New England Public Radio

Mother And Daughter Talking, A Useful Tear-Jerker Of A Movie Scene

A  few years ago, our commentator Naomi Shulman and her daughter used to snuggle up in bed and watch movies together. Shulman’s daughter is no longer a toddler, but the tradition remains. The topics, though? More mature.

Lila’s not a baby anymore, a fact she doesn’t’ need to remind me of, although she does. At 14, she’s hurtling through adolescence. There are no more lazy naps, but we can still be cozy. And now we rent grown-up movies. This last time it was my choice, a film called Obvious Child. It’s about a 20-something stand-up comic living in New York City, taking risks onstage, looking for love, paying her rent. It’s mostly a comedy, but the movie is also about having an abortion.
She doesn’t dither over her decision. She’s not happy about the situation, but she’s not wrecked over it, either. She doesn’t hide it from the people closest to her. There is no obstacle to her receiving the procedure. And when it’s over, she’s okay.

Can I say? This is huge. As someone who’s defended reproductive rights all my adult life, seeing an abortion narrative that looks like the many, many stories I’m familiar with in real life, feels revolutionary. When I saw the movie in the theater, I thought to myself, I can’t wait till my daughters are old enough to see this.

And now my eldest is. I wanted her to see this before she and her friends start living it. I wanted her to see female characters who are living their lives as fearlessly as they can in a scary world. I wanted her to see how a person who has good intentions and smart instincts can still make mistakes, and how that doesn’t’ make her any less good and smart. I wanted her to see that women can recover from setbacks and move forward in their lives.

But I really wanted her to see one certain scene, when the main character climbs in bed with her mother, puts her head on her mother’s shoulder, and confides in her: I’m pregnant. Her relationship with her mother is far from perfect, but she knows she can count on her. Tears run down both their faces. The daughter doesn’t want to let her down. And her mother reaffirms her unconditional love and support for her beautiful girl.

I never went to to my mother about any of this. I didn’t have an abortion, but my friends did. We navigated the jungle of sex during adolescence on our own, and at times it was lonely and terrifying.

I don’t want my daughters to get abortions, but I am passionate about protecting their right, any woman’s right, to have one. And if they do, I hope they feel comfortable talking to me. I want my daughters to fall in love. I want them to find joy and pleasure in sex. I want them to have the knowledge to do so without ending up accidentally pregnant. And I want them to know their mother is on their side. Just like in the movies. Or at least this one. Given the way Lila nuzzled in a little farther at the end, maybe she already knows.

Naomi Shulman is a freelance writer who lives in Northampton, Mass. You can find more of her work at on The New York Times blog “Motherlode,”where a version of this essay appeared.

‘Buffer Zone’ Replacement Bill Soon Headed To Governor

Over strong Republican opposition, the Massachusetts House passed a bill Wednesday tightening security around abortion clinics.

After the Supreme Court struck down Massachusetts “buffer zone” law, top Democrats and Planned Parenthood scrambled to put together a replacement.

State Senator Chris Markey says the bill balances patient safety with the free speech rights of protesters, but he acknowledges, “Some have said the bill is being rushed through the process and there is not a fair amount of deliberation in this regard.”

The bill would let police disperse groups blocking access to abortion clinics and then order protesters to stay at least 25 feet away for up to eight hours.

The measure moved swiftly through the Senate last week, but was held up for hours in the House as Republicans demanded roll call votes on multiple amendments. None passed.

“There can be no reasonable doubt, no reasonable doubt, that fears of criminal and civil responsibility will paralyze free speech of pro-life counselors in Massachusetts,” said Republican Senator Marc Lombardo.

The bill now goes to the governor, who’s said he supports it.

Mass. Senate Rushes Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone Replacement Bill To Passage

With almost unprecedented speed, the Massachusetts Senate passed a bill Wednesday night that was written after the Supreme Court threw out the state’s abortion clinic buffer zone law. The unanimous voice vote came just hours after the bill cleared a legislative committee.

Three weeks ago, the Supreme court tossed out Massachusetts’ law establishing a 35-foot protest-free zone around abortion clinics.

Speaking at a Beacon Hill hearing, Boston Police Commissioner Billy Evans says protestors have already become more violent since the high court’s ruling. He described the scene outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Boston.

“The old behavior was back, as far as women walking up to the clinic being screamed at in their faces when they were approaching the clinic, when they were leaving the clinic, being dogged when they went down Alcorn street, which is a side street.”

And this is not an isolated incident, according to Marty Walz, executive director of Planned Parenthood Massachusetts.

“Our patients are confronted with a scary environment with little sense of safety and security,” Walz said.

Eleanor McCullen says that’s an exaggeration. She’s an anti-abortion protester and was the lead petitioner in the Supreme Court Case.

“Ninety-nine percent, if you ever come over, we have loving people. Everybody is,” McCullen says. “There’s always, I guess, one little person that maybe gets too emotional.”

Regardless, top Democrats and Planned Parenthood [OR abortion rights groups] wrote a new bill to replace the old buffer zone law. It would give police the power to disperse protesters who block access to a clinic…and then order them to stay at least 25 feet away from the facility for up to eight hours.

Opponents, including McCullen, say the proposal is vague and gives police too much discretion.

“If this passes will I go back to court? Yes! Because it’s unconstitutional.”

Governor Deval Patrick, whose office helped draft the new bill, claims it follows the roadmap the Supreme Court itself set out in its opinion. Still, the governor knows where this is all headed.

“You know as well as I do that these are issues that people have strong passions about on both sides, and there probably will be litigation,” Patrick told reporters.

Clearly, House and Senate have put the replacement buffer zone bill on a fast track. They’re rushing to get it on the governor’s desk before the end of the legislative session on July 31st.

Hearing Held on Conn. Senator Blumenthal’s Abortion Bill

A bill sponsored by Connecticut U-S Senator Richard Blumenthal, which would limit the restrictions states can place on abortions, went before a Senate committee Tuesday.

Some states have put requirements on abortion providers, such as having admitting privileges at local hospitals, and also on those considering abortions, such as waiting periods. Blumenthal, a Democrat, says this bill would roll back some of those laws.

“Our goal is to stop politicians from playing doctor, and stop public officials from interfering in significant medical decisions,” Blumenthal says.

But Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa says the proposed law is nothing more than a political ploy leading up to the midterm elections.

“The majority is using this issue to appear compassionate and concerned about women’s rights, when in reality, the bill disregards popular and common sense laws,” Grassley says.

This hearing comes in the wake of two major decisions by the Supreme Court on issues related to reproductive health. One said employers have a right to not include contraceptives in health coverage, and another striking down the Massachusetts buffer zone law, around abortion clinics.