JOHN: GOOD EVENING. I'M JOHN YANG. GEOFF BENNETT IS AWAY. TONIGHT ON "PBS NEWS WEEKEND," WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GENDER AFFIRMING CARE, AS SOME STATES MOVE TO RESTRICT ACCESS. THEN, A THING MOST PEOPLE TURN UP THEIR NOSES AT HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT TOOL IN TRACKING THE SPREAD OF COVID. >> WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE IS JUST -- IT COULD BE LIKE A COMPLETE REVOLUTION IN THE WAY THAT WE TRACK INFECTIOUS DISEASE IN COMMUNITIES. JOHN: AND, A COLORADO DOCTOR ON HIS LIFE'S WORK PROVIDING ABORTION SERVICES TO WOMEN.
ALL THAT AND THE DAY'S HEADLINES ON TONIGHT'S "PBS NEWS WEEKEND." JOHN: GOOD EVENING. AS AMERICANS CONTEND WITH THREE CONTAGIOUS RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES -- RSV, THE SEASONAL FLU, AND COVID-19 -- DR.
ANTHONY FAUCI, WHO IS RETIRING AS THE NATION'S TOP INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT, CALLED ATTENTION TODAY TO NEW STRAINS OF COVID-19. BQ-1 AND BQ-1.1 ALREADY ACCOUNT FOR 57% OF U.S. CASES. AND, FAUCI SAYS THESE NEW STRAINS CAN EVADE THE LATEST PROTECTIONS. DR.
FAUCI: THE REASON YOU KEEP AN EYE ON THOSE IS THAT THEY HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A TRANSMISSION ADVANTAGE, IN THAT THEY ARE EVASIVE OF THE PROTECTION THAT YOU HAVE. IT ALSO DIMINISHES THE PROTECTION THAT IS INDUCED BY VACCINATION AND BY PRIOR INFECTION. IT DOESN'T DISAPPEAR, BUT IT BRINGS IT DOWN A FEW-FOLD. JOHN: THE LATEST COVID BOOSTER ONLY PROTECTS THROUGH THE OMICRON SUBVARIANTS, WHICH MAKE UP LESS THAN 20% OF CURRENT CASES.
AND IN CHINA, OUTRAGE OVER RESTRICTIVE COVID MEASURES IS BOILING OVER. PROTESTERS HAVE TAKEN TO THE STREETS OF SHANGHAI, CHINA'S MOST POPULOUS CITY. IN RARE PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS, PROTESTORS WERE SEEN CLASHING WITH POLICE. SOME EVEN CALLED FOR CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING TO STEP DOWN. THE COUNTRY'S ZERO-COVID POLICIES HAVE CONFINED SOME RESIDENTS TO THEIR HOMES FOR MONTHS. SINCE THE PROTESTS BEGAN DAYS AGO, SOME CITIES HAVE EASED THEIR COVID RESTRICTIONS SLIGHTLY.
IN UKRAINE, INTENSE RUSSIAN SHELLING CONTINUES IN NUMEROUS CITIES IN THE EAST AND SOUTH. THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND, A STEADY STREAM OF CARS, FULL OF EVACUEES, POURED OUT OF KHERSON AS MUCH OF THE CITY -- RECAPTURED BY UKRAINE JUST WEEKS AGO -- LIES IN RUINS. NATIONWIDE, UTILITY CREWS SCRAMBLE TO RESTORE WATER, HEAT, AND ELECTRICITY TO MILLIONS. EVEN AS POWER SLOWLY COMES BACK ONLINE, UKRAINIANS ARE BEING ASKED TO CONSERVE AS TEMPERATURES DROP. AND, U.S. SOCCER BRIEFLY USED
ITS PLATFORM TO SYMBOLICALLY STAND WITH IRANIANS PROTESTING AGAINST THEIR THEOCRATIC REGIME. THE U.S. MEN'S TEAM DISPLAYED THE WORLD CUP GROUP STANDINGS ON ITS SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS, BUT WITHOUT THE EMBLEM OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC ON IRAN'S FLAG.
THE MOVE COMES AFTER THE IRANIAN NATIONAL TEAM CHOSE TO STAY SILENT DURING THEIR NATIONAL ANTHEM IN THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP MATCH. THE FULL FLAG WAS EVENTUALLY RESTORED ON U.S. SOCCER'S SOCIAL MEDIA. THE U.S. TEAM FACES IRAN ON TUESDAY. STILL TO COME ON "PBS NEWS WEEKEND," THE COVID CLUES SCIENTISTS ARE FINDING IN OUR WASTEWATER. AND, A DOCTOR REFLECTS ON HIS 50-YEAR CAREER PROVIDING ABORTION SERVICES.
JOHN: LAST WEEKEND'S SHOOTING AT A COLORADO SPRINGS BAR HAS AGAIN HIGHLIGHTED THE DANGER AND DISCRIMINATION FACED BY MANY IN THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY, INCLUDING TRANSGENDER PEOPLE. IN 2022 ALONE, 16 STATES HAVE PROPOSED LEGISLATION THAT WOULD RESTRICT ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE FOR TRANSGENDER PATIENTS UNDER THE AGE OF 18. THAT'S AS A STUDY FROM UCLA'S WILLIAMS INSTITUTE SAYS THAT SINCE 2017, THE NUMBER OF YOUTH WHO IDENTIFY AS TRANSGENDER HAS NEARLY DOUBLED. GEOFF BENNETT SPOKE WITH DR. MEREDITHE MCNAMARA FROM THE YALE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. SHE'S AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PEDIATRICS AND SPECIALIZES IN ADOLESCENT MEDICINE.
GEOFF: IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU WITH US. MEREDITHE: THANKS FOR HAVING ME. GEOFF: SO HELP US UNDERSTAND FIRST WHAT ACCOUNTS FOR THIS SHARP INCREASE IN YOUTH IDENTIFYING AS TRANSGENDER. IS THIS A MATTER OF GREATER SOCIETAL ACCEPTANCE, OR IS IT A FUNCTION OF MORE RESEARCHERS CONDUCTING MORE TRANSGENDER SPECIFIC SURVEYS? MEREDITHE: WELL, I WOULD SAY IT'S PROBABLY A MIXTURE OF BOTH. THE NUMBER OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE PROBABLY HASN'T CHANGED, BUT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE FINDING THAT IT'S SAFER TO BE WHO THEY ARE. SO THEY ARE EXPRESSING THEIR IDENTITIES MORE OPENLY NOW, SHARING THEM WITH LOVED ONES AND PRESENTING FOR MEDICAL CARE.
WE MAY BE USING BETTER SURVEY INSTRUMENTS TO INQUIRE ABOUT THIS AS WELL, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT THE NARRATIVE THAT THE NUMBER IS SHARPLY INCREASING IS AN ACCURATE REPRESENTATION, AND IT HAS BEEN USED TO ACTUALLY HARM TRANSGENDER PEOPLE. GEOFF: IN WHAT WAYS? TELL ME MORE ABOUT THAT. MEREDITHE: WELL, IF YOU SUPPOSE THAT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IS EXPONENTIALLY INCREASING, THEN THAT CARVES OUT THE IDEA THAT THERE'S SOME SORT OF EXPLOSION OR SOME SORT OF FEARFUL SOCIAL CHANGE, AND THAT'S GIVEN COVER TO CERTAIN MISINFORMATION TECHNIQUES THAT HAVE ALLOWED THESE LEGISLATIVE BANS THAT YOU MENTIONED TO THRIVE.
GEOFF: SO LET'S TALK MORE ABOUT GENDER AFFIRMING CARE, WHICH IS AN UMBRELLA TERM FOR MANY DIFFERENT SERVICES. WHAT IS THE REAL SPECTRUM OF THIS TYPE OF CARE AND HOW IS IT DETERMINED FOR EACH PATIENT? MEREDITHE: FOR TRANSGENDER AND GENDER EXPANSIVE PEOPLE, THAT CAN INCLUDE A WIDE RANGE OF THINGS AND IT DEPENDS ON THE INDIVIDUAL, AND THAT CAN CHANGE OVER TIME. SO FOR YOUTH, THAT MAY INVOLVE SOME ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL AFFIRMATION AND TRANSITION, USING THEIR PREFERRED PRONOUNS OR A NAME THAT THEY HAVE CHOSEN FOR THEMSELVES, DRESSING A CERTAIN WAY, CERTAIN HAIRSTYLES THAT ARE FROM THEIR GENDER.
AND THERE ARE MEDICAL ASPECTS OF GENDER AFFIRMATION, TOO, WHICH CAN INCLUDE AND MAY INCLUDE PUBERTY BLOCKERS OR EXOGENOUS SEX HORMONES SUCH AS ESTROGEN AND TESTOSTERONE. GEOFF: THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH HAS BEEN DOING RESEARCH ON THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF HORMONE BLOCKERS, WHICH YOU MENTIONED, ON YOUNG TRANSGENDER PEOPLE. THEY'VE BEEN DOING THIS RESEARCH SINCE 2015, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, BUT THEY HAVEN'T RELEASED THE FINDINGS YET. WHAT IS REALLY KNOWN ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THAT KIND OF TREATMENT? MEREDITHE: WE KNOW A LOT ABOUT THE SAFETY OF PUBERTY BLOCKERS. WE DERIVED THAT EVIDENCE BASE INITIALLY BACK IN 2011 OR SO FROM STUDIES DONE IN THE TREATMENT OF PRECOCIOUS PUBERTY.
PRECOCIOUS PUBERTY IS WHEN A YOUNG CHILD DEVELOPS INTO MORE OF AN ADOLESCENT BODY AT A RAPID RATE. AND WE DON'T KNOW WHY IT HAPPENS. PUBERTY BLOCKERS HAVE BEEN USED SUCCESSFULLY AND SAFELY IN THOSE CHILDREN TO ALLOW THEM TO DEVELOP SOCIALLY IN TANDEM WITH THEIR PEERS. AND WE'VE STUDIED BONE MINERAL DENSITY, PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES, AMONG OTHER THINGS, AND IT'S BEEN SHOWN THAT THAT TREATMENT IS SAFE. NOW, THERE IS DATA ON THE SAFETY OF PUBERTY BLOCKERS IN TRANSGENDER AND GENDER EXPANSIVE YOUTH.
AND WHILE IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE LARGER STUDIES, THE EVIDENCE BASE IS STRONG AND THE NIH IS FUNDING AND PRODUCING THOSE AT THIS VERY MOMENT. BUT WE HAVE TO TRUST THAT CLINICAL INVESTIGATORS WILL RELEASE THEIR RESULTS WHEN THEY'RE READY. GEOFF: WHAT ABOUT GENDER REASSIGNMENT SURGERY, WHICH IS ANOTHER FORM OF GENDER AFFIRMING CARE? THAT'S NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PEOPLE UNDER THE AGE OF 18. WHY NOT? MEREDITHE: WELL, THAT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A MISCHARACTERIZATION. GENDER-AFFIRMING SURGERIES ARE VERY, VERY RARE.
THE NUMBER OF MASTECTOMIES OR TOP SURGERIES THAT HAVE BEEN DONE WITHIN THE PAST FIVE YEARS, THE MOST RECENT DATA I SAW AVERAGES OUT TO ABOUT 200 A YEAR. EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT AND EVERYBODY HAS DIFFERENT DESIRES FOR THEIR GENDER AFFIRMATION. BUT IN THE VAST MAJORITY OF TIMES, ANY FORM OF GENDER-AFFIRMING SURGERY DOES NOT HAPPEN BEFORE THE LEGAL AGE OF MATURITY.
AND I DO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT IN THESE POLITICIZED AND MISINFORMED DEBATES ON GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE, SURGERY IS BEING OVERLY REPRESENTED TO STOKE FEAR IN THE PUBLIC AND TO CONVINCE PEOPLE THAT POLITICIANS SHOULD BE INTERVENING IN HEALTH CARE DECISIONS BETWEEN PARENTS AND PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS THEMSELVES. GEOFF: WHAT ARE THE LEADING MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GENDER AFFIRMING YOUTH? MEREDITHE: WELL, FIRST OF ALL, FOR MY TRANSGENDER AND GENDER EXPANSIVE PATIENTS, THEIR GENDER IDENTITY IS THE LEAST INTERESTING THING ABOUT THEM. THEY ARE VIBRANT YOUNG PEOPLE WHO HAVE SO MUCH TO OFFER THEIR GREATEST ASSETS IN SOCIETY, AND THEY DESERVE TO FEEL SAFE AND LOVED. I THINK WHAT PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND IS THAT THESE BANS HAVE HARMS, REAL HARMS, NOT JUST WITHIN THE JURISDICTION WHERE THEY'RE ACTIVE, BUT ELSEWHERE. WHEN THE STATE OF FLORIDA RELEASED THEIR FIRST PRACTICE BULLETIN DENOUNCING GENDER AFFIRMING CARE, WE GOT A SURGE IN CRISIS CALLS AT OUR CLINICAL CENTERS IN CONNECTICUT. THAT IS UNCONSCIONABLE.
WHAT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT POLITICIANS FAIL TO UNDERSTAND, OR AT LEAST THAT THEY DON'T CARE TO UNDERSTAND, IS THAT THERE ARE REAL PROCESSES THAT ARE SCIENTIFICALLY INFORMED, THAT HAVE DEVELOPED THE GUIDELINES THAT PHYSICIANS USE EVERY DAY TO PROVIDE GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE TO YOUNG PEOPLE AND THAT THOSE PROCESSES ARE TRUSTWORTHY AND SOUND. GEOFF: DR. MEREDITHE MCNAMARA IS AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PEDIATRICS WHO SPECIALIZES IN ADOLESCENT MEDICINE AT YALE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INSIGHTS AND FOR YOUR TIME. MEREDITHE: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. JOHN: AS THE NEW DOMINANT COVID VARIANT CALLED BQ-1 EMERGES, SCIENTISTS ARE LOOKING BEYOND TRADITIONAL METHODS TO TRACK ITS SPREAD.
THE NEWEST TOOL IN THEIR ARSENAL -- WASTEWATER. SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT CAT WISE TRAVELED TO CALIFORNIA, ONE OF THE FIRST STATES TO TEST WASTEWATER FOR COVID. CAT: EVERY DAY, MORE THAN 100 MILLION GALLONS OF WASTEWATER FLOWS INTO THIS TREATMENT FACILITY IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. IT IS THE LARGEST IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, SERVING MORE THAN ONE MILLION RESIDENTS IN SILICON VALLEY.
THE SEWAGE SPILLING -- SPEWING OUT FROM THE TANKS, SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE WANT TO AVOID. BUT STANFORD UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENTAL AND CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSOR ALEXANDRIA SEES A PUBLIC HEALTH OLD MINE. -- GOLD MINE.
>> CAN WE LOOK AT ALL THE SAMPLES TOGETHER? CAT: JUST WEEKS AFTER ONE OF THE FIRST CORONAVIRUS CASES IN THE COUNTRY WAS CONFIRMED HERE IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY, SHE AND HER COLLEAGUES BEGAN TESTING WASTEWATER SAMPLES. >> WE FOUND WE COULD DETECT SARS-COV-2 RNA AND WASTEWATER AND WE FOUND WE COULD MEASURE ITS CONCENTRATION AND SEE HOW IT COULD CHANGE OVER TIME AND HOW THAT MATCHED WITH DATA FROM REPORTED CASES. I WAS RUNNING WITH MY CELL PHONE, AND I GOT IN THE FIRST SET OF RESULTS AND I COULD SEE RIGHT THEN AND THERE THAT THE CHANGES IN CONCENTRATION WERE SIMILAR TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH THE CASES AND I WAS LIKE, OH MY GOSH, I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS GOING TO WORK. CAT: USING WASTEWATER TO MONITOR VIRUSES IS NOT NEW. FOR DECADES, SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD HAVE USED WASTEWATER TO TRACK POLIO OUTBREAKS. BUT IT HAD NEVER BEEN USED TO TRACK A RESPIRATORY DISEASE.
PEOPLE INFECTED WITH COVID CAN SHED THE VIRUS IN THEIR WASTE DAYS OR WEEKS BEFORE THEY MAY HAVE SYMPTOMS, WHICH SHE SAYS MAY PROVIDE AN EARLY WARNING FOR PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS. >> WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE IS JUST, IT COULD BE A COMPLETE REVOLUTION IN THE WAY WE TRACK INFECTIOUS DISEASE IN COMMUNITIES. AND THE UPTAKE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY IS UNPRECEDENTED.
WE HAVE GONE FROM ZERO TO 100 IN LIKE, TWO YEARS. CAT: IN NOVEMBER OF 2020, SHE AND HER COLLEAGUES LAUNCHED A PROGRAM TO TRACK COVID AT EIGHT NO OVER CALIFORNIA TREATMENT PLANTS. IT HAS NOW EXPANDED TO 76.
AS PART OF THE CDC'S OWN WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM, WHICH GENERATES DATA FOR MORE THAN 1000 SITES. >> MAKE SURE EVERYTHING RUNS SMOOTHLY. CAT: AT THE SAN JOSE SANTA CLARA WASTEWATER FACILITY, OPERATOR JUSTIN TOOK US TO AN UNDERGROUND AREA WHERE HE AND HIS COLLEAGUES TOOK SAMPLES OF SEMISOLID WASTE, KNOWN AS SLUDGE, EVERY FOUR HOURS. >> WE TRY TO GET 250 MILLILITERS A SAMPLE ROUGHLY. CAT: THE SAMPLES ARE SENT TO A LAB WHERE THEY ARE TESTED NOT ONLY FOR COVID, BUT ALSO INFLUENZA, RSV, OR MONKEYPOX, KNOWN AS MPOX IN CALIFORNIA.
THE RESULTS ARE SENT TO PUBLIC OFFICIALS AROUND THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING DR. SARAH CODY, THE HEAD OF SANTA CLARA'S PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT. >> WHAT YOU REALLY NEED TO DO IS LOOK AT WHERE ARE WE NOW IN THE WASTEWATER. CAT: SHE NOW HAS MORE THAN TWO YEARS WORTH OF DATA SHOWING HOW CLOSELY COVID CASES INTERCOUNTY CORRELATED WITH VIRUS LEVELS IN THE WASTEWATER. THEN THIS SUMMER, SHE SAYS FEWER PEOPLE WERE TESTED AT CLINICS AND HOSPITALS, BUT WASTEWATER CONCENTRATIONS STATE HIGH. >> WHEN I SEE THIS, I SEE WHY OVER TIME WE HAVE HAD GROWING CONFIDENCE THAT WASTEWATER IS THE TRUTH.
NOW WE CAN CERTAINLY SEE THAT WASTEWATER LEVELS ARE STILL ELEVATED, AND WE TRUST THAT. WE KNOW THE WASTEWATER DOES NOT LIE. CAT: SHE SAYS SHE NOW REGULARLY RELIES ON STANFORD'S DATA TO MAKE PUBLIC HEALTH DECISIONS, LIKE RECOMMENDING RESIDENTS CONTINUE TO MASK INDOORS IN PUBLIC PLACES. ONE DOWNSIDE TO WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT, HOWEVER, IS TIME AND MONEY. BUT OFFICIALS SAY IT ONLY COSTS ABOUT $100 EVERY TIME A DISEASE IS TESTED. THAT CAN VARY ELSEWHERE DEPENDING ON POPULATION BEING TESTED.
>> IF YOU TAKE ONE SAMPLE OF WASTEWATER, YOU CAN GET INFORMATION ABOUT IN SAN JOSE, 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE, OR EVEN AT A SMALL PLANT, 10,000 PEOPLE. MULTIPLY THE COST OF THE TEST BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE. SO IN THAT SENSE WASTEWATER IS NOT COST PROHIBITIVE, IT IS ACTUALLY REALLY CHEAP AND ECONOMICAL. CAT: STILL, THERE ARE CONCERNS SOME COMMUNITIES WILL BE LEFT OUT, AS WASTEWATER TESTING EXPANDS. THE RURAL TOWN OF US PART OUT 50% OF RESIDENTS ARE LATINO, IS NOW PART OF A PROGRAM TESTING WASTEWATER FACILITIES.
LIKE MANY COMMUNITIES IN THE AREA IT WAS HIT HARD BY THE PANDEMIC, BUT DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO WASTEWATER TESTING EARLY ON TO TRACK THE SPREAD. >> THIS IS SOMETHING THAT BECOMES REALLY IMPORTANT. WE HAVE WASTEWATER MONITORING DATA, TO MAKE THAT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
CAT: HEATHER IS ONE OF THE LEAD RESEARCHERS IN THE PROGRAM. SHE SAYS IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WASTEWATER TESTING CAPTURES DATA FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. >> WHAT WE WANTED TO DO IS HELP FILL THAT DATA GAP AND REALLY TRY TO FOCUS ON INCREASING HEALTH EQUITY BY INCREASING ACCESS TO DATA ACROSS ALL OF OUR COMMUNITIES. ESPECIALLY RURAL AREAS, AGRICULTURAL AREAS, AND DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.
CAT: DR. AMY IS YOLO COUNTY'S PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER. SHE SAYS WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE CAN BE ESPECIALLY HELPFUL FOR TRACKING DISEASE IN COMMUNITIES THAT MAY HAVE LIMITED ACCESS TO TESTING. >> NOW WE HAVE THIS ADDITIONAL TOOL IN OUR TOOLBOX TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY INSTEAD OF RELYING ON THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ABLE TO GET TESTED.
BUT I CANNOT MAKE ANY INDIVIDUAL LEVEL DECISIONS. I CANNOT SAY IT WAS THIS HOUSEHOLD, THIS HOUSEHOLD, THAT HOUSEHOLD. SO THAT IS THE PIECE THAT WE CANNOT TEASE OUT IN TERMS OF WHO NEEDS TO GET TREATMENT, WHO NEEDS TO ISOLATE. CAT: BACK AT STANFORD, SHE HOPES WASTEWATER TESTING WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND AROUND THE COUNTRY. >> I KNOW IN CALIFORNIA THAT WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE IS PROBABLY HERE TO STAY. AND I HOPE THAT THERE IS ENOUGH FUNDING THROUGH THE STATE GOVERNMENT AND THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO REALLY MAKE THIS PART OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE FOR HEALTH MONITORING ACROSS THE U.S. CAT: INFRASTRUCTURE, SHE SAYS,
THAT COULD ONE DAY HELP PREPARE US FOR THE NEXT PANDEMIC. FOR "PBS NEWS WEEKEND," I'M CAT WISE, IN SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA. JOHN: AT EVERY PIVOTAL MOMENT OF THE FIGHT OVER LEGALIZED ABORTION IN THE UNITED STATES, DR. WARREN HERN HAS BEEN ON THE FRONTLINE. TONIGHT WE GET HIS BRIEF BUT SPECTACULAR TAKE ON HIS NEARLY HALF A CENTURY OF SPECIALIZING IN ABORTION SERVICES.
DR. HERN: THERE WAS A PARTICULAR CASE, I REMEMBER QUITE WELL. SHE HAD RED HAIR, SHE WAS IN THE EARLY 30'S, AND SHE WAS SHAKING. AND I SAID TO HER, WHAT'S WRONG? SHE SAID, IT'S SO DIFFERENT. YOU'RE A DOCTOR.
THE LIGHTS ARE ON, IT'S CLEAN. THE WINDOWS ARE OPEN. THEN SHE TOLD ME ABOUT HER ILLEGAL ABORTION THAT SHE'D HAD, WHICH WAS THE MOST TERRIFYING AND HUMILIATING EXPERIENCE OF HER LIFE. THEN SHE SAID, DON'T EVER STOP DOING THIS. AND SO I DIDN'T. IN MY THIRD YEAR OF MEDICAL SCHOOL, MY FIRST CLINICAL ROTATION WAS ON OBSTETRICS.
I WAS TAUGHT TO DELIVER BABIES AND I LOVED IT. IT WAS A VERY JOYOUS OCCASION FOR MOST OF THE WOMEN. ON THE OTHER HAND, WE HAD WOMEN WHO WERE IN GREAT DEAL OF EMOTIONAL PAIN, THEY WERE VERY MUCH ALONE. MY NEXT ROTATION WAS ON THE GYNECOLOGY WARD, TAKING CARE OF WOMEN WHO WERE DESPERATELY SICK AND ABOUT TO DIE.
AND I LEARNED THAT IT WAS BECAUSE THEY'D HAD AN ILLEGAL, UNSAFE ABORTION. THIS IS IN THE EARLY 1960'S, BEFORE ABORTION WAS LEGAL. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LEARNED ABOUT WAS THAT THE DEATH RATE DUE TO UNSAFE ABORTION FOR BLACK WOMEN WAS NINE TIMES HIGHER THAN IT WAS FOR WHITE WOMEN. AND THOUSANDS OF WOMEN WERE DYING EACH YEAR. SO THIS WAS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE, A SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUE, AS A MATTER OF GREAT ANGUISH AND SUFFERING FOR INDIVIDUAL WOMEN. THE ROE VERSUS WADE CASE CAME DOWN IN 1973.
I THOUGHT THAT IMPLEMENTING THE SUPREME COURT DECISION ROE VERSUS WADE WAS VERY IMPORTANT. IT DIDN'T MEAN ANYTHING IF DOCTORS WEREN'T DOING THE ABORTIONS. I BECAME CONVINCED THAT PERFORMING ABORTIONS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I COULD DO IN MEDICINE. WHEN I OPENED MY PRACTICE, I WANTED WOMEN TO BE ABLE TO KNOW THAT THEY COULD WALK IN WITH THEIR HAT ON AND HAVE A SAFE ABORTION AND THAT WAS THE PURPOSE.
THAT OUR COMMITMENT WAS TO THAT. TWO WEEKS AFTER THE ABORTION CLINIC OPENED IN COLORADO, IN NOVEMBER OF 1973, I STARTED GETTING OBSCENE DEATH THREATS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. AND I STARTED SLEEPING WITH A RIFLE BY MY BED. THAT WAS 49 YEARS AGO. AND REALLY NOTHING HAS CHANGED.
THERE WERE FIVE SHOTS FIRED THROUGH THE FRONT OF MY OFFICE WITH A HIGH-POWERED RIFLE. ONE OF THE BULLETS JUST MISSED A MEMBER OF MY STAFF. THESE PEOPLE WILL STOP AT NOTHING AND THEY WILL ACCEPT ANY LEVEL OF VIOLENCE TO IMPOSE THEIR VIEWS ON OTHER PEOPLE.
THIS IS A VIOLENT, FASCIST MOVEMENT. OVERTURNING ROE VERSUS WADE IS A VERY SIGNIFICANT DECISION IN AMERICAN JUDICIAL HISTORY BECAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST CASE WHERE A RIGHT GIVEN TO THE WOMEN OF THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY BY THE SUPREME COURT. A WOMAN WHO IS PREGNANT DESERVES THE BEST MEDICAL CARE SHE CAN GET, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SHE WANTS TO CONTINUE THE PREGNANCY AND HAVE A BABY, OR SHE WANTS TO END THE PREGNANCY. WOMEN WILL HAVE ABORTIONS, WHETHER THEY'RE SAFE OR NOT, AND WHETHER THEY'RE LEGAL OR NOT. THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION WHATSOEVER FOR FORCING A WOMAN TO CARRY A PREGNANCY TO TERM AGAINST HER WILL. NONE.
I AM DR. WARREN HERN, AND THIS IS MY BRIEF BUT SPECTACULAR TAKE ON SPECIALIZING IN ABORTION SERVICES FOR 49 YEARS. JOHN: ONLINE RIGHT NOW, CLIMATE CHANGE IN ACTION IN SOMALIA, WHERE THE WORST DROUGHT IN HISTORY MEANS HALF OF THE POPULATION IS FACING CHRONIC HUNGER. ALL THAT AND MORE IS ON OUR WEBSITE, PBS.ORG/NEWSHOUR.
AND THAT'S OUR PROGRAM FOR THIS SUNDAY. I'M JOHN YANG. FOR ALL OF US AT "PBS NEWS WEEKEND," THANKS. SEE YOU SOON.
2022-12-01