Birthright: A War Story

Filmmaker Civia Tamarkin's searing documentary begins with the shocking true tale of a married couple in Nebraska who experienced much misery when the state's ban on abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy prevented the woman from an induced labor, despite her fetus's imminent death and lethal danger to the mother. This horrifying story of a state law based on emotion and dubious science trumping a medical emergency is a perfect lead-in for this excellent, well-organized, and generally balanced look at the ways in which abortion rights—and women's reproductive rights in general—are being chipped away by hundreds of new laws at all non-federal, regional government levels. Birthright offers detailed, extensive histories of these uphill battles for women to wrest control of reproduction decisions (including contraception) from powerful men, only to see their rights methodically taken away by anti-choice advocates and lawmakers looking for end runs around Roe v. Wade and the right to medical privacy. The Hyde Amendment (cutting off Medicaid coverage of abortions for poor women), 20-week limits, burdensome new regulations on abortion providers, threats to de-fund Planned Parenthood, arrest of women with miscarriages, establishment of legal “personhood” for the unborn, and more have resulted in the needless deaths of women. Birthright avoids outright, pro-choice advocacy—letting both sides speak here—while also offering a clear-eyed view of what is really happening in the country. Highly recommended. Aud: