AP journalists gain access to a Louisiana abortion clinic, earning the trust of Texas women who shared stories of ending their pregnancies.
Politicians, activists and medical personnel frequently weigh in on America’s pitched abortion debate. But the voices of the people most affected by the slew of new laws that restrict access to abortion are seldom heard.
Allowing patients to tell their stories of seeking to end their pregnancies has been a priority in AP’s coverage of Texas’ new law banning most abortions. Oklahoma City-based reporter Sean Murphy and Miami-based photographer Rebecca Blackwell delivered impressively on that goal with a sensitively written, visually compelling all-formats package.
A procedure room where doctors perform abortions is prepared ahead of the arrival of patients at the start of the workday at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021. The Shreveport clinic is among the abortion providers inundated with patients from Texas.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
A poster hangs in a procedure room where doctors perform abortions at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
A 25-year-old from Texarkana, Texas, whose husband and nursing toddler waited for her outside in their car, has blood drawn ahead of being given pills and guidance for a medical abortion at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021. The woman said she was already five weeks along before she realized she was pregnant and knew it would be impossible to schedule the required two visits at a Texas clinic.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
A 33-year-old mother of three from central Texas waits to get the all clear from medical staff to leave after getting an abortion at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021. She said having another child at this point in her life would take away from her ability to care for her other three children, so she drove alone four hours through the night for her initial consultation at the clinic.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
A nurse checks the vitals of a 33-year-old mother of three from central Texas as she rests after getting an abortion at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
Clinic administrator Kathaleen Pittman, who started working in an abortion clinic 30 years ago, sits in her office during an interview with the AP at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021. She said she recently spoke to a mother in Texas trying to get an abortion for her 13-year-old daughter, who was sexually assaulted. “She’s a child,” Pittman said. “She should not have to be on the road for hours getting here. It is absolutely heartbreaking.”
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
Lab folders stand in a rack at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
A 25-year-old woman from Texarkana, Texas, whose husband and nursing toddler waited outside in their car, is guided by lab technician Stephannie Chaffee as she goes to meet with a doctor to be given pills and guidance for a medical abortion at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021. The woman said she was already five weeks along before she realized she was pregnant and she knew it would be impossible to schedule the required two visits at a Texas clinic.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
A woman naps, bundled up against the air conditioning, as she waits to have an abortion at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
A medical student, right, and nurse, background, monitor women as they rest before and after getting abortions at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
A 33-year-old mother of three from central Texas waits to get the all clear from medical staff to leave after getting an abortion at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
John Powers, 44, from Jacksonville, Texas, quietly reads a passage from a Bible brought by a fellow anti-abortion protester, outside Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021. Powers said he typically makes the nearly two-hour drive to the clinic twice a month with the goal of getting any woman to change her mind. In the 13 years he's been protesting outside of clinics, he says he’s successfully convinced two women not to go through with their abortions, which he calls “turnarounds.”
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
A sign supporting women seeking abortions rests beside the clinic’s side door, where all visitors must pass through a security vestibule before being allowed inside at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
Anti-abortion protesters, including two adolescent girls, hold signs as they stand outside Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021. Most women arriving at the clinic’s parking lot were met by two groups of anti-abortion protesters, mostly men from East Texas who regularly make the trip to Shreveport.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
Jimmy Hopkins, 73, of Louisiana, holds a large wooden cross signed by supporters as he stands with other anti-abortion protesters outside Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021. Hopkins, a soft-spoken Christian, says he wants to help women avoid making a choice they may regret by spreading the message that Jesus will help, support and forgive them.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
A group of boys and young men hold baby-related items and anti-abortion pamphlets they hope to give to people leaving or arriving at the clinic, outside Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
A picture of a woman's reproductive system emblazoned with the word “Mine” sits in the office of clinic administrator Kathaleen Pittman at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2021.
AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
Court filings and abortion providers had given anecdotal evidence of Texas women traveling hundreds of miles to out-of-state abortions. Murphy pressed to be allowed access at clinics in Oklahoma and in Louisiana, but clinic directors expressed reluctance, concerned about patient privacy and overwhelmed with scheduling visits by women from their own states and Texas.
When a clinic director in Shreveport, Louisiana, agreed to let Murphy and Blackwell come to her facility, it came with stipulations: Blackwell would have to stay out of the building while patients were there, and Murphy would have to sit in a room alone, waiting for patients who agreed to speak with him.
But both journalists showed up early, talked with clinic staff and negotiated more. They came prepared with printed bios about themselves and an explanation of the type of work AP does, all to be shared with patients and emphasizing the importance of patients giving their perspectives while AP protected their identities. And that’s what happened.
After spending more than eight hours at the clinic, Murphy and Blackwell were allowed to stay in the waiting room where they met women whose voices were brought to life in text, photo, video and audio. The pair was aided by Top Stories Hub text editor Chris Sundheim, photo editor Alyssa Goodman, who crafted a powerful visual presentation that highlighted the women in the story, and Central Region video staffer Carrie Antlfinger, who knit together all the elements for a compelling video.
The story was also notable for including the voice of an anti-abortion protester outside the clinic, giving his rationale for opposing the clinic’s work.
One woman drove alone four hours to an appointment. She planned to sleep in her car before an advocacy organization helped get her a hotel room. The mother of three worried that adding a baby would take time, food, money and space away from her children. If she were not able to seek medical assistance, she said, she still would have tried to end her pregnancy.
“If you can’t get rid of the baby, what’s the next thing you’re going to do? You’re going to try to get rid of it yourself,” she said.
For gaining access and handling a delicate and polarizing story with professionalism, grace and accuracy while providing AP’s worldwide audience a greater understanding of the real-life impacts of the Texas law, Murphy and Blackwell are AP’s Best of the Week — First Winners.
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