The Abortion Talks: They Found Respect, but not Common Ground. Frances Hogan, The Rev. Anne Fowler

Let's Find Common Ground

USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future

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5 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2023

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We speak with two women from opposing sides of the bitter and often toxic debate over abortion. Frances Hogan and The Rev. Anne Fowler were involved in a series of years-long intensive, secret talks. Their candid conversations began after a gunman opened fire at two Massachusetts abortion clinics nearly thirty years ago. The attack left two women dead and five people injured. In this episode, we learn the extraordinary story of how Anne and Frances gained a much deeper understanding and respect for one another. They didn’t change their views about the abortion issue, but they did become friends. We share moments of compassion, kindness, and humor. Both Frances and Anne were among those profiled in the new documentary, "Abortion Talks", about what happened after the deadly attacks. On "Let's Find Common Ground", both of them explain how incredibly difficult it was to be part of many hours of exhausting conversations. We hear how they learned to overcome fear, stereotyping, misunderstandings, and anger. Please tell us what you think! Share your feedback in this short survey. For every survey completed, we’ll plant 5 trees. Common Ground Podcast Feedback Survey (qualtrics.com)

Transcript

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0:00.0	We start in 1994. Two women were murdered at two abortion clinics in Brookline, Massachusetts.
0:09.0	Five people were injured. The killer was caught, found guilty, sentenced. Justice was done.
0:16.0	And then something happened that might have seemed impossible before those terrible crimes.
0:22.0	Leaders on both sides of the abortion debate met together for a series of secret talks.
0:28.0	We hear from them now.
0:30.0	We definitely were told that we would not go in to try to change the minds of the other side.
0:35.0	And for myself, it was extremely difficult for me to do that.
0:40.0	Because I wanted to change their minds.
0:44.0	I would trust my life to anyone of the women.
0:48.0	I felt like we had each other's backs. We were respectful of each other's position.
0:56.0	And we certainly became very fond of each other.
1:05.0	This is Let's Find Common Ground. I'm Richard Davis.
1:09.0	And I'm Ashley Melntite.
1:11.0	Right after the murders of the clinics, both sides of the fierce and furious debate over abortion were shocked.
1:18.0	Clinic doctors and workers felt their lives were endangered.
1:22.0	And the leaders of the anti-abortion movement spoke out against that terrible violence.
1:27.0	We speak here with the Reverend Anne Fowler, an episcopal priest who served on the board of directors for the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.
1:35.0	And lawyer Fran Hogan, she's been president of Women Affirming Life.
1:40.0	They're among the women profiled in the new documentary, The Abortion Talks.
1:45.0	You know Richard, it took years for the women to go public and explain what they've been discussing and why they met.
1:51.0	The first mention came in an opinion article in the Boston Globe.
1:56.0	The headline was talking with the enemy.
	...

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