Intersections

I watched the 2010 cinema-vérité documentary "12th and Delaware" on HBO's HBOGO service last week during my documentary binge. Its premise is excellent - a crisis pregnancy center and a abortion-providing women's health clinic sharing a street corner in Fort Pierce, Florida and the filmmakers (Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady of Jesus Camp fame) have, again, produced a film that portrays a culture deeply devoted to its ideology and prepared to defend this ideology. Ewing and Grady coax out these defenses and, in the process, create an educational experience for their audience.

As a childhood-Catholic-turned-feminist (not that the two are mutually exclusive), I have complex feelings on abortion. I understand the pro-life's revulsion at what they see as senseless slaughter, although I may not always agree. I also understand the economic and social realities that prompt women to seek abortions. I believe that the term "pro-choice," in its truest form, respects the right of others to "choose" their own ideology. Many of my friends are conservative, religious, and pro-life. Whatever their opinions are, I respect their courage in expressing them, even if I don't agree. But I adamantly believe that women seeking abortions should not be subject to the sort of emotional blackmail that the protesters in 12th and Delaware dole out. Abortion is rarely an easy choice - some women may make the decision lightly, but all of the women (and, often, their partners) in 12th and Delaware agonize over the decision. Some seem fearless, some are fearful, but none have arrived at their position lightly.

The pro-life faction, as portrayed in 12th and Delaware, is quick to label women "abortion-minded" and those who perform or facilitate abortions "abortionists." Like the pro-lifers themselves, these simple identities often point to certain religious or social ideologies. The pro-lifers' instant moral judgments are, at best harsh and at worst un-Christian. When a woman reminds them that the Bible asks Christians to "judge not," they retort with more Scriptural references. The Beautitudes, apparently, carry less weight than an obscure passage in the Old Testament.

Their treatment of the women they encounter also leaves much to be desired. Under a veneer of concern, they offer false information and misleading "research." The center itself is run by a Catholic priest; this male leader clearly embraces the traditional gender hierarchy and the concept of women as "moral children" discussed in Jessica Valenti's The Purity Myth. This binary of male dominance continues among the protesters themselves, a surprising number of them male. The men are more likely to take a harsh, commanding style as they attempt to dissuade women from seeking abortion; the women appeal to emotions.

It's also worth noting that the female protesters are often elderly. As this generation - women raised in a pre-feminist era - dies off, it will be necessary for the pro-life campaign to find new members. Youth raised in evangelical or Catholic cultures are the obvious choice, and this pro-life message is reinforced with abstinence-only education.

There's an obvious racial divide between the staff of both centers and their clients. Not surprisingly, the clients are generally young (in their teens and twenties, although one 15-year-old does seek an abortion), often poor and frequently minorities. The crisis pregnancy center's staff is generally white and appears to be upper-middle-class; many are volunteers obviously don't need to work to support their families - in short, the very people who are more likely to be able to bear the financial and time costs of raising a child. They make a number of disturbing assumptions in dealing with the women they encounter. When a woman describes the abuse she has suffered at the hands of her boyfriend, the director of the crisis pregnancy center suggests that "the baby will change him," essentially condoning the birth of a child into an abusive environment. She also discusses a client's "options" over a McDonald's lunch - her treat. The client herself later remarks that she realizes that the director tried to "bribe" her. Similar "bribes" are made with a collection of children's clothing - a courtesy, but a pittance compared to the cost of actually raising a child.

When a Latina, Spanish-speaking woman appears, so do a group of Latino/a pro-lifers - the only appearance of a non-white, pro-life presence. They make a passionate appeal for her to reconsider, and make likely unfulfilled promises to help the woman provide for the baby and her five other children. The priest and other staff of the center do not speak Spanish and, insultingly, speak slowly and condescendingly to the woman in English.

A Woman's World, the woman's health center, is presented in opposition, if somewhat less detail. The film neglects to mention that it offers non-abortion and non-pregnancy services; namely, gynecological care. These are essential services for women's health, and were A Woman's World to not exist, another means of access to health care would be lost.

A Woman's World also takes pains to protect the safety and privacy of its abortion providers. The pro-lifers are not above violence - one man seems positively giddy at the possibility of tracking down, humiliating and possibly injuring one of the doctors. The death of George Tiller illustrates just how real this threat can be; all other concepts of morality are discarded in the process.

Do Ewing and Grady have an agenda? Of course. They've given interviews and confirmed their pro-choice views. But they make a courageous and mature choice to allow both sides of this complex issue to be explored. Rather than hide behind rigid dogma and moral shaming - which even pro-choicers are sometimes guilty of - they understand that every woman comes to 12th and Delaware via a complicated, and often difficult, journey.

You can find 12th and Delaware on IMDb here. The film's official HBO page offers plenty of background, interviews and other extras. If you're so inclined, you can also become a fan of 12th and Delaware on Facebook.