Mifepristone is a simple drug easily prescribed the world over. Except the United States of America. The controversy surrounding the drug’s use in America comes from intense evangelical Christian backlash against abortion, one of the Mifepristone’s many uses. Well behind the rest of the world, it wasn’t until the 1990s that the drug would be used for this purpose in the US. The backlash against abortion has changed in the ensuing decades, going from a mostly fringe religious concern to a mainstay on the docket for many conservative politicians throughout the country.
To combat this tide of misinformation and misogynist body politics, Francine Coeytaux and Elisa Wells founded the Plan C organization after the outspoken conservative attacks on over-the-counter Plan B contraception pills. Their organization became the target of threats in 2020 when the pandemic made it impossible for abortion patients to seek in-patient care. The documentary follows Plan C’s founders and a good dozen other activists and doctors fighting to provide a simple, safe, and effective means of family planning to those in states making abortion illegal.
Plan C is a fascinating documentary. These women are true outlaws, and many of them cannot appear on film because of their patently illegal actions in providing abortion pills to people in states like Texas and Oklahoma. Censored and voices altered, they still lend their voices to this documentary, showing us exactly what lengths some people will go to when defending individual autonomy in the face of overwhelming and unjust laws. Even those present on screen are putting themselves at risk: Terroristic threats and even attacks and bombings are uncomfortably common among abortion providers across the country.
This documentary is incredibly brave and features dozens of equally courageous women who share their experiences both with providing care and receiving care even though state governments have placed a death sentence on such activities in some of these states. Highly Recommended. Editor’s Choice.
Where does this title belong on public library shelves?
Plan C would fit best in collections about abortion and bodily autonomy issues, but it would also fit in medical and current events collections.
What kind of college instructors could use this title?
Women's studies instructors will get the best broad use of this title in the classroom, but those studying medical ethics will also find a number of issues and testimonies that could make for interesting classroom discussions.