Local, USA

Public Enemies, Private Friends

By Sarah Perkins and Joshua Sabey

On December 30, 1994, a man walked into two abortion clinics in Brookline, MA and opened fire. Two women were killed, five other employees wounded, and a national manhunt was unfolding.

Pro-choice and pro-life movements try to control optics, jockeying for publicity, and putting their spin on the story. Underneath the media circus, a conversation begins between the opposing sides of the abortion debate. Their talks are kept secret for fear of violence, disapproval, and ultimate futility but after five and a half years, 150 hours of discourse, and on the 28th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the leaders go public. In PUBLIC ENEMIES, PRIVATE FRIENDS, the conversations, captured on cassette tapes, are shared with the world for the first time.