FRONTLINE on Tuesday: "The Last Abortion Clinic"

[madfloridian]

FRONTLINE
http://www.pbs.org/frontline/

- This Week: "The Last Abortion Clinic" (60min.),
Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2005 at 10.00 pm (wedu/channel 3) on PBS
- Inside FRONTLINE: Venturing into the abortion thicket
- Live Discussion: Chat with producer Raney Aronson this Wed. at 11 am ET

With the nomination of Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, the
long anticipated battle to determine the direction of the Supreme Court
for the next generation appears to be underway. One of the litmus test
issues for interest groups is abortion. While some believe Alito might
vote to overturn Roe v. Wade if given the opportunity, most think it is
more likely that Alito will join others on the court in upholding state
regulations designed to restrict access to abortion. The success of such
state regulations in many parts of the country is the story FRONTLINE
tells this week in "The Last Abortion Clinic." In Mississippi, for
example, only one abortion clinic remains in operation.

In venturing into the abortion thicket, producer Raney Aronson faced an
interesting challenge as a journalist and a filmmaker. It is easy to
articulate FRONTLINE's standard practice: fairness to both sides of a
controversial issue while letting the weight of the story be determined
by the facts on the ground. With a subject in which even vocabulary is
used as a weapon by both sides, however, the task of doing careful
reporting and editing was a difficult one.

As part of setting a high journalistic bar, there was another question
that presented itself. What would Aronson say if she were asked about
her personal opinions on the subject? In today's climate some take the
view that all journalism is biased, and there is no such thing as
neutral reporting. With so much opinion and advocacy in the air, can
there be honest brokers of information? FRONTLINE thinks so, and we ask
all our producers to try and keep personal bias and opinion from
influencing the pursuit of a story. This means that a producer should
approach stories with an open and skeptical mind, conduct extensive
research, and acquaint themselves with a wide range of viewpoints. They
should fairly represent the words and actions of the people portrayed
and interviewed. And when they are done, they should be prepared to
discuss what they have reported and not what they personally think.

FRONTLINE believes that Aronson succeeded in threading a tough
journalistic needle. In the end, we believe pro-life advocates will find
"The Last Abortion Clinic" an accurate portrayal of their success, and
they may take some satisfaction from the reporting of their
achievements, while pro-choice advocates may find that same picture of
success to be alarming.

But we invite you to judge our report for yourself this Tuesday. And
after, explore more at our web site: the facts on the ground state by
state, interviews with key strategists in the legal battleground and the
significance of a case that the new Roberts court will hear this month.
And, take the opportunity to express your opinion at
http://www.pbs.org/frontline/clinic/

Louis Wiley Jr.
Executive Editor


This program will be rebroadcast at the following time(s):
Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005 at 2.00 am (wedu/channel 3)
Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005 at 4.00 am (wedu/channel 3)


--------------------------
+ Live Online Discussion on Washingtonpost.com ...

Producer Raney Aronson will be online this Wednesday, Nov. 9th, at 11am
ET, to discuss "The Last Abortion Clinic"

For details, see:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2005/11/01/DI2005110100955.html

----------------------------


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----------------------------
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[Reverend_Smitty]

1. I read an article about this in The Nation a few months ago

it should be an interesting show to say the least

[NewJeffCT]

2. that is what I've been saying on abortion

What will happen is that abortion cases now pending over the next year will be decided in favor of restricting abortions. Then, those red states in the South & Midwest will be encouraged to pass further restrictions, which will then be upheld again upon appeal, and so on and so forth.

And, once all those states have outright banned abortion, they will start moving on to the blue states, one by one and putting enormous pressure on each state to slowly restrict access to abortion a little bit more each year...

it will take 10-15 years or more, so this will not go away as an issue any time soon.

[Justitia]

3. 87% of all US counties have NO abortion provider!

Thanks for the heads-up MadFloridian, I will definitely watch.

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/files/portal/medicalinfo/femalesexualhealth/report-030114-rights.xml

http://www.emilyslist.org/about/

[madfloridian]

4. Right. It is scary stuff. Done quietly and against wishes of majority.

Polls show majority supports a woman's right to choose, yet states are quietly taking away that right.