so sorry.
No woman should ever have to give birth
to her attacker's child.
Hmm, is the case gonna be over in enough time?
That's why I'm doing this.
Yes, of course.
Lie number two.
We will do our best to win.
So, what happens during an abortion?
Does the baby go back?
Like when John Wayne aborts a mission?
Well, there is no baby.
And ladies and gentlemen,
lie number three.
It's like removing a piece of tissue.
The baby comes later, Norma.
Much later.
Like passing a period.
So, y'all got a lot of experience with this.
We're going to file in Dallas.
But I live in Houston.
I know, but I clerked for Judge Hughes in Dallas
and I know her position on the topic.
We just need you to read these papers and sign.
And then, we'll just-we'll get everything going.
It's all right. I trust y'all.
Get out! Get out!
Wait.
wait.
They lied to me.
They told me we would have won by now.
Call them! Tell them to get McCluskey!
Obviously,
the case didn't get to court in time.
Ha-ha! Mr. Floyd, welcome to Dallas.
- How's the Governor? - He's still reeling
over your Lee Harvey Oswald debacle.
Well, he should have appointed me instead of Sarah Hughes.
You'll want to hear this.
Two young lawyers just filed...
Whoop dee doo, goody for them.
In Judge Hughes' court, and it's about...
Oh, let me guess, abortion!
You know, that Sarah Hughes, she...
anything to get at me.
So.
So, these gals, fresh out of UT Law,
are bringin' an abortion case to Texas.
Thank you. I needed a good laugh.
You should be worried, Hank!
About what? Prissy feminists looking to stir up the pot?
Tolle, come in here. You need to hear this.
They're causing a ruckus all over the country.
Any decent lawyer
can try this case with his eyes closed.
You-you-you argue the case.
Show these girls some good old-fashioned Texas morals.
It's not about morals, Hank!
Well, that's just ignorant.
Why don't we legalize murder while we're at it?
Who's this Jane Roe anyway?
Well, she's healthy, so the baby can't kill her.
So, she can't have an abortion in Texas.
Why doesn't she move to New York City?
They're gonna bring up some women's rights violations.
A woman's right to kill her own baby?
You're right.
There's no way anyone with a conscience
could legalize killin' a child.
And that's why I prosecuted Jack Ruby
for killing Lee Harvey Oswald.
No judge or jury in their right mind
would ever let abortion happen in Texas, ever.
Ever.
I'm Jay Floyd,
Assistant Attorney General of the State of Texas.
The parties in this lawsuit
have no standing before the court.
Jane Roe no longer seeks an abortion.
She has had the baby or is having it.
Are we gonna let the delay
in the hearing abort the case?
She may want to engage in activity
where she'll become pregnant,
and then she may want an abortion.
The law's whether or not the party has standing
at the time the issues are decided in the case.
This statute takes effect
regardless of when the embryo takes effect.
I mean, at first week?
There have been many arguments
as to when an embryo becomes a human being.
There have been many religious groups
that have joined in that controversy,
and I'm not setting forth the Catholic faith.
How is that gettin' you anywhere?
The point is,
the state's interest is whether or not murder occurs,
and if the embryo is considered a human being.
There have been many opinions on privacy.
So, you're saying that if Texas were to approve abortion,
that it would be considered a direct killin' of our citizens?
I-I think this is a bad word in this situation,
although everybody seems to want to use it.
I haven't come up with a phrase myself,
but I don't think privacy is gonna do it.
The State's position is the right of that child to life
is superior to the woman's right to privacy.
Then an argument could be made
that an abortion isn't necessary,
a medical argument because of the health of the mother.
Any possible change in the relevant law
is a matter for the state legislators and not the courts.
First Amendment rights or Ninth Amendment rights,
I feel that they are so important that they deserve
special protection.
They involve fundamental human freedoms.
The State has not tried to prosecute unfairly, has it?
The State is prosecuting against physicians.
Do you think the entire statute should be stricken?
Yes.
- Is the court worried about...? - Ah...
We worry about a lot of things. Don't let that worry you.
I think the statute is so bad
that the court just has to strike it all down.
So, you think 63 years of unconstitutionality
should've worn everyone's constitutional patience?
Is that what you're saying?
I think the State has had plenty of time
to construe this statute.
This was the judge Linda clerked for,
and she obviously made her decision
before she even heard the case.
I think the wink gave it away.
I would like to draw to the court's attention that life
is an ongoing process.
It is almost impossible to define at which point
life begins or
perhaps even when life ends.
Assuming there is a Ninth Amendment right to privacy,
does the state have any compelling reason
to regulate or modify that right?
I cannot see any justification for regulation
when the abortion's being done by a doctor.
The state of the pregnancy or anything?
The stage of the pregnancy is pause for concern, um.
You could recognize life when the fetus is able to live
outside the body of the mother.
It might be dependent on whether she has money or not?
The young, those still in school,
those unable to shoulder the responsibility of a child,
these girls should not be put through the pregnancy
and should be entitled to an abortion.
Gentlemen, inside, now!
I told you any decent lawyer could win this case!
You, Mr. Floyd, are apparently not a decent lawyer.
The judge's decision was political;
nobody could've done anything.
You weren't prepared!
You didn't bring in any medical experts to testify
that life begins at conception!
They said the Constitution didn't apply to the unborn.
We'll fight the decision, Hank!
Fight? You didn't even bring in all of the case law.
Dozens that do protect the rights of the unborn!
You've embarrassed this office.
Sir, if you would just listen to what I have to say, I could...
Planned Parenthood in their own words agree,
"Abortion kills the life of the baby after it's begun"!
Right here in their own damn pamphlet!
You research this Jane Roe
to see if she's telling the truth.
Mr. Tolle, I will deal with you.
Mr. Floyd, you deal with the Governor.
I will appeal this all the way to the Supreme Court,
so help me God!
