Busy lines expected after abortion film screening

By REBECCA WALSH

A Catholic abortion counselling service is expecting calls from upset women after a graphic documentary showing an abortion screened on TV One last night.

My Foetus, made by Julia Black, daughter of Tim Black, the founder of abortion provider Marie Stopes International, showed a four-week pregnant woman undergoing a "vacuum abortion" and the inspection of a seven-week-old aborted foetus.

Yesterday, Ann Corcoran, of Catholic Social Services, which runs a counselling service for women who have had an abortion, said some women would find the documentary "very tough" to watch and she anticipated a number of phone calls.

"For some women who have had an abortion and felt uneasy over the years it may precipitate them into seeking help," she said.

Ms Black, who had an abortion when she was 21, filmed the documentary when she was heavily pregnant and began by saying she was going to "lift the veil of secrecy that surrounds abortion and face up to the facts".

"Will I still be able to be pro-choice if I confront the reality of abortion?"

Ms Black was told by a doctor who performed abortions that too often people ignored the rights of the child.

"To bring a child into the world that is unwanted is a really terrible thing to do," he said.

Pictures of Ms Black's newborn baby were shown just before the abortion, which was over in less than three minutes.

Dr Gill Greer, executive director of the Family Planning Association, said abortion was not the problem.

"If there were no unplanned pregnancy there would be no need for an abortion.

"That is what we need to have the debate about."

Father Michael McCabe, director of the New Zealand Catholic Bioethics Centre, said the documentary was balanced.

"It did lay out the facts and the complexities of both sides of the abortion debate," he said.

Josephine Reeves, president of Voice for Life, said the failure of the documentary to address the physical and psychological impact of abortions was "shattering".