Movies Similar to Abortion: Beyond the Backstreet

Jane: An Abortion Service(1995)

This fascinating political look at a little-known chapter in women's history tells the story of "Jane", the Chicago-based women's health group who performed nearly 12,000 safe illegal abortions between 1969 and 1973 with no formal medical training. As Jane members describe finding feminism and clients describe finding Jane, archival footage and recreations mingle to depict how the repression of the early sixties and social movements of the late sixties influenced this unique group. Both vital knowledge and meditation on the process of empowerment, Jane: An Abortion Service showcases the importance of preserving women's knowledge in the face of revisionist history. JANE: AN ABORTION SERVICE was funded by the Independent Television Service (ITVS) with funds provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Yours in Freedom, Bill Baird(2023)

In an America where more and more women and trans people are losing legal bodily autonomy, the history of Bill Baird’s long fight for women’s right to abortion is as relevant as ever. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rebecca Cammisa doesn’t just give us a portrait of Baird, but also creates a historical register of allyship and activism that those fighting to uphold freedom and choice can access, and perhaps emulate.

Birthright: A War Story(2017)

Women are being jailed, physically violated and at risk of dying as a radical movement tightens its grip across America.

Abortion: Stories from North and South(1984)

Women have always sought ways to terminate unwanted pregnancies, despite powerful patriarchal structures and systems working against them. This film provides a historical overview of how church, state and the medical establishment have determined policies concerning abortion. From this cross-cultural survey--filmed in Ireland, Japan, Thailand, Peru, Colombia, and Canada--emerges one reality: only a small percentage of the world's women has access to safe, legal operations.

Sind wir bald zu viele?(2012)

A Healthy Baby Girl(1997)

Filmmaker Judith Helfand turns the camera on herself to document her battle with cancer caused by DES, a drug prescribed to her mother during pregnancy. Refusing to confine the tears, rage, laughter and hope to dinner table conversations, Helfand invites us to witness her personal journey from radical hysterectomy patient to vocal opponent of toxic exposure. From her suburban home to the halls of Congress, the intensely private becomes widely public, and an American family is transformed and strengthened.

Under G-d(2023)

The Dobbs U.S. Supreme Court decision sparked a national Jewish response. Inspired by the lived experiences of Jewish women, lawsuits are currently being launched by rabbis, Jewish organizations, and interfaith leaders to challenge the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

My So-Called Selfish Life(2021)

Motherhood: a subject so deeply ingrained in our society, we take it for granted as part of the natural order. It's assumed all women want children, that motherhood is not only a biological imperative but the defining measure of womanhood. Titled after one of the myths it challenges, this film draws upon a heady mix of culture, science, and history–revealing the rich and diverse lives of people who said no to children, and the forces that have marginalized them in society.

To Kid or Not to Kid(2018)

Filmmaker Maxine Trump turns the camera on herself and her close circle of family and friends as she confronts the idea of not having kids. While exploring the cultural pressures and harsh criticism child-free women regularly experience, as well as the personal impact this decision may have on her own relationship, Maxine meets other women reckoning with their choice: Megan, who struggles to get medical permission to undergo elective sterilization, and Victoria, who lives with the backlash of publicly acknowledging that she made a mistake when she had a child.

Jackson(2016)

With a single abortion clinic remaining in the state of Mississippi, the city of Jackson has become ground zero in the nation's battle over reproductive health-care. Jackson is an intimate portrait of the interwoven lives of three women in this town. Wrought with the racial and religious undertones of the Deep South, the lives of two women are deeply affected by the director of the local pro-life crisis pregnancy center and the movement she represents.

Learning to Live(1964)

A basic sex education film designed for young engaged couples.

Margaret Sanger: A Public Nuisance(1993)

An exploration of the early public debate surrounding birth control, the media's involvement, and the unstoppable Margaret Sanger, in a style mimicking the films of the period.

Deciding Vote(2023)

50 years ago, assemblyman George Michaels cast a single vote on New York's abortion bill that changed the course of American history but destroyed his political career in the process.

Weibliche Zone(1987)

Red, White and Blue(2024)

A young mother from Arkansas is forced to travel across state lines in search of an urgent and necessary abortion.

Summer Fridays(2019)

Frankie was recently diagnosed with HPV. After getting a follow-up cervical cancer screening, she tries to find connection as she goes about her day. It turns out not to be so easy.

Hush-a-Bye Baby(1990)

1980s Derry: Goretti Friel, one of a spirited group of teenage friends, meets Ciarán at her Irish language class, and romance blossoms. When he is arrested and imprisoned by the British army, Goretti is dismayed to find herself pregnant. Left to deal with the crisis alone, she is tormented by the conflicts of her growing belly and the influence of a Catholic upbringing.

Memoir of a Veering Storm(2022)

Anna secretly sneaks out of school with her boyfriend to carry out her decision for an abortion. Bluntly factual and yet with tender sympathy, the camera accompanies Anna's path, approaches and contrasts with images of a nature in which some things seem simpler and some things unfathomable.

Contraceptive

A teenage girl undergoes the uncomfortable and intrusive process of acquiring a birth control prescription.

Was lebst Du?(2004)

I followed the everyday lives of Ali, Kais, Ertan and Alban with my camera for over two years. The time was characterized by disappointments, conflicts and also great successes. It all began with a visit to the "Klingelpütz" youth center in the middle of Cologne. Young migrants have been meeting here for many years.