Until the appeals process is over,
abortion is still illegal in Texas.
Potter keeps pushing Roe.
I think we should wait.
The Senate has rejected
each of Nixon's appointments so far.
Who knows how long this could take.
Obviously, they're just trying as many cases as they can
while they're still in control.
Your letter to Nixon did help get your friend
Blackmun on the bench.
Well, I had to do something.
Nothing like that has happened in 40 years.
At this rate, the liberals will never let Nixon
appoint any new justices.
It could be Rehnquist and Powell.
Who the hell knows where they stand.
What are you thinking, Byron?
Seven judges, only six are required.
The Supreme Court
has nine justices.
Two had just retired,
and Nixon was fighting with the Senate
over his replacements.
This is far too. Too sensitive a matter for seven.
Well, we just decided the Vuitch case.
I'll bring that up and we'll-we'll move on.
Roe v. Wade, in the grand scheme of things,
is not that important.
The Vuitch case!
I don't-I don't see the correlation.
These people, they want-they want abortion
for reasons other than life or health.
They want abortion on demand.
Well, we'll see.
What's all the commotion, my jurists?
Professor, everyone's talking about what's happening in Texas.
Is that what's on your minds?
Only fanatics are against abortion.
Oh, really?
Mother Teresa?
Martin Luther King? The Dalai Lama?
"It would seem to me clear as daylight
- that abortion would be a crime." - Mahatma Gandhi.
Fanatics?
None of them were getting pregnant.
Regardless, we should have the right to control our own bodies.
Yes, one should have the right
to do whatever she wants with her own actual body.
But let me ask you something.
What happens when that body
starts to interfere with another body?
You mean, the rights of the fetus?
It is part of our own bodies.
All of your body parts
share the same DNA, except the fetus.
So, the child, by definition,
is not part of anyone's body but their own.
But how can you say it's a life?
It can't live without the mother.
Well, Dan.
Were you able to feed yourself
without your mother, the day after you were born?
- Well. - Not even a one-year-old
or a two-year-old can take care of themselves.
Dan can't even take care of himself now.
You think this is funny?
You all protest the killing in Vietnam.
So, am I confused, or is this just hypocrisy?
The elderly,
the handicapped, the incapacitated,
they can't take care of themselves.
Should we eliminate them too?
What about birth defects?
To kill an unborn child because of defects
is what the Nazis used to do to the Jews.
Let me give you a riddle.
The father,
syphilitic.
The mother had tuberculosis.
Of their four children, one was blind, the second died,
the third was deaf and dumb,
and the fourth had tuberculosis, too.
If the mother got pregnant again,
what would you do with the baby?
I wouldn't want my child
to grow up disabled and suffer.
You would have killed Beethoven.
Don't you think that someone's hopelessness
should motivate us to protect them,
not destroy them?
Is everything okay?
I.I can't take care of a baby right now.
I see.
And I can't tell my family about this.
They can't know.
You do know I love you, right?
I can't take care of a baby right now.
My life is over.
I'm so sorry, Mary.
The hospital limits me with quotas.
So, each of you are only permitted to do
20 abortions a week.
That's like saying I've done too many gall bladders
but I can still do hernia repairs.
This is a democratic approach.
To limit a woman's access to health care?
Staff members should have equal access to beds and ORs.
I've already fulfilled my quota.
Dr. Berg won't do abortions, let me use his.
We can't transfer another doctor's quotas to you.
Hah, I get this. I get what's going on here.
This is an attack on us! Why?
Because we were the ones outspoken on reform?
Yeah, I've heard the whispers in the locker room
and I've gotten the looks in the hallway,
the half portions in the cafeteria,
the sneers and the nicknames.
This isn't high school. You can't hurt me.
Because I'm proud of what I do,
and I'm proud to help the women of this country.
So, if you wanna humiliate me
and call me the Scraper behind my back,
I'll wear it as a badge of honor.
Or if you wanna ridicule me and call me the Abortion King,
I'll wear that title with pride.
Because when a woman is at her wits' end,
and she has no one else to turn to,
when she's too frightened to tell her family
or fears going to the butcher,
when she has to spend her last dime
to catch the Greyhound
or hitchhike her way to New York,
when she breaks down in tears crying out for her savior
and when your God can't help her, Kenneth.
Who do you think she's crying for?
I decided to fight back,
so I had Larry call and leak the story to the press
and feed some of this good raw meat
to the drooling beasts in the media.
Yeah. Hi, Kate?
Yes, Larry Lader.
How are you?
I have a story for you.
Hi. I was hoping to speak to someone
about the quotas you put on abortions.
It's amazing how the quotas magically dried up.
Time of death?
And the Medicine section of Time Magazine
had a three-column spread.
Thanks for getting those quotas lifted, Your Majesty.
Aw. Thank you, Sire.
Your favorite, corn flakes.
You know that John Harvey Kellogg
created corn flakes as an anti-aphrodisiac.
He believed bland foods decreased sex drive.
Oh, well.
I hope that's not true, for Joan's sake.
Did I miss something?
Yeah, your husband's trivial knowledge.
He also founded the Race Betterment Foundation
which paved the way for Margaret Sanger.
Don't eat that.
Huh?
Are you gonna stop me?
Eat up.
Could you quiet them down, Joan?
Let me show you somethin'.
We need to come up with a jingle.
Something catchy.
Bernie, what was that song you told me about?
The one that doctors used to sing during your residency.
Oh, I can't do that.
- I can't... - You have a song?
Aw, come on, Bernie. Don't be shy.
No way, no, no, no, no.
Let it out.
I'm no Stravinsky. I can't, I can't...
Well, Joan is. Joan! Joan, help.
Why don't you get us started.
- I'll join in. - Ah.
Come on. Come on, Bernie.
Okay, fine, fine, fine.
Sing it!
Okay. Fine.
