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Through film and conversation, rePROFilm advocates for reproductive health, justice and bodily autonomy. We lift intersectional issues, using the power of storytelling as a catalyst for knowledge, intention and action.

The rePROFilm Periodical – featuring a new film and podcast each month – is generously underwritten and is FREE and available to anyone.

          VOL. 23, WATCH:

          NINE JUDGES JUDGING

          If you’re not in the mood for a feel-good holiday movie this season, we have you covered!

          In a month of shiny, colorful holiday decor Director Sarah Joy Byington reminds us — in black and white — why so many pregnant people can’t have nice things. Like equitable health care.

          Byington describes her film “Labor + Justice” as “surrealist nightmare.” The Black-Mirror-like rePROFilm Vol. 23 short film selection envisions a world in which the power of the state completely subsumes that of pregnant people.

          It’s not a pretty picture — not that we’re loving reality right now, either. Byington was in pre-production on the film when the “Dobbs” draft leaked, a real-life warning of what was to come. “There is no time to lose,” they said. “The idea that art doesn’t bring change is a lie. It is my hope that this film will bring awareness, change minds, and provoke change.”

          Us too.

          xo, Team rePROFilm

          VOL. 23, WATCH:

          DO YOU HEAR WHAT WE HEAR?

          The short film “Labor + Justice” explores a world in which bureaucracy has completely overtaken reproductive health care. 

          In other words, the rePROFilm Vol. 23 film selection is a (very) heightened version of reality.  It made us curious about the bureaucracy doctors and their pregnant patients already face in the real world. In her column for this issue, our resident medical expert writes about the “impossible position” many obstetricians find themselves in, unable to make the best choices for their patients due to vague, poorly worded anti-abortion laws. 

          We also have links to stories about two entities that have made the reproductive landscape increasingly dystopian: Activists have torpedoed modest, Republican-led efforts to clarify language around abortion exceptions. And even in “abortion safe haven” states, religiously affiliated hospital systems jeopardize access to abortion care. 

          This installment is all about listening to doctors and abortion providers. Are you paying attention? What do you hear?

          xo,
          Team rePROFilm

          Movie-Head
          Labor + Justice

          LABOR+JUSTICE

          Directed by Sarah Joy Byington (11m)

          Set in a dystopian United States, pregnant persons are required by law to give birth in front of a panel of judges. Failure to birth a living baby sentences the mother to immediate execution.

          This month’s selection may make you squirm in your seat a little bit. Then again, what’s comfortable about the U.S. reproductive health care system, and who gets to make the decisions? As we enter another pivotal election year, it’s a good reminder that knowledge, intention and action matter.  (LMC)

          Comparable to The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror, Labor + Justice weaves thