When you see someone dying in front of you from a direct and simple cause, it's easier to deal with [that] than famine or drought or a more indirect cause. It's overwhelming and frightening and kind of distant, but we do see it every day with plants and animals and species dying.

Most of the reasons for late-term abortions have to do with severe fetal deformities, but when I found out that dwarfism was also a reason for late-term abortions that was tough. I did a book on dwarfs and know a lot of them, and that was a shock. That's a decision I could not feel comfortable with.

I was incredibly depressed and I found myself avoiding doing interviews where my [20-something daughters] could hear me - or leaving books on the coffee table they could see.

Planned Parenthood gave me an award for the Willie Parker story that I was deeply honored by. I didn't get any negative comments. I think the Willie Parker piece had more of an impact on people in that sense because it went deeper into the clinic itself.

A lot of people are listening and most people believe global warming is a problem and they'd like to see it addressed. But governments and the biggest companies in the world don't want to deal with it like they didn't want to deal with the fact that tobacco causes cancer.