August 28, 2022
Chatting the Pictures

Chatting the Pictures: An Abortion Patient Assuredly Shares Her Ultrasound Scan

Welcome to Chatting the Pictures. Every two weeks, we present a short, lively video discussion between Michael Shaw, publisher of Reading the Pictures, and writer, professor, and historian, Cara Finnegan, examining a significant picture in the news. Chatting the Pictures is produced by Liliana Michelena.

By Staff
About the Video

Ted Jackson took this photograph for the AP. It shows a patient seeking an abortion at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., holding up her ultrasound photo. The woman is nine weeks and four days pregnant. The photo was taken on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, nearly two weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. Although the clinic expects to be shut down at any moment, a temporary restraining order has allowed it to continue providing abortion services.

In the video, we discuss how the anti-abortion movement laid claim to the ultrasound image and how this photo boldly challenges the assumption that personhood begins at conception. We also examine how reproductive rights activists are defending the abortion procedure more openly and honestly since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

You can find all the Chatting the Pictures replays here.

Post By

Staff
See other posts by Staff here.

The Big Picture

Follow us on Instagram (@readingthepictures) and Twitter (@readingthepix), and

Panelists

Michael Shaw

An analyst of news photos and visual journalism, and a frequent lecturer and writer on visual politics, photojournalism and media literacy, Michael is the founder and publisher of Reading the Pictures.

Cara Finnegan

Cara Finnegan is a writer, photo historian, and professor of Communication at the University of Illinois. She has been affiliated with Reading The Pictures for nearly 15 years, most recently as co-host of Chatting The Pictures. Her most recent book is Photographic Presidents: Making History from Daguerreotype to Digital.

Reactions

Comments Powered by Disqus