How We Made This

This was the first film that I made after immigrating to the United States. As a newcomer to this country there were some social, political issues, which came as a real culture shock, the ongoing national debate on abortion being one of these. I have always been stunned at the level of contention that surrounds abortion, personally, I find when listening to people's views on abortion that it says far more about what they think about the role of women in society and their own idea of what womanhood means rather than having anything much to do with the medical procedure itself. However, whatever your religious beliefs it seems ridiculous to close one's eyes to the reality that whatever the church or the state legislates on the matter, women are still going to want to get rid of unwanted pregnancies and it is simply a matter of whether they are allowed to do this safely and legally or whether they are forced to put themselves at risk with a clandestine, illegal procedure. I find it obscene that anyone would prefer to put women in the situation where their safety is compromised by unsafe, unsanctioned medical operations. My intention with the Mexico film was simply to show what it means for women when abortion is illegal. I feel that this particular clip illustrates the chilling indifference of the men of the cloth to these matters, where they seem to care only about the sound of their own rhetoric, rather than the well being of their parish. Hopefully, in direct comparison to the situation in Mexico and other countries where religion infringes on civil liberties we may suggest that for a secular, humanistic society that has any semblance of genuine concern for the health of its citizens, it is inconceivable that abortion should be illegal.