Like a Ship in the Night

Abortion remains one of America's most contentious issues, but it's completely illegal in Ireland, both North and South. Although contraception finally became legal in the 1980s, it isn't always affordable or easy to obtain, and—consequently—hundreds of Irish women travel to England each week to terminate their pregnancies. According to Melissa Thompson's thoughtful and non-inflammatory documentary, some 8,000 make the hazardous trip each year, and as one speaker puts it, “They come like ships in the night.” While comments are heard from representatives of Doctors for Choice, the Irish Family Planning Association, and the University College of Dublin, the bulk of the narration is provided by three women: Siobhan from Donegal, Mary from Belfast, and Louise from Dublin, whose faces are never shown. Two of the three were young, single, and childless when they discovered they were pregnant, while the third already had five children and had just returned to college. All three describe themselves as responsible and at least semi-religious women whose decisions to terminate were difficult (in Louise's case, contraception failed). Although none regret their choices, one woman later experienced short-term medical complications, and another struggles with anger over the fear she felt. At present, the maximum penalty for procuring or aiding an abortion in Ireland is life imprisonment, and Thompson's Like a Ship in the Night holds out little hope that the laws will change anytime soon. DVD extras include a bonus disc with five related short documentaries, ranging from 10-30 minutes each. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)