♪ There's a fortune In abortion ♪
♪ Just a twist of the wrist And you're through ♪
♪ The population of the nation ♪
♪ Won't grow If it's left up to you ♪
♪ There's a fortune In abortion ♪
♪ There's a gold mine In the sex line ♪
♪ Only rabbits Have those habits ♪
♪ Oh there's a fortune In abortion ♪
♪ You never bother The future father ♪
I found the Catholics!
Those Vatican devils,
starting right here with the big cheese:
Cardinal Cooke, Father McHugh,
Robert Byrn, Charlie Rice,
Ellen McCormack, even Ed Golden.
If we're gonna succeed, people have gotta be scared!
Well, men are governed by lines of intellect,
women by curves of emotion.
That's our Catholic strategy, right there.
Perfect.
Well, these guys have been scaring people for years!
How are we looking on the new numbers?
A million illegal abortions a year;
10,000 die in back alleys.
I completely made that up.
A million illegal abortions a year?
Ten thousand die in back alleys? Not even close.
That's like a hand grenade in a maternity ward.
But we need slogans, battle cries.
Not statistics.
People trust numbers.
Yeah.
Cyril's right. People do trust numbers.
But Betty is also right.
People need something to grab on to,
something to hook in their brains
that feel like they're part of the movement.
You want a slogan?
Yeah.
I have a slogan.
It's a woman's body. It's her right to choose.
We are the pro-choice people.
- That's amazing. - Pro-choice.
Uh-huh.
Pro... we're pro-choice.
Yes, it's-it's pro-freedom, it-it's pro-liberty.
Who can argue with it?
They came up with the slogan... pro-choice.
Pro-choice?
What an evasive, fraudulent and deceptive term.
According to recent statistics,
over one million women are having illegal abortions
every year in America.
And over 10,000 are dying
from these back alley type procedures.
Why aren't we taking our own polls?
They told the press that one in three Catholics
are for abortion!
Because we don't have the money!
Why didn't this Jane Roe
just give the baby up for adoption?
There is a long waiting list for white babies.
This was political.
Judge Hughes kept her hidden.
We gotta get Wade on the phone.
District Attorney's office,
may I help you?
Robert Byrn for Henry Wade.
What can I do for you, Bobby?
I've got the team here.
The Supreme Court will hear the case!
Let us know if we can help.
It was time to prepare
for the Supreme Court.
While some focused on saving lives,
others had no idea what was coming.
Everyone had their own agenda.
We used Sarah and the lawyers from Planned Parenthood
to fulfill ours.
Certainties as unquestioned
as the U.S. Constitution itself, trembled!
All rise!
There were still only seven justices
because Nixon still wasn't able to
get his two picks confirmed.
I am completely out of my depth.
Don't be nervous.
You had the best of the best prepare you.
You'll be fine.
We will hear arguments
in Roe against Wade.
Mrs. Weddington, you may proceed.
Mr. Chief Justice, may it please the court.
The court declared the Texas abortion law
to be unconstitutional for two reasons.
First, the law was vague,
and second, it violated a woman's right
to continue or terminate a pregnancy.
The Texas law permits abortions be performed
only for the purpose of saving the life of the woman.
When this case of yours
was in the district court,
the case of Vuitch against the United States
had not been decided here.
That is correct.
Now that it has,
do you think that that disposes of
some of the questions you're raising now?
Your Honor, I do not.
In the Vuitch decision,
this court was working with a statute which provided
that an abortion could be permitted
for reasons of health or life.
Does Texas law, in other areas of the law,
give rights to the unborn?
In an area such as trusts, estates, wills or elsewhere?
The Supreme Court of Texas recently held a case
in which there is action for prenatal injuries at any stage
prior to birth, but only upon the condition
that it be born alive.
Mr. Justice, it's an old joke,
but when a man argues against two beautiful ladies,
they're gonna have the last word.
As to the-as to the unmarried pregnant female,
a unique situation arises.
Is her action moot?
It has been recognized by the appellant's counsel
that she is no longer pregnant.
Of course, if moot, there is no case or controversy.
- Class action, wasn't it? - Yes,
but the whole purpose of class action
is to have a representative in court.
So, what procedure would you suggest
for any pregnant female in the State of Texas
to ever get judicial consideration?
We can take judicial notice
of the fact that at any given moment,
there are unwed pregnant females in the State of Texas.
I think she makes her choice
prior to the time that she becomes pregnant.
Maybe she makes her choice
when she decides to live in Texas.
It should've been debated in Congress, not here.
"Courts are the mere instruments of the law,
and can will nothing." John Marshall.
Politicians don't have the courage
to argue with the legislature.
The right to life
is the cornerstone of our government.
It's a foundation of the Constitution.
They were mocking him in there.
I don't even know why this is in the Supreme Court.
There's no factual record in this case,
no trial, no expert witnesses,
no description of evidence,
no expert witness testimony. It didn't even go through
an appeal!
This is a conspiracy.
They're laughin' at him in there!
Laughin' at him!
They're not laughin' with him. They're laughin' at him!
It couldn't have been that bad.
You're a law professor.
He didn't even address the rights of the unborn
in property law, probate law,
criminal law, tort law, the list goes on.
The judges ask him what rights, if any, do the unborn have,
and he just stood there and didn't say anything.
I gotta go before I blow a gasket!
There's no more discussion for...?
For Roe?
The four justices on the right
with their hands up
voted to legalize abortion, while the three on the left,
including Chief Justice Burger, were supporting life.
This made it four to three in favor of abortion.
Apologize, gentlemen.
In the matter of Roe v. Wade,
I want the case reargued.
Chief Justice Burger was losing,
so he wanted the case reheard
to flip the vote in favor of life.
Well, besides the obvious,
what's your reasoning?
Four to three in favor of Roe,
it's very close.
We've had close decisions before.
Because it didn't go Warren's way.
That has nothing to do with it.
The importance of this issue
merits a full bench treatment.
Of course, Harry.
Because you're Warren's man.
I resent that.
You were best man at his wedding.
It was my idea to reargue in the first place.
Harry, you're here because he recommended you to Nixon.
Enough! We need to wait!
And why is that? Because this decision
might affect your old pal Nixon's re-election?
Really, Potter?
Can we rest the egos
and try to get a little work done, please?
Does anyone else have an opinion on this?
Yes, I don't see any problem
with rearguing.
Nixon opposes abortion,
so I'm sure his new justices will follow suit.
Two new justices voting Nixon's way
will change the outcome here.
Political allegiance should not affect
how we interpret the Constitution, gentlemen.
Yes, and with that,
I'm appointing Harry to pen the opinion.
I'm the senior justice in the majority.
I've got to agree with Bill, Warren.
- That's not standard protocol. - I'm the chief justice.
I determine protocol.
You are trying to control this, Warren, old buddy.
That is completely unethical.
Aren't you the one that pushed this case?
All those in favor of rearguing?
They voted six to one
to reargue Roe v. Wade.
There you go. That's it.
Justice Douglas was the only one
to oppose hearing the case again.
- William? - Hmm.
Bill.
It's a letter of protest
including my draft dissent to reargue.
The draft dissent
is a formal letter that outlines Justice Douglas' reasons
as to why he thought Roe v. Wade should not be reheard.
And why are you giving this to me?
Burger abused his power.
I'm the senior justice after him,
he was supposed to assign the case to me.
That's already been decided, okay?
Get off that.
Chief Justice is going to make sure
that we reargue this case.
The Senate just confirmed Rehnquist and Powell.
That will flip the decision.
You see, Justice Douglas
supported Jane Roe,
and right now, the vote was four to three
in his favor to win.
He was afraid if there was gonna be a reargument
with two new justices, the vote would flip
and it would be five-four, and he would lose.
Has Burger seen this?
Not yet.
You cannot send this letter to the press.
Promise me you're voting with us.
How dare you!
Promise me now, or this is going to be published.
You will disgrace the court.
If you don't wanna see that in the Post,
you need to assure me that a reargument
will not change your vote.
You need to make an issue of this.
I don't understand how a single justice
can order things his way.
Now you know how women feel.
I'm late, I have to get to the clinic.
I wish you wouldn't spend so much time at that place.
That place?
Planned Parenthood?
You don't want us supporting women?
We'll talk about it later.
Okay.
- Andy. - William.
- You're looking lovely. - Thank you.
Planned Parenthood?
Nobody knew Justice Stewart's wife worked there.
You need to recuse yourself.
Look, Bill.
My wife volunteers there, not me.
This is a major conflict of interest.
If word got out.
Please, you need to control your home.
What Burger did was worse.
He appointed Harry to write the opinion.
That is a gross abandonment of protocol.
We were ready to vote this four-three.
Potter, here's my letter and dissent.
You know what I resent?
I resent the fact that Burger thinks
he has Rehnquist and Powell in his pocket.
They're brand new,
and Burger acts like he owns the court.
But he has no right to hold this up for those two.
He wants to make sure the vote goes his way,
that's why he's demanding a reargument.
Right. And that will flip the vote
and we lose five-four.
If we don't sort this out, fur will fly today.
You see, in the end,
it was Justice Stewart who leaked the court's internal vote
to the Washington Post.
He wanted to stop the case from being reheard
because he wanted abortion legalized.
So, Judge, how's the wife?
Cut the small talk, Bob.
Look, I understand your wife was a volunteer
for Planned Parenthood. Is that why we're here?
Absolutely not.
All my decisions have to do with law and the Constitution.
Now, let's get this over with.
Are you sure you want to give this to me?
Burger is gonna hit the roof
when he sees this on the front page of the Post.
Yeah, well, he deserves it.
I wish you hadn't given me this case.
Have you-have you seen the Post this morning?
I saw it.
- I saw it! - Now everyone knows how I voted.
The media is outrageous.
Media? There's a leak!
The appetite for this nonsense is only worse.
How long we been friends?
Dayton Bluff Elementary.
It wasn't you, was it?
I'm sorry.
I'm out of sorts.
My family, my own family, is up in arms about my vote.
They've been watching television.
I don't-I don't know what to do, Harry.
Warren. I question my competency.
Don't.
Your decade of counsel with the Mayo Clinic,
it will be very helpful here.
I've only been here a year.
We gotta control this, Harry.
It's gotten out of hand.
Do you know what they're calling me?
Your boy.
They are calling me your boy, the Minnesota Twin.
I trust you, Harry, and I need your help.
I need your support here.
I'm on the fence.
Harry, with all this public pressure,
we've got to get this right.
We're going to be remembered for this.
Perhaps this is beyond the authority
of the Supreme Court.
We are the law of the land, Harry.
We are the law of the land.
Abortion was still illegal in Texas.
So, every Friday, the flight from Dallas to El Paso
was booked solid.
They landed
and crossed the border.
It was called the Abortion Flight.
Planned Parenthood and NARAL
fundraised at the Playboy Mansion.
I mean, it's kind of hypocritical
that we exploited women
for women's rights,
but hey, anything for a good cause.
Larry and I were on a roll.
We were performing 200 abortions a day,
which was making my clinic 50 grand.
Today, that would be like half a million a week.
And that's how I became a published author.
That's so far out.
You know, Larry here changed the laws
in half the country, singlehandedly.
Bernie and I own most of the clinics in New York.
Oh, my god. That's sick.
And how did you do that?
We control the media.
Get real.
We do.
They write whatever we tell them.
This one time, we got the New York Times
to publish a poll
on how many doctors were in favor of abortion.
We said 87% sounded good.
How many doctors again was that out of, Larry?
About 40,000, I think.
Can you believe they printed that?
And then, we got them to say
that 60% of Americans favored abortion.
Why didn't you guys just do a real poll?
