“After Tiller” has opened at the West End Cinema in
Washington, and Sunday afternoon at 5 PM there was a special benefit held by
DCAF, the DC Abortion Fund, link here.
The documentary, directed by Martha Shane and Lana Wilson,
traces the work of several late-term abortion providers after the murder of Dr.
George Tiller in Kansas in 2009. One of
the physicians, Dr. LeRoy Carhart, was present for the Q-A. It isn’t hard to find some rather strong
criticisms (to put it mildly) of his practice on the web with just a casual
search.
The documentary focuses in some part on a clinic in
Bellevue, NB, which faces closure under a new state law banning abortions after
20 weeks. Providers go to certain states, including New Mexico, Colorado, and
more recently Maryland.
The documentary makes a strong point about how the “pro-life”
movement, often perceived as part of the “religious right”, has gotten much
more influence in local and state governments than at the federal level, and
has been able to shut down late term abortions in most of the middle and
southern parts of the country. Activists say that progressive voters have
become nonchalant in their interest in participating in local and state
election racers (particularly in being interesting in running for office at
all). Many states have laws requiring
providers to have admitting privileges in hospitals, which means that they must
become regular physicians with practices capable of attracting “legitimate”
patients to the hospitals and must live close enough to serve on-call. That would be like requiring me, as a
self-publisher, to sell (not give away) a minimum number of books to be online
at all.
The documentary also covers the “bullying” aspect of the
problem, starting with the obvious threats and pickets. Many landlords are afraid to rent to
providers, so there is a practical effect. However, in Maryland (between Frederick and
Washington near I270) the landlord stood by the provider despite protests. Pro-life
activists actually demonstrated at the middle school where the daughter of the
landlord went to school.
The official site is here. The film, form Oscilloscope, showed at
Sundance and AFI Docs.
My own take on the “right to life” issue is that abortion
becomes a proxy for a much bigger issue, which has to do with prolonging life
at the end when there is severe disability.
As a gay man unlikely to cause a pregnancy, abortion does not affect me
directly, although I can imagine the arguments that ensue if there is ever a
genetic or congenital test for future homosexuality or transgender situation. But any of us can be responsible for a
disabled family member or parent. The providers insist that women really need
the service, and that the medical needs in late term situations can be
legitimate.
First picture: Flint Hills in Kansas, my visit, 2006.
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