Following the recent murder of Dr. Tiller, one of only three remaining physicians in this country who performed late-term abortions, PBS ran a NOW program about late term abortion, with correspondent Maria Hinojosa as the interviewer.  Anti-abortionists (mislabeled "pro-life", which many of them are not) are up in arms about the show, on which the other two physicians described how their lives and those of their families have been impacted for years by ongoing efforts to intimidate them and shut down access to abortion.  One of the doctors referred to the tactics of the anti-abortionists as "domestic terrorism".

According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, which tracks statistics on abortion:

Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion.[1] Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.[2]

Forty percent of pregnancies among white women, 69% among blacks and 54% among Hispanics are unintended.

In 2005, 1.21 million abortions were performed, down from 1.31 million in 2000. From 1973 through 2005, more than 45 million legal abortions occurred.[2]  Nearly 99% of these abortions take place before 20 weeks of pregnancy, the half-way point.

Each year, about two percent of women aged 15-44 have an abortion.[3]

Eighty-seven percent of all U.S. counties lacked an abortion provider in 2005; 35% of women live in those counties.

I got my medical training back when abortion was illegal. I saw patients who died from self-induced abortions.  I had friends who had illegal abortions; at least one of them became sterile as a result of post-abortion infection. Countless women's -- and men's -- lives were impacted by unintended and unwanted pregnancies.

As a society, we have a short memory.  The right to terminate a pregnancy is taken for granted.  Women who have had an abortion tend not to talk about it much -- it's a difficult decision about a very private matter -- so abortion is out of sight and out of mind.  As a result of our ignoring what has been happening to the fundamental right of women to control their fertility, more and more young women are gradually losing their ability to make a choice about whether to have a child. 

The murder of Dr. Tiller brings the issue back to our attention. Maria Hinojosa was acting as a legitimate reporter on a topic of importance to millions of Americans.  Please let PBS know you support their decision to produce and run this important show.