Stories Women Tell

Annie Darling

1 min read

Amie, 30, drives 150 miles from her home in Missouri to the Hope Clinic, an independent abortion center just over the Illinois state line. As she pulls into the car park, she’s berated by fire-and-brimstone-spouting protesters. A volunteer ushers her inside where she explains, choking through tears, why she’s come: she’s already a single mother of two children, works a 70-hour workweek and can’t afford a newborn.

Most notable for its meandering valleys, grandiose fountains and numerous barbeques, Missouri is home to just one abortion facility, which is why filmmaker Tracy Droz Tragos chose her homestate as the setting for the new HBO documentary Abortion: Stories Women Tell. Her film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year and hit selected theatres throughout the States last Friday.

The riveting narrative features a collection of candid stories, whether it be a college-bound 17-year-old carrying a daughter to term who “wasn’t supposed to be here until I was like 30”, or a woman struggling with a physically abusive husband. No matter where you stand on the matter of a woman’s right to choose, every story is heartrending and often devastating.

Amie, a waitress and single mother, finds herself accidentally pregnant with a third child. Photo courtesy of HBO

Amie, a waitress and single mother, finds herself accidentally pregnant with a third child. Photo courtesy of HBO

Among them are women who work at the Hope Clinic, as well as those who crusade against them. There are women who are debating whether to abort, as well as those who are struggling with its aftermath. Various interviewees are parenting babies they were forced to bear because of laws that made the alternative practically impossible. Yet most importantly, this documentary allows the viewer to experience what often gets lost in the abortion debate: the pain and suffering felt by the individuals who are making the decision.

Producer-director Tracy Droz Tragos’ previous film Rich Hill won the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Photo courtesy of HBO

Producer-director Tracy Droz Tragos’ previous film Rich Hill won the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Photo courtesy of HBO

Droz Tragos is an compassionate interviewer, enabling people on both sides to have their say because, in America, abortion is far from uncommon. In fact according to the Guttmacher Institute, one in 10 women will have an abortion by age 20, one in four by age 30, and three in 10 by age 45. Few women tell their stories publicly, citing fear of judgement, and many feel bereft of anyone to confide in.

Women in the States have a constitutional right to get an abortion but, not unlike other regions, some parts of the country implement hurdles that restrict a woman’s access to treatment. What’s truly memorable about these harrowing stories is that there’s little difference between the women on opposite sides of the debate – at least in Missouri. They’re all human, they all work hard and they all love their children.