Reproductive Rights/Abortion

Interview with Linda Greenhouse

by Aedan

On January 31st we interviewed New York Times Journalist, Linda Greenhouse. She told us about her time sitting in the court when Roe V Wade was ruled in the 70s. She also talked about how upsetting it was to see it overturned recently. Linda also talked about the multiple books she has written on our topic.

One of the most interesting things Linda talked about was how abortion used to be a much less two sided topic. She talked about how Ronald Reagan used abortion as a political strategy and it made abortion become more two sided. Hearing from someone who was in the court when Roe was ruled was very interesting and made me more passionate about the topic.

by Lily Rosenthal

On Monday, February 13, we walked over to the Planned Parenthood near us. Walking over to the facility, we could not even tell what it was. It looked almost like a school or office. There was secrecy in both parts of the building that had been added after more protesters started coming around. Walking around the facility, it was bare and unwelcoming and looked like it lacked funding. We saw operating rooms and learned about how the procedure is done. We then walked over to the post-op room and saw chairs lined up with little to no privacy. At the end of the tour, we got to learn about how patients have to prepare and the protocol they have to follow when getting an abortion. It was a really interesting and eye-opening experience that helped a lot with our project.

by 27gracem

This was our last fieldwork it was at 9:30am and lasted till 10. Bethany was the 6th person we interviewed on Reproductive Rights. Our interview with her was pretty short but she explained how her job works and what she does. Bethany also explained the kind of people she works with and what they do. She explained what a day in the life looks like. Bethany is an extremely hard working person and said that she hardly ever takes breaks or days off from work. After the interview she emailed us some maps of where abortion is banned/restricted and we plan to add those into our slideshow for finishing touches.

by Penelope Schab

Our Group met with Tara Haelle. She lives in Texas and used to be a high school teacher, but is now a Journalist. She told us about multiple experiences she’s had, but a lot of them relate back to her high school teaching experience. For instance, she had a student who was pregnant and who didn’t know what a IUD was, and when she tried to explain, the student asked where a uterus is, and when Tara finished explaining, there were nine students listening in. These students that she talked about came from a religious background, and would not have gotten an abortion anyway, but they didn’t even know what it was. This shows the importance of sexual health class because there are so many students that are just uneducated, and therefore do not consider the option of an abortion.

Another story that really struck me was the story of an ex-student of hers that came to her after she had stopped teaching there. What Tara told us is that this student had come to her after becoming pregnant by sex work. She said that this young woman’s life was practically falling apart due to her uncle dying and her aunt who was a drug addict sold the uncle’s house where she had previously lived, forcing her to go to the streets. She resorted to sex work and ended up getting pregnant. Tara was trying to help her get an abortion because they live in Texas where it is illegal to get one, and was considering flying this woman to a state where you could get one.

Tara also told us that one of her old friends had married a politician. She talked to us about what this person believed and how mind-boggling it was to her. The politician was trying to get a law signed saying that if you get an abortion, in this case specifically in Texas, the death penalty would be the punishment.

All of these examples really motivated me to learn more about this topic. All of these stories really impacted my understanding and passion for this topic.

by Aedan

Last week we visited a Planned Parenthood. On the outside the building looks very unwelcoming. We started our tour by seeing the part of the Planned Parenthood that provides other services besides abortions. This included vasectomies and screenings for cervical cancer.

After that we went to the second floor where we looked at the process of having an abortion. The first thing that happens is you check in and decide how you are going to pay. You can either use insurance, pay with cash, or use medicaid. After you decided how you were going to pay you were given a pregnancy test then an ultrasound. After they see how far along in your pregnancy you were, they give you options for sedation. You can either have deep sedation or medium sedation. Then the procedure is done. After it is finished you go to the waiting room and recover.

Seeing the planned parenthood gave me a very up close experience of what it is like to get an abortion. This helped me connect with the topic more and gave me more passion for the work I have been doing.

by Lily Rosenthal

On January 31st, we interviewed Linda Greenhouse. Linda Greenhouse is an opinion writer for the New York Times. She has done a lot of work around this topic and has also written a book with some other writers titled “Before Roe v. Wade.” She talked to us about the history of Roe v. Wade and how it has impacted the U.S. over time. Linda also talked about the future and whether the war over abortion even has one. Linda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who covered the United States Supreme Court for nearly three decades for The New York Times. I learned a lot about the history of Roe v. Wade and how, even though a lot has changed, not that much has.

by 27gracem

Cici Coquillette is a lawyer that does a lot of pro abortion cases. We talked to her for about 30 minutes and asked questions about what she does and cases that have stuck out to her. She told us that the majority of her cases are with women that need abortions in states where it is banned. She also told us that she has worked with people is South america and Europe. Cici also told us that she did a ton of cases in Iceland. We asked her if it was different in anyway or if the cases were generally the same. She explained that even though the cases remained similar the way of life was extremely different and it was fascinating to be apart of something is a different continent. This interview was extremely helpful and it was good for us to talk to someone who fights for reproductive rights in their day-to-day life.

by 27gracem

At 5:00pm on February 13th our group got a tour at Planned Parenthood on Motts and Bleecker. Our tour was for 45 minutes and the majority of our time was on the second floor. Our tour guide took us through all the rooms and explained in detail what happens in that room. We saw the white board for the next day. We also saw the room where patients stay after their procedures are over. We were told that the patients have to wait there for at least 30 minutes to see that the anesthetic fully wears off. This tour was extremely helpful and it was good to see what the experience would be like when getting an abortion.

by Lily Rosenthal

On Thursday, February 9th, we interviewed Tara Haelle, a journalist in Texas. Before she was a journalist, she was a teacher in a high school with the highest percentage of teen pregnancies. She went on to tell us that most of the girls she worked with had never taken a health class. One experience she told us about was when she had to teach a pregnant student what a uterus was. This shows how important Heath class is and how lucky we are to have it.

She also talked about how, since abortion is illegal in Texas, women are getting pills shipped to them from India. These pills are not approved and could be dangerous. Pregnant women will also try ways to make themselves have a miscarriage just because they don’t have access to an abortion. She talked about one of her old students who was living in a not-very-stable family and was living on the streets. At the time, her only source of income was doing sex work. When she found out she was pregnant, she was doing a lot of drugs and was in no way fit to keep and raise a baby. She ended up miscarrying, and for her, that was great news. People who she knew were trying to find ways to get her abortion pills and help her find access, but there was no way of doing it. This again goes to show how lucky people in New York are to have access to abortion.

by 27gracem

On January 30th at 9:30am – 10:15 we interviewed Linda Greenhouse. Linda is an opinion peace writer, she shares her personal opinions through her writing. She writes for the New York Times and she went to Yale. She has written many pieces and even 8 books. Her first book was released in 2005 and the most recent one was in 2021. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting. The interview was helpful and informative and it was good for us to talk to someone who has so much experience with reproductive rights. Linda has seen Roe be passed and overturned and has written about both.

by Aedan

We met with Tara Haelle. She is a journalist in Texas and used to be a high school teacher. She talked to us about her experience in a school where there was no sexual health class, and how her high school had the highest rates of teen pregnancy in Texas. She told about one experience she had where she had to teach a pregnant student what a uterus was. I think that hearing this story really shows the importance of sexual health class in school.

Another thing she talked about was an ex-student of hers who was living on the streets and became pregnant do to sex work. Her ex-student was addicted to drugs and the baby would have been born with many birth defects. Tara was trying to find any way to be able to get her ex-student an abortion, but her ex-student ended up having a miscarriage. She also mentioned an old friend that she had who’s husband is a state legislator in Texas and he wanted to pass a bill to put any women who got an abortion to death. Hearing this really shocked me and made me more inspired to do this project.

by 27gracem

We interviewed Tara Haelle who is a journalist in Texas. This interview was at 1:00 pm and went till 1:45. She answered the questions we had and shared articles with us. The articles were very informative and helpful, some were written by her and some were from different agencies all over Texas. Tara explained that these agencies were meant to help women find resources for abortions. These websites are illegal because any type of abortion is illegal in Texas. Tara told us that the woman who had the abortion could not be arrested but anyone who was involved with it could be. And anyone who knew about it could sue the woman. She explained that the laws in Texas right now are very confusing for the citizens. We are planning to add a lot of what she said to our ted talk.

by Penelope Schab

On January 20 my group interviewed Jane Kaufman about her experience as an abortion provider. For almost a decade she has been providing abortions to women in need, but has noticed a spike in requests since Dobbs was ruled.
Over zoom, my group and I talked with Jane Kaufman about the difference now that Roe has been overturned. Jane Kaufman told us about her experiences as a provider and a few stories about women in need. She told us two stories which really struck me.the first was that she once had to perform an abortion on an 11 year old girl, and the second was that she had to perform an abortion on a young woman who had come all the way from Texas, a state where it is illegal to get one. She also told us something really interesting that she noticed, which is that most people that come to get an abortion already have a child. When she came into this field of work she expected it to be more teenagers and people in college. These stories that she shared with us reflected the complicated complications people must go through when performing abortions or need one.
She shared with us the devastating impact that Dobbs had had on her and her co-workers. She had Covid-19 at the time that Dobbs was ruled, and when she got back to work everything was different. Everyday, she told us, pro-lifers stand outside of her work and terrorize her and her co-workers. She told us that everyone at that firm had to get security training to deal with the protesters.
Because of what she shared, my group and I were able to get a better picture of what it would be like to work at a job that is only legal in some parts of the country.

by Aedan

On January 20th, my group interviewed Jane Kaufman. Jane Kaufman is an abortion provider in NYC, and has been for almost a decade. She spoke to us about her experience providing abortions and her experience after Roe V Wade was overturned. She told us that she wanted to work as an abortion provider because reproductive rights was a topic she cared about and she said that if you care about a topic and have the ability to help then you should. One of the most shocking things she mentioned was that the youngest person she had to give an abortion to was an 11 year old. She also said that most of the abortions she provides are for people who have already had one child. This is different from the usual narrative that abortions are mostly done for teenagers. She talked about how the overturn of Roe V Wade was devastating for her and very hard on abortion providers around the country.

This interview was super helpful and gave us an inside look into what being an abortion provider is like.

by Lily Rosenthal

On Friday January 20th, we interviewed Jane Kaufman, an abortion provider in NYC. She has worked there since November 2014 and loves what she does. Jane talked to us about who she works with and the people that she has provided abortions for. In the state of New York, minors are not required to take an adult with them to get an abortion, although most she worked with did come with one. She has performed abortions on women as young as eleven years old and as old as fifty. One patient even came with a friend from Texas where abortion is now illegal.

Jane is demonstrating activism by performing a service that isn’t legal everywhere nor accessible to all. By working on a sliding scale she is also helping make abortion available to those who can’t afford it. This also reminds me that activism can happen behind the scenes; it’s not always something one can see.

by 27gracem

My group interviewed an abortion provider who works in the west village near us. We asked about what it was like to live through the overturning of Roe v. Wade as someone who provides abortions. We also asked about what a day-to-day schedule looks like for her. This was our first interview/fieldwork and it was very informative and helpful.