"12th & Delaware" (2010 release; 81 min.) is a documentary delving into the opposing sides of abortion providers. As the movie opens, we are reminded it is "Fort Pierce, FL, 5 AM", and we see a woman walking around with a big sign "Thou Shall Not Kill". It's not long before we understand that on opposing corners in the intersection at 12th & Delaware, there is an abortion clinic on one corner, and a pro-life pregnancy care center on the other corner. The film makers follow the coming and goings at these places. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from co-writers and co-directors Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing. These ladies have built an outstanding reputation (and track record) when it comes to documentaries. Here they pursue the moral aspects of what each side is doing. For the pro-lifers, that means shaming, intimidating, deceiving, confusing, and outright lying to unsuspecting women who think they have walked into an abortion clinic. When asked, for the pro-lifers this is a completely justifiable means to get to the end result they seek, namely preventing abortions, period. It isn't until the second half of the movie that we get the other side's perspective: why do abortion clinic service providers do what they do? Regardless how you feel about the issue, your heart can't help but go out to the (mostly young and mostly African-American and Hispanic) women who time and again find themselves in an impossible situation. Check out the movie's last extended scene where a Hispanic woman, already a mother 6 (!) times over, approaches the abortion clinic... Just jaw-dropping.
I had heard of this movie, but didn't get a chance to see it until I recently stumbled on it in the documentary section of HBO on Demand. Glad I checked it out. The film makers do an excellent job in "12th & Delaware", walking a moral minefield without detonating any of the mines. "12th & Delaware" is definitely worth checking out.
Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from co-writers and co-directors Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing. These ladies have built an outstanding reputation (and track record) when it comes to documentaries. Here they pursue the moral aspects of what each side is doing. For the pro-lifers, that means shaming, intimidating, deceiving, confusing, and outright lying to unsuspecting women who think they have walked into an abortion clinic. When asked, for the pro-lifers this is a completely justifiable means to get to the end result they seek, namely preventing abortions, period. It isn't until the second half of the movie that we get the other side's perspective: why do abortion clinic service providers do what they do? Regardless how you feel about the issue, your heart can't help but go out to the (mostly young and mostly African-American and Hispanic) women who time and again find themselves in an impossible situation. Check out the movie's last extended scene where a Hispanic woman, already a mother 6 (!) times over, approaches the abortion clinic... Just jaw-dropping.
I had heard of this movie, but didn't get a chance to see it until I recently stumbled on it in the documentary section of HBO on Demand. Glad I checked it out. The film makers do an excellent job in "12th & Delaware", walking a moral minefield without detonating any of the mines. "12th & Delaware" is definitely worth checking out.