Panel 1
(A middle-aged bearded man, in a jacket and necktie, is sitting at the head of a conference table, In the foreground, we can see that there are others seated at the table.)
Man 1: We have to bring down the abortion rate! I want to hear some new ideas, people.
Panel 2
(Seated at the table, a woman in a striped shirt holds up a forefinger as she speaks.)
Woman: Here’s an idea: What if we focused our time and energy on accessible birth control? Because reducing abortions would reduce hardship, costs, and stigma for people who might already be struggling.
Panel 3
(The woman keeps talking, In the foreground, we can see the bearded man listening to her.)
Woman: This is exciting: A study in Colorado showed that teens given free long-term birth control were four times less likely to have an abortion.
Panel 4
(A large panel shows the woman, warming to her theme, spreading her arms wide as she speaks.)
Woman: That’s huge! If the US provided free long-acting birth control nationwide, it could prevent half a million abortions per year! And it would actually save money, by lowering unwanted births!
Panel 5
(Another shot with the bearded man in the foreground, questioning the woman. She looks puzzled at his question.)
Man 1: I don’t get it. How are people punished or humiliated in this plan?
Woman: Umm… They aren’t. They just don’t get pregnant.
Panel 6
(A shot of the bearded man, and the pro-lifers sitting to his left and right at the table, as they continue asking questions. Of the five pro-lifers we see in this panel, four are men.)
Man 2: So we don’t require doctors to lecture their patients?
Man 1: We don’t mandate painful and intrusive ultrasounds?
Woman 2: We don’t close down any health clinics?
Panel 7
(The woman in the striped shirt leans forward eagerly as she talks, grinning.)
Woman: We don’t have to do any of those things! We can prevent half a million abortions per year without any coercion at all! Isn’t that great?
Panel 8
(Shot of the bearded man, as he speaks thoughtfully, one hand stroking his beard.)
Man 1: I think I see what the problem here is…
Panel 9
(Final panel. We are outside the building; the woman in the striped shirt is on the ground, unhurt but looking a bit dizzy, as if she’s just been thrown out of the building. Through a window, we can hear the bearded man, still inside, speaking.)
Man 1: Okay, gentlemen, let’s get on with the meeting.
Kicker Panel
(This is a small “extra” panel, inserted into the lower-right-hand corner of Panel 9. We see the woman in the striped shirt talking to two other femme-presenting people…)
Woman: And that’s how I became pro-choice.