Because if a real poll was taken,
nowhere near 60% of Americans favored abortion.
So, we made it up, and the media didn't even question it.
This is a tactic of the self-fulfilling lie.
You see, few people care to be in the minority.
There's nowhere near a half a million women
- are having back alley abortions. - Yeah. You see,
if you keep repeating the big lie over and over again,
it generally convinces the public.
Well, 10,000 women die from back alley abortions.
- What? - Larry, wait.
We made that up, too.
Yeah, those are my statistics I came up with.
- Yeah! - You guys lied?
I wouldn't call it lying.
Yeah, it was for the greater good.
Planned Parenthood, they also helped.
And no one found out?
Found out? Honey, the media was in on it.
You see, for example, if you check out Time Magazine,
we planted four pro-abortion stories
every year.
So, 1969, and we have it in
March, September, two in November.
In 1970, February, March, April, September,
in '71, March, May, September, November,
and so on and so forth.
We kept doing it.
We also put pro-abortion stories in TV shows and films.
Yeah, remember that movie...
oh, what was it... Cabaret with Liza Minelli?
Yes.
Okay, wait! Time Magazine. Really?
And how did you guys do that?
We used each other as sources.
Should we really be doing this on Mother's Day?
Exactly.
All right.
How's the rally going, bubalah?
Yeah, hi.
Larry got commissions by referring women
to abortionists all over the country.
In Chicago, he even used rabbis and Protestant clergy
to help find them doctors.
Is my referral there?
With me, as we speak.
Okay, good.
Yeah, I gotta run.
Such a good guy, that Larry,
making sure the two of you are okay.
I really need to get this done soon.
I-I recommend going to New York.
Larry's partner Bernie, he's terrific.
You don't have anyone in Chicago?
I can't leave. What do I tell my husband?
Oh, jeez.
Oy vey, you're not the husband?
You know it's not legal here.
Please, Rabbi, I-I beg you.
Don't cry, don't cry.
It's okay. It's okay. Go see Dr. Ketchum.
He's not bad.
And we're not gonna get in trouble?
Oh, boychik, I take care of everything.
Okay.
Thank you.
Dozens write amicus briefs, and we get four.
They lied to Rockefeller
about the numbers on abortion,
and New York fell just like that.
When you see a kid out of law school
get to argue to the highest court in Texas,
and you can't get a job promotion.
I could have become a cause célèbre
if I had taken it up to court,
but it's about knowing the price of the game.
I wouldn't have waited 20 years; I'd have sued them.
It will be easier for those coming behind me.
You don't always have to be so strong.
It's not really fair.
Life isn't fair.
It doesn't mean I condone it.
When given a choice of being kind or right, be kind.
You can be angry, Mildred.
You certainly have been a role model.
Planned Parenthood and Larry Lader
are running seminars to set up clinics across the country.
And not to mention Nathanson.
Oh. Maybe I should pay him a visit,
doctor to doctor.
Good luck with that.
They're making too much money off these clinics.
Not to mention the illegal ones.
We have to be willing to get arrested
for our beliefs just like they are.
Illegal abortion houses, that's class warfare.
I'll reach out to the DAs across the country.
What are you thinking?
Let's see just how many times
they're really willing to get arrested.
Come on. Let's go.
We had secret abortion clinics
- across the country, - Get in here.
for girls who couldn't get to New York.
Part of our referral network consisted of rabbis
and Protestant clergy that helped set them up.
Sometimes, we even used five-star hotels.
Freeze!
Hands in the air where I can see them.
This is the one. Right here, guys, right here.
Chicago PD!
Put your gun down.
Hey, watch it!
Stop right there!
Where do you think you're going?
He thinks he can get out the window.
Stop what you're doing.
Can you cuff him, please.
Hey, stop what you're doing, Pops.
This is an operating room! You have no authority here!
Are you okay?
Oh, my god.
The rabbis and pastors getting arrested
brought down one of our biggest referral networks.
Is everything okay?
I just hope what we're doing is making women feel safer.
You should be so proud.
A young woman is arguing
in front of the Supreme Court because of you.
I thought I would have had envy,
but all I felt after all of it was proud of Sarah,
and hope this will open the gate for women to come.
One of our clinics was just busted.
Ugh.
Sixteen clergy, four rabbis, all arrested.
We have to protect these kids.
We have to make sure they have safe doctors.
These raids can't be setbacks.
We have to keep working for abortion on demand.
It makes us look like we're in it for the money.
It's just disgraceful.
No, quit exaggerating, Bernie.
You know what it's gonna do to me and my family
- and my reputation? - Oh, this is-this is about you?
Bernie? Is this about you and the money?
It's not about me.
It's about the girls.
You're not there.
Yeah, okay. Quit exaggerating, Bernie.
You don't see all the girls I save.
I became a physician
in the tradition that obliges society
to expect a doctor to save lives,
not kill them.
There goes your Hippocratic oath.
Tell that to Nathanson, Mother.
Dr. King said, "We cannot win if we're willing to sacrifice
the futures of our children
for immediate personal comfort and safety."
I am not willing to allow
the concept of expendable human lives
to turn this land of ours
into just another exclusive reservation,
where only the planned,
the privileged, and the perfect
have the right to live.
my saying this to you,
we're free.
We finally have the right to decide what we can do
with our own body.
All right. Then, will you please get yours
into the kitchen.
- You're just scared. - I am not scared!
You are, and it's as simple as gong to the dentist.
As simple as going to the dentist?
Oh. I scream, they scream louder.
We raise money, they raise more.
They have Hollywood on their side.
Dr. Nathanson, I heard he gave them $10,000 to air that.
Lewis Powell is from Virginia.
But like another great Virginian,
Chief Justice Marshall, Lewis Powell is recognized
by his legal colleagues throughout the nation
as being a man who represents not just
Virginia and the South.
He is first and foremost, a very great American.
