The movie examines the abortion issue through three different women's stories set in different eras: 1952, 1974 and 1996.
The 1952 segment deals with Claire Donnelly, a widowed nurse living in suburban Chicago, who becomes pregnant by her brother-in-law and decides to have an illegal abortion. Claire discovers that the only trustworthy abortionist a friend knows is in Puerto Rico, and Claire cannot afford to travel. After a failed attempt to end her pregnancy with a knitting needle, Claire contacts a man who comes to her home and performs a clandestine procedure on her in her kitchen. Claire dies shortly afterwards from a hemorrhage.
The 1974 segment deals with Barbara Barrows, a struggling mother with four children who discovers she's pregnant. She considers abortion with the support of her teenage daughter but decides to carry the pregnancy to term.
The 1996 segment deals with Christine Cullen, a college student who got pregnant by a married professor, decides on an abortion when he breaks up with her and only offers her money. She makes an appointment with Dr. Beth Thompson (played by Cher). However, the abortion takes place during a violent protest, and an anti-abortion protester walks in on the operation and shoots Dr. Thompson.
KEYWORDS: Pregnancy decision; self-induced abortion; provider character; provider violence.