Regional PBS broadcast, 1992

MOTHERLESS explores the tragedy of death from illegal abortions. Three women and one man, whose mothers died due to complications from abortion before its legalization, discuss the trauma of loving and then losing a mother at a young age. Two of their mothers died in 1929, one in 1950 and one in 1960.

Social and historical context is provided by a physician who treated hundreds of women dying from septic abortions and a medical historian familiar with the widespread nature and causes of this tragic phenomenon. They discuss the medical, legislative and social history of abortion from the late nineteenth century until 1973.

MOTHERLESS offers a rare and deeply moving insight into the human tragedies behind the statistics. It captures the feelings of these survivors as they remember and mourn their mothers, four among the many thousands who died.

Since broadcast, MOTHERLESS has become a popular educational tool in classrooms across the country. It is considered an invaluable “start-up” tool for Medical Students for Choice groups, and is an official component of the American Medical Women’s Association curriculum for obstetrics and gynecology.

Running time: 30 minutes