The Search for an Abortionist

Happening

This thread follows how Annie Duchesne moves from isolation and failed approaches toward the practical help that makes abortion possible.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

First Disclosure First Disclosure from "Happening". First Disclosure Testing a Contact Annie Duchesne hints to Jean T that she is pregnant, hoping his political connections might lead to help.

First Disclosure from "Happening". First Disclosure Testing a Contact Annie Duchesne hints to Jean T that she is pregnant, hoping his political connections might lead to help.

First Disclosure Testing a Contact Annie Duchesne hints to Jean T that she is pregnant, hoping his political connections might lead to help. His intense curiosity is not the same as practical support. A Conditional Offer Jean T says he cannot finance an illegal abortion on moral grounds. He does, however, identify LB as someone with relevant experience.

Waiting in the Rain Waiting in the Rain from "Happening". Waiting in the Rain A Vanishing Lead Annie Duchesne waits outside LB’s newspaper office but cannot bring herself to go in.

Waiting in the Rain from "Happening". Waiting in the Rain A Vanishing Lead Annie Duchesne waits outside LB’s newspaper office but cannot bring herself to go in.

Waiting in the Rain A Vanishing Lead Annie Duchesne waits outside LB’s newspaper office but cannot bring herself to go in. The rain and the empty street intensify her sense that no route is available. A Diary Entry She writes that she is getting desperate and that the pregnancy must end. The note preserves the immediacy of a search with no reliable map.

A Failed Medical Route A Failed Medical Route from "Happening". A Failed Medical Route A Doctor’s Evasion A general practitioner confirms the pregnancy but avoids Annie Duchesne’s request for an abortion.

A Failed Medical Route from "Happening". A Failed Medical Route A Doctor’s Evasion A general practitioner confirms the pregnancy but avoids Annie Duchesne’s request for an abortion.

A Failed Medical Route A Doctor’s Evasion A general practitioner confirms the pregnancy but avoids Annie Duchesne’s request for an abortion. His prescription does not address what she needs. Misleading Treatment She later learns that the prescribed drug was used to prevent miscarriage. The encounter reveals how medical authority can preserve the law’s limits rather than relieve her danger.

LB’s Visit LB’s Visit from "Happening". LB’s Visit Practical Knowledge LB arrives with the address of Madame P-R and describes how the procedure works.

LB’s Visit Practical Knowledge LB arrives with the address of Madame P-R and describes how the procedure works. Her account makes clandestine help imaginable in specific, practical terms. Money and Trust LB offers to lend Annie Duchesne the fee. The loan transforms a precarious lead into an actionable arrangement and marks an important act of solidarity.

Arranging the Procedure Arranging the Procedure from "Happening". Arranging the Procedure The Journey Annie Duchesne hitchhikes to Paris to meet Madame P-R and settle the details.

Arranging the Procedure from "Happening". Arranging the Procedure The Journey Annie Duchesne hitchhikes to Paris to meet Madame P-R and settle the details.

Arranging the Procedure The Journey Annie Duchesne hitchhikes to Paris to meet Madame P-R and settle the details. Her willingness to take risks reflects the narrowing choices imposed on her. A Scheduled Return Madame P-R sets a date and explains the fee and method. Annie leaves with a concrete plan, but also with the knowledge that the procedure will be dangerous.

Mid-November 1963

Late November 1963

November 1963

A week before Christmas 1963

January 8, 1964