This documentary tries to examine the people on both sides of the abortion issue from the perspective of one Planned Parenthood clinic in Illinois. The reason they picked southern Illinois is that the state borders Missouri, which now has some of the toughest abortion laws on record including a 72 hour waiting period even in the case of rape or incest.
I'm sure different people will get different things from this. On the pro-life side, I thought the documentary did take the time to talk to some of the people involved and get their stories, but my impression is that these people were largely living in an echo chamber. Many seemed to surround themselves with like-minded people who lived in favorable environments - not necessarily wealthy mind you - who had plenty of support from friends and family. Most of the people seemed genuinely personally charitable, they just could not fathom the kinds of circumstances that could lead a woman to make this decision because they had never confronted them. There were a few lone nuts who camped outside the clinic that just made me wonder - along with the staff - have these people got jobs? And if so when do they sleep?
We also meet some of the women who are having or have had abortions. Among them are a couple of women who have discovered that their pregnancies will end in children with missing limbs and incomplete brains. One of these women was religious and said she could never see herself making that choice until this event happened and that she and her husband talked it over with their pastor who gave them his blessing, understanding completely. Another was a woman who, two days before she found out she was pregnant, found out that the father was married. Others had an abusive spouse, already had children by the abusive spouse, and did not want more because they could not afford to become the eventual single parent of that many children as they could not see that marriage lasting. Another was a woman who was college educated but could only find a livable wage by working retail and bartending and already had one child. She was barely getting by and could not afford another child.
Some of the staff had stories of abortion. There was an older woman working there talking about how when she was in nursing school in the 1970s you could be thrown out of school if pregnant. She got pregnant during her last year and had an abortion as a result.
At any rate, it was a very interesting timely documentary that omitted the useless politicians and put faces on the issue. I recommend it.
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