William Rehnquist
has been outstanding in every intellectual endeavor
he has undertaken.
He was graduated from Stanford University,
Phi Beta Kappa, 1948.
He graduated
first in his class
from the Stanford University Law School in 1942.
You missed the more important news!
We got the majority.
We're gonna win.
The two new justices were conservatives.
So, when we go back into court,
the vote will swing their way five to four.
We're gonna lose.
I wouldn't count on that.
We still have a lot of work to do.
I've tried Nathanson's service. He won't return my calls.
Have you tried heading over to Planned Parenthood?
I'm not going there to get lynched.
I'll just head over to the hospital.
Are you going to go after the clergy?
I'm gonna go with the industry.
Robert, no one sees the industry.
It's invisible.
The cause is hopeless in secular terms.
The effort is only worth it
if it's part of a larger enterprise:
the reconversion of this nation.
To what?
Faith in God, respect for His law.
That law being?
Human law, which cannot tolerate the intentional killing
of innocent human beings.
Yeah, but the separation of church and state
is in the Constitution.
That's a common misconception.
The Constitution provides freedom of religion,
not separation.
Our laws are based in God's principle,
"Thou shalt not kill."
Ellen, you did a great job organizing this.
Thank you.
The Ninth Amendment isn't some bottomless pit of rights
that we can abuse anytime we find a case confuses us.
What part of the Constitution
says that a woman does not have a right to an abortion?
Freedom to choose - too vague. Freedom to choose what?
Prove medically and scientifically
that a new fetus is a-a someone.
Even the doctors say there is human life.
Human life from the moment of conception,
in the embryonic state.
Yeah, look. You're new to the court,
and Mrs. Weddington presents a thought-out argument
for women's rights.
You've been watching too much TV.
This case has nothing to do with women's rights.
Does a woman, a mother,
have the right to kill her own child?
I'll argue that case separately.
It's not her child, just yet.
Whose child is it?
The mother's? Father's? The state's?
You've only just been appointed,
and already you're playing into the hands of public opinion.
Byron, get off your high horse
and make a constitutional decision.
I am making a constitutional decision.
She stated on several occasions
that they are dismissing the Hippocratic oath,
the very oath
that says doctors need to protect life.
It also states very clearly
that a woman should not be given an abortive remedy.
That's what you're basing your decision on,
the Hippocratic oath.
It's not 400 B.C.
The 1948 Declaration of Geneva
as well as the International Code of Medical Ethics
both clearly state that doctors must protect life.
From the point of conception.
May I remind you, sir,
you're on the United States Supreme Court,
not on an international medical board.
We have an opportunity here to make things right.
We have an opportunity here to get things right.
I fear if we vote in favor of
removing the rights of the fetus,
that we are simply blowing this whole thing.
Hm-mm. Roe isn't about right or wrong.
It's about what's stated in the law.
All due respect, Justice, if you don't realize that,
you shouldn't be on the court. Hm?
Church and state are separate for a reason.
It's God's duty to forgive.
It's ours to rule the law.
This has nothing whatsoever to do with church and state.
This is strictly a constitutional matter,
life and liberty.
Or have you forgotten that?
Justice?
Wade got Robert Flowers to argue.
He was handpicked by the Texas attorney general.
How you boys and gals doing?
Have you seen how the whole media supports Weddington?
Well, we better get to work then.
I created a moot court based on Griswald and Vuitch.
We can set up and start to fire questions.
My boys don't need schooling
by a bunch of kids from New York City.
It's going to be you and your boys
versus the whole country.
Well, don't tell me, I know the law!
I know you do. I'm worried.
"The greatest act of faith is when a man understands
that he is not God."
Oliver Wendell Holmes.
It might be a good idea, Henry.
I'm listening.
What else you got for us, Bob?
I filed with the court to become guardian ad litem
to all the unborn children in the State of New York.
How'd you manage that?
The unborn has rights in the area of the law
from probate to criminal.
In the Constitution, a person cannot be deprived due process
or denied equal protection.
- Okay. - So, the unborn have a right
to an attorney just like everybody else in America?
It's brilliant!
Larry, you convinced me to open a clinic,
abortion is illegal again in New York.
What are you talking about?
I'm gonna lose everything to that guardian of the unborn.
I wouldn't worry about it.
Guardian of the unborn,
it sounds like a superhero.
How can the Catholics
use the court to make a law?
Well, isn't that what we're going to do?
You boys are only in favor of abortion
because it's cheaper than child support.
Equality!
Let's not forget,
this is also about population control.
This is about women's rights.
You're still in love with Margaret Sanger!
What are you talking about?
She opposed abortion. I read her autobiography.
Oh, the founder of Planned Parenthood opposed abortion?
She'd be for it today.
She said it was a disgrace to our civilization.
Quote, "There should be no killing of babies in the womb,"
end quote.
I founded this movement.
- This is about you? - Yeah!
This is about the State of Larry Lader?
Look around you.
Who do you think is winning your dirty little secret war?
I am looking. Look what I've created.
Planned Parenthood and half the doctors
pay you referral fees.
And you have the women of the world to thank for that!
And how much you getting from your clinic, Doc?
Equality!
You haven't touched your food.
Hm?
Oh, I'm sorry. It's this damn case.
Well, which way are you leaning towards, Dad?
I'm not gonna get into any of that.
Good try.
Sally's volunteering at Planned Parenthood.
Stop changing the subject.
Oh, Planned Parenthood, that's- that's great, sweetheart.
Now, that's the second justice
with a family member working for Planned Parenthood.
First Stewart's wife, and now Blackmun's daughter.
Hm.
You know, it's not only about abortion.
Did you see 20,000 women
marching for equality in New York?
Twenty thousand, is that right?
It's about time we had our own rights.
Do you want your daughter to be able to become justice one day?
Why...
so you're saying
if I vote the other way, I'm voting against women?
Yes, you are.
Just listen to her, Dad. Come on, it's important.
I'm with the girls.
Make us proud, Harry.
I know why you gave me this
but you should've let Douglas write it.
After my vote hit the media,
my family almost fell apart over it.
So, you might be changing your vote
because your family found out? Or was it the media?
Warren.
You wanted to talk.
Yes, I did.
I wanna see where you stand, Harry.
I'm hoping we're on the same page.
Byron, I don't know what page I'm on.
I'm not even sure we're reading from the same book.
I just-I'm trying to vote along the lines of the Constitution.
Does the Bill of Rights allow a woman
to kill her unborn child?
It's a very simple question.
No, it's not a simple question.
The question is, when does a fetus become a life?
At the point of conception, Harry. When else?
Well, that hasn't been determined yet, has it?
And if it had, we wouldn't be having this conflict
in our conversation.
Sure, Bill. Why don't you just sit down and join us.
What we need to discuss is the right to privacy.
What?
Listen, our job is to interpret the Constitution.
Our job is not to create law.
If you wanna make a new law, you take it up with Congress.
We already ruled on that. Griswold v. Connecticut.
- Unrelated. - Absolutely.
He-he's right.
Right to privacy between a patient and a doctor.
At minimum, Byron, it's something I think
we should at least consider.
You take this into consideration, Harry,
you take the risk of embarrassing this court
and putting it to a level it has not been
- since the Dred Scott decision. - Oh, come on.
Come on, Bill. So, you wanna enslave women
by denying them their right to privacy.
Is that it, Byron?
That is not what I said.
Well, that's what you're implying.
No, it is not what I'm implying.
Wait, guys, guys. Stop being so dramatic.
And you, you're starting to sound like one of Nixon's boys.
Don't forget it was JFK that appointed you.
Yes, and it was Kennedy that thought
abortion was repugnant to all Americans.
Here we go again, boys.
Certainly, we cannot say that there is
in the Constitution so stated the right to an abortion.
But neither is there stated the right to travel
or some other basic rights that this court has held
are under the United States Constitution.
I suppose that one of the most important factors
to consider is, what rights, if any,
does the unborn fetus have.
That is correct.
I have a question.
Is it critical to your case that the fetus
not be considered a person under the due process clause?
It seems to me that it is critical
that we prove that this is a fundamental interest
on behalf of women.
That it is a constitutional right, second...
Well, would you lose your case if the fetus were a person?
Then you would have a balancing of interests.
You're already going to be balancing
the interest of the mother
against the interest of the fetus.
That is correct, Your Honor.
If it were established that the unborn fetus
is protected under the Constitution,
you would have an impossible case, Mrs. Weddington.
I would have a very difficult case.
It's impossible for me to trace,
within my allocated time,
the development of a fetus from the date of its conception
to the date of its birth.
But it's the position of the State of Texas
that upon conception,
we have a human being.
A person with the concept
of the Constitution of the United States
and that of Texas as well.
Any person born or naturalized in the United States hasn't.
No, that's not the definition of a person,
that's the definition of a citizen.
It's so fundamental
that the framers of the Constitution
had not even set out to define it.
And even Blackstone was quoted in 1765,
"This right is inherent in every individual
and exists even before the child is born."
Is it not true
or is it that the, medical profession itself
is not in agreement as to when life begins?
Medically speaking, we would say that from the chromosomes,
every potential of anybody here in this room
is present at the moment of conception.
Right. So, what you're speaking about is a potential life.
Yes, sir.
With which everyone can agree on.
Just one moment.
If you're correct that the fetus is a person,
then I suppose the state would have a great trouble
permitting an abortion, wouldn't it?
This court has been diligent
in protecting the rights of minorities.
And gentlemen, we say this is a minority,
a silent minority,
the true silent minority.
Who is speaking for these children?
Who is counsel for these children?
These unborn children,
whose lives are being taken.
Where is the safeguard
of a trial by jury?
For Roe?
From the CBS News headquarters in New York,
this is the CBS Evening News
with Walter Cronkite and Eric Sevareid in New York,
George Hermann in Washington,
Leslie Stahl in Washington, Fred P. Graham in Atlanta,
Peter Calisher in Paris, Tom Fenton in Paris,
Robert Schakne in Des Moines.
And tonight, a CBS Evening News special report,
"The Energy Crisis."
Good evening.
In a landmark ruling,
the Supreme Court today legalized abortions.
The majority in cases for Texas and Georgia
said that the decision to end a pregnancy
during the first three months belongs to the woman
and her doctor, not the government.
The Roe decision allows a woman to have an abortion at any time,
not just the first three months.
Cronkite and the media lied about that.
But they said it doesn't have the same rights as a person.
Let me ask you, if you found out today
that you were pregnant and I killed you,
should I go to jail for murdering one person or two?
Uh...
Most states would consider it a double homicide,
hence considering the unborn a person.
With that logic, why isn't abortion considered homicide?
The Supreme Court allowed the Sierra Club
to sue the Walt Disney Mineral Park
on behalf of inanimate objects.
Justice Douglas argued
that trees should be granted personhood,
that rivers, lakes, and even pupfish have rights.
Somebody read me the constitutional amendment
that states that we have the right to kill an unborn child.
Sir,
it was just voted seven to two.
The justices replaced the framers' choices
for personal predilections.
But we have a right to privacy.
Where in the Constitution does it state
that we have that right?
It doesn't, and even if we did,
privacy is not an absolute right,
so it can always be governed by other rights.
But the right to choose is more important than a fetus.
Why would you say that?
A fetus is not a person, and I am.
So, what does a fetus become?
A fetus has the DNA of a person.
It's created by people.
Left to nature, that fetus becomes a person.
Dr. Taylor, call the operator, please.
Dr. Taylor, call the operator.
Dr. Nathanson?
I'm sorry. Can I help you?
A butchery.
Excuse me?
You know that even a safe abortion
can make a woman sterile.
Mildred Jefferson, right?
Dr. Mildred Jefferson.
Are you lost?
Yes.
Yes. Actually, I am. Very.
How do you do what you do, and live in good conscience?
I have given abortions
to my friends,
my colleagues, even my teachers.
I've never had a shred of self-doubt.
And I've never wavered.
So, you feel nothing?
Just a sense of accomplishment and pride of expertise.
You see.
When my girlfriend got pregnant and I couldn't afford to have
a child, I not only demanded
that she terminate the pregnancy but I also informed her,
since I was the most skilled practitioner of the art,
I myself would do the abortion.
And I did.
Are you sure you wanna do this?
Doctor...
If you don't wanna be here, you can leave.
On your own child?
I mean, why do you give life
to those with no future?
Aren't you tired of creating new souls
that end up with no purpose?
I mean, you must be bored, right?
Or are you just like
playing games?
I've killed babies
for the greater good.
I've killed babies in the name of saving women.
And I've killed babies because they were unwanted.
You're a liar!
You did this, you led me down this path.
You didn't want them.
That's the truth.
Because you wanna know why?
I'm not the one who's supposed to be perfect, you are.
But I have done my best. I have worked my hardest.
I have served humanity. You've watched me.
Hm?
Maybe you're just willing but not able.
And so you're just not omnipotent.
Or, are you able and not willing and malevolent?
I don't think it's either.
The truth is, you are neither willing nor able.
So, why do I need to call you God?
Have you seen these new high-tech ultrasounds?
In the '70s before Roe,
no one had this technology.
Not I, not the courts.
This would change everything, especially for me.
No, but I hear the new imaging is great.
You know what, it helps a lot with accuracy.
Let's go try it out.
Are you okay?
It is a person.
It's a person.
God, forgive me. What have I done?
I-I'm so sorry, God.
I'm so sorry.
Please, I want her back.
I killed my own daughter.
Doctor. Phil McCombs, Washington Post.
Thank you. Good to see you.
Thank you for taking the time.
So, when you take them out, you don't see anything?
No, you don't see anything.
I-I-I mean,
of all the thousands of second trimester abortions
that I've done, I mean, maybe I've seen
half a dozen.
But didn't it bother you when you did?
No, not particularly. It was the end product,
a lifeless limp thing lying there.
They have a human form.
Oh, absolutely.
I-I-I'm sorry. I'm a little bit confused.
First you said, "All you see is bloody meat."
Hm-mm.
But now you're saying you always knew it was a person.
So Doctor,
which one is it?
I knew all along.
Life exists at conception.
I mean, I'd taken part in over 70,000 abortions.
I'd seen other sonograms.
I knew in my heart what I was doing was wrong.
And I lied.
I lied to the world. I lied to God.
More importantly. I lied to me.
But I kept on killing.
Until I had the courage to face the reality
of the absolute horror of what I was doing.
I had been an atheist,
so my opinions on abortion were not influenced by religion.
And when life gave me more than I could stand, I chose to kneel.
♪ There's a fortune In abortion ♪
♪ Just a twist of the wrist And you're through ♪
Oooh!
♪ The population Of the nation ♪
♪ Won't grow If it's left up to you ♪
♪ There's a fortune In abortion ♪
♪ There's a gold mine In the sex line ♪
♪ Only rabbits Have those habits ♪
♪ Oh, there's a fortune In abortion ♪
♪ You never bother The future father ♪
The mass of Negroes, particularly in the South,
still breed carelessly and disastrously.
The result that the increase among Negroes,
more than among whites,
is that portion of the population
least intelligent and fit.
In our country, there's been one group
associated with reactionary politics,
behind-the-scenes manipulations, and backward ideas.
Wait, not the Catholics again?
Of course, the Catholics.
Catholic and fundamentalist churches
have constantly violated the law.
Violations which breach the wall separating the church and state.
The justices cited Larry's book
seven times in their decision, citing no other legal historian.
Jane Roe became known to the world as Norma McCorvey.
And when she learned the truth that having an abortion
was killing a baby and not passing a period
or removing a bunch of cells, she became pro-life.
See, the truth is, she herself never even had an abortion.
They lied to me.
I didn't go to the Supreme Court for a bunch of women.
Who lied to you?
Sarah Weddington.
I asked her if she knew where to get an abortion
and she and Linda told me that they didn't.
She knew where.
Could you elaborate?
Sarah had an abortion in Mexico.
They were just looking for somebody to use.
Do you feel what you did was wrong?
You never had an abortion, did you? I mean...
No. No, sir. I never had an abortion.
You carried your child to full term.
Yes, sir, I did.
You wanted an abortion.
Yes, sir, I did.
And in a sense, you were angry at one point
at Sarah Weddington for not letting you get one
because it didn't suit their purposes at that time.
They needed you to be pregnant, right?
They needed their plaintiff to be pregnant,
it is exactly right.
But see, what really was the tell-in of the whole schmeil
was the fact that when Sarah Weddington came out
with her book, I don't know, two or three years ago,
she told in her book that she had an abortion
and she went to Mexico.
And when I sat across that table at Colombo's Pizza
here in Dallas, Texas and I asked her,
I said, "Sarah, do you know
where I can go and get an abortion?"
And she said, "No." Well, she lied to me.
Some justices
were leaking to the press.
Some had family members working for Planned Parenthood.
Burger and other justices then changed their vote
because of public outcry and family pressure.
Dr. Mildred Jefferson became the president
of National Right to Life,
and an influence on President Reagan
becoming pro-life.
I produced a documentary called The Silent Scream
where 18 days before you even miss your period
and realize you're pregnant, there is a heartbeat.
At ten weeks, when you go to abort your baby,
she will actually feel the pain of having her limbs torn off.
This is the silent scream
of a child threatened imminently with extinction.
Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull