Abortion in the US

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2022

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Abortion is a deeply divisive issue in the United States that spans the law, religion and women’s rights. It has been a legal right for almost 50 years. Now, the Supreme Court – the top court in the country – is expected to overturn the law and rule that abortions can banned. It’s put abortion back towards the top of the political debate and we reflect some of the conversations taking place among those affected. Two women share their experiences and personal reasons for terminating their pregnancies, including one that resulted from sexual assault.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I had this secret. I robbed banks in my spare time.
0:06.3	Lives less ordinary from the BBC World Service.
0:09.6	This is not a good thing to do because police are after you.
0:14.8	Find out more at the end of this podcast.
0:19.1	Hello, I'm Ben James on the BBC World Service.
0:22.4	And this is BBC OS Conversations Abortion in the US.
0:30.9	The prospect of an abortion ban has prompted a major political debate.
0:35.9	We've been hearing a range of views, including two women on why they needed one,
0:40.4	and two doctors on providing abortions and dealing with moral judgement.
0:45.3	It is certainly easy when it's not you and to say,
0:49.4	well, I would never do it in the circumstances, or these are the only reasons that makes sense.
0:53.5	But I've certainly had plenty of patients who said,
0:55.9	I never thought I would be here and I don't support abortion, but here I am meeting one.
1:01.7	Well, for some, the debate has never gone away.
1:04.0	It's been reignited nationally in the past couple of weeks.
1:07.4	After news leaked that the US Supreme Court, the top court in the land,
1:11.8	could soon rule that abortions can be banned.
1:15.0	If it were to happen, it's not expected to result in a nationwide ban,
1:19.0	but states would get to decide, potentially affecting millions of women across the country.
1:24.6	Women in America have had the constitutional right to an abortion for almost 50 years.
1:29.9	This goes back to a legal ruling in 1973 known as Roe vs Wade.
1:35.3	You'll hear it referred to several times by our guests.
	...

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