Documenting Abortion Restrictions in America, with Stacy Kranitz and Andrea Wise

In 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending nearly 50 years of federal protection for abortion. Some states began enforcing strict abortion bans. In Tennessee, for example, the law prohibits women from having abortions in almost all circumstances.

In early 2023, ProPublica assigned photographer Stacy Kranitz and reporter Kavitha Surana to document the consequences of post-Roe America by following one family. They spent the last year with Mayron Hollis, a mother from Tennessee, and watched her struggle through circumstances beyond her control with little to no support from family or the government.

What was it like for Kranitz to shadow someone going through turbulent times? How do you build trust and not shy away from the difficult moments? How do you edit such a complex story? And how does a yearlong photo commission come about?

In this event, Ilvy Njiokiktjien will talk with Stacy Kranitz and ProPublica visual strategy editor Andrea Wise about their experiences working on the long-form interactive story “The Year After a Denied Abortion.“