A Film by Marion Lipschutz & Rose Rosenblatt
Abortions have been legal in the United States for more that two decades. Free Speech has been guaranteed for more than two centuries. In the normally quite town of Bedford, New Hampshire, the rights to both have collided recently in an intense battle of beliefs and wills.
Wayne Goldner, an obstetrician and gynecologist, performs abortions as part of his general practice. When we first meet Goldner he is fighting a merger between the Catholic Medical Center and Eliot Hospital that would threaten access to family planning services in the city of Machester. Goldner's activism attracts pro-life protesters to his doorstep, and soon his hometown of Bedford is caught up in a divisive controversy.
Protesters begin to show up at the local middle school where Goldner teaches an abstinence based sex education class. After months shouting and picketing, the school board dismisses Goldner, citing student safety. Two years later, Goldner appeals for reinstatement, bringing the protestors back to school. Although some 200 parents support Goldner's right to teach, others are troubled by their children's exposure the graphic images on the anti-abortion signs.
The mounting tension and danger begin to take their toll on Goldner. His wife receives hate mail and email, his children are harassed and a colleague receives a death threat, all underscoring the pressures doctors who perform abortions face on a daily basis.
As events at the hospital, school and home unfold, Goldner feels increasingly embattled and isolated, abandoned by his colleagues who fear for their practices. Still, he continues to follow his conscience. "I've always been a fighter," muses Goldner, "I've always been a person who's taken on the odds."
"Etches a sympathetic portrait of a dedicated physician committed to comprehensive women's health care and practical sex education, regardless of the continual threats against his livelihood and well-being. A compelling documentary." - Booklist
"A natural David-and-Goliath story. This video should be seen by medical societies, hospital boards, and hospital staffs. It should also prove of interest to those concerned about the marked decline in physicians performing abortions throughout the United States... A somber, serious film." - Journal of the American Medical Association
"A particularly relevant program given the recent change of administration, [LIVE FREE OR DIE] is RECOMMENDED." - Video Librarian
**Justice and Human Rights Award, 2000 Vermont International Film Festival **Shirley Gordon Public Policy Award, Family Planning Advocates of New York (2000) **Honorable Mention, International Jewish Video Competition, Magnes Museum (2000) **Hot Springs Documentary Festival (2000) **Human Rights Watch 2000 International Film Festival (New York)
70 minutes / Color / 2000 Sale/video: $390 Rental/video: $75
<http://www.frif.com/new2001/free.html> *****
***** SAFE MOTHERHOOD In any country, poor women are far more likely than rich women to die in childbirth. Rates of maternal mortality show a greater disparity between rich and poor nations than any of the other commonly used public health indicators, including infant mortality rates. Maternal mortality is a function of access to resources and access to care: women who become pregnant in developing countries face a risk of maternal death 80 to 600 times higher than women in developed counties (20).
A woman's lifetime risk of dying due to maternal causes (pregnancy, delivery and related complication) is:
in Africa, one in 19; in Asia, one in 132; in Latin America, one in 188; in more-developed countries, only [sic] one in 2,976 (21).
A mother's death is more than a personal tragedy. It can have severe consequences, not only for her family, but also for the community and the economy. When mothers die, their young children are also more likely to die (22).
Approximately 500,000 women die each year from maternal causes, and many times that number suffer illnesses and injuries associated with pregnancy and childbirth.
Ninety-nine per cent of these deaths occur in developing countries (23). These maternal mortality differences reflect both higher risk and the larger number of births in developing countries.
Unwanted fertility, leading to the birth of unplanned and unwanted children, is higher in poorer settings and among the poorest of the poor. There is less information on maternal morbidity (24) but the differentials are likely to be similar, since the causes -- lack of information, access, community and family support, finance, transport and provider quality (25) -- are broadly the same as those that produce unwanted children.
There are also wide differences within countries. The outcomes of pregnancy depend on the health and age of the mother, her nutritional status, her prior pregnancy history and the spacing between her previous births, as well as her available resources, her education and her access to information and services.
Protecting the health of mother and baby requires:
good antenatal care; skilled attendants; a safe place to give birth; access to emergency obstetric care.
Most maternal deaths could be prevented. Complications of pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of death and disability for women aged 15-49 in most developing countries. Better care in childbirth and more access to it would substantially reduce maternal mortality.
Poorer women do not have access to the more costly services before or during delivery. Access to and use of maternal services still tend to be more affected by wealth than either contraceptive use or completed fertility (see figures below), perhaps because of the relatively high fees for attendants or hospitals.
<http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2002/english/ch5/page3.htm> *****
***** Address Unsafe Abortion* (WHD 98.10)
Each year, approximately 20 million unsafe abortions take place around the world, resulting in some 80,000 maternal deaths, and hundreds of thousands of disabilities.1 The vast majority of these deaths take place in developing countries.1 Unsafe abortion accounts for at least 13% of global maternal mortality - one in eight maternal deaths - and in some countries is the most common cause of maternal mortality and morbidity.1 Unsafe abortion is, however, one of the most easily preventable and treatable causes of maternal mortality and morbidity....
Mortality: Millions of women around the world risk their lives and health to end an unwanted pregnancy. Every day, 55,000 unsafe abortions take place - 95% of them in developing countries1 - and lead to the deaths of more than 200 women daily.1 Globally, one unsafe abortion takes place for every seven births.1...
Many women are afraid to seek treatment for abortion-related complications, leading to countless - and uncounted - deaths outside of hospitals.4
Morbidity: Between 10 and 50% of all women who undergo unsafe abortions need medical care for complications. The most frequent complications are incomplete abortion, sepsis, haemorrhage and intra-abdominal injury, such as puncturing or tearing of the uterus.1
Long-term health problems caused by unsafe abortion include: chronic pelvic pain, pelvic inflammatory disease, tubal blockage and secondary infertility. Other possible consequences of unsafe abortion are ectopic pregnancy and an increased risk of spontaneous abortion or premature delivery in subsequent pregnancies.1 Such problems can limit women's productivity inside and outside the home, constrain their ability to care for children and adversely affect their sexual and reproductive lives.5
Unsafe Abortion: Regional estimates of mortality and risk of death1 Region No. of Risk of dying % of maternal
maternal after unsafe deaths due to
deaths due to abortion unsafe
unsafe abortion
abortion
Africa 33,000 1 in 150 13% Asia* 37,500 1 in 250 12% LAC ** 4,600 1 in 900 21% Europe 500 1 in 1900 17%
* Japan, Australia and New Zealand excluded ** Latin America and Caribbean
<http://www.who.int/archives/whday/en/pages1998/whd98_10.html> *****