The Abortion Pill (film)

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The Abortion Pill is a 1997 documentary that examines the pros and cons of a Mifepristone (RU486), a drug that can end pregnancy without surgery. The film was produced and directed by Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt.

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[edit] Overview

The film is a "behind-the-scenes" look at the issues and the people surrounding RU486 (or Mifepristone). Women from all over the globe offer first-hand accounts of the method. The film makers also go inside a closely guarded clinic in Seattle as clinical trials take place and watch women using the drug. They visit a boot camp in Melbourne, Florida where members of Operation Rescure plan strategy to combat the pill, and meet Ken Dupin, a crusader against the drug who took on the corporate giant Hoechst AG. There are also interviews with politicians,pundits, organizers, and ordinary men and women who have become caught up in controversy.

[edit] Controversy

Opponents of the drug call it the "death pill." Supporters call it the "moral property of women." RU486, a pill that can end a pregnancy without surgery, has been kept out of the United States for over a decade. The Abortion Pill examines why, as the year 2000 approaches, the pill is not available. Supporters consider the pill the "greatest breakthrough since the birth control pill" because it is the first in a generation of drugs that can stop a pregnancy. Opponents maintain that the combination of the two drugs is a chemical cocktail that can create dangerous, unknown side effects.

[edit] Awards

  • Chicago International Film Festival's annual award for a social/political documentary

[edit] External Links