Documentary review, Unborn in the USA
Web Correspondent
Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund
I would absolutely recommend the film, "Unborn in the USA." The filmmakers, Stephen Fell and Will Thompson take an objective look at the pro-life movement-no easy task. I watched the entire movie and all the DVD extras and I still have no idea if Fell and Thompson identify one way or the other.
According to the DVD biography,
"They traveled across 35 states and videotaped seventy pro-life icons. They slept in their cars and on floors at friend's homes. They gained unprecedented access to pro-life groups, movement icons, fundraising machines, and even university students being specially groomed to carry the pro-life message for college credit."
The press, conservative and liberal, has responded positively to the movie. Follow-up interviews were conducted with several of the films subjects. They were asked how they felt they were portrayed, and all agreed it was accurate. It's a fascinating view of the pro-life movement. 
What I found out:
Being "pro-life" is a lot like being labeled "republican." Not all republicans agree on everything. And there is plenty of division within the pro-life movement, in fact there is plenty of bitter division on a variety of subjects, the use of graphic imagery and the use of violence for starters.
The movie opens by examining Focus on the Family (FOTF), the largest religious rights group in the United States. Students working with a FOTF Institute prepare for a display called "Justice for All." It's a 18 foot tall, 3-sided billboard that pictures aborted fetuses, holocaust victims, and executions. The exhibit travels to college campuses around the country and unsurprisingly, it garners a significant amount of negative attention. One self-proclaimed pro-life student viewed the display but found the images very upsetting. Even one of the 'Focus on the Family' students expressed concern over the photos. He said:
I was worried people would question our faith and the method we're presenting it-because it's not gentle and loving.
The pro-life community is torn, many believe these images will "change minds" and others think they are only a catalyst for controversy. Some who see the display become angry to the point of rioting. People shout obscenities at each other and a few times I realized my pulse was racing. The anger is overpowering, even on film.
More controversial than graphic imagery, is the use of violence that "pro-life" groups have used against clinics and their workers. In one scene, a "pro-life" man proudly holds a sign that reads: "Praise Jesus! Jim Kopp popped and stopped a baby butchering doc." In 1998, Jim Kopp shot and killed Dr. Slepian in front of his 4 children. Also on the sign is a smiley face with a bloody bullet hole in the middle of its head.
Steve Wetzel, a pro life activist interviewed for the film, called this a "fringe movement." And Julie Parton of Focus on the Family spoke out against violence. "I do not condone that." She believed the news media wanted to give those stories extra attention to play up the notion that pro-life people were "ignorant rednecks with no real case to make." 
This movie is fascinating but it's most riveting when it shows what can happen when pro-choice and "pro-life" people interact. In one of the most dramatic scenes, a pro-choice woman confronts a group of protesters led by Pastor Matt Trewhella. They stand on the street with pictures of bloody fetuses. The confrontation escalates and escalates until finally the woman yells, "I'm a Catholic too! I go to church and I love Jesus." Trewhella responds, "No you're not. You're a hypocrite and a phony. You're no Christian. You're a son or daughter of Satan and nothing else." There is a brief pause and then the woman slaps him across the face. A fight breaks out and some of the children at the protest begin to cry. As the young woman is handcuffed, she screams, "Did you honestly think you could do this and no one would get upset?"
What can we learn from a movie like this? It's safe to assume we can't do anything with violent people, but how do we handle ourselves when the "pro-life" movement takes its fight to our campuses and our city streets? If we engage them, how do we do so without ending in a slapping fight? Focus on the Family trains their students on how to handle difficult questions. For instance, how do you deal with pregnancy as the result of rape?
The class leader instructed students to look in a packet for possible answers—a literal packet where students are encouraged to answer the rape question with comments like, "Why should the child pay for the sins of the father?" The students even pair up and role-play! It seems as though there is no intent to really listen to legitimate concerns of women who have an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy-there are only handy answers.
After watching this movie, I was left with a really uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. With this type of training going on, is there any hope to have real discussion? Can there be any hope of achieving middle ground or are we doomed to this exhausting battle forever?
Really!! This isn't rhetorical—I'm asking! During a pro-life rally, a speaker shouted, "We are not going away until our government overturns Roe V. Wade!"
So… what now?
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Add Unborn in the USA to your Netflix queue or call your local video rental store to see if they keep it in stock. Tell me what you think of the movie by leaving a comment below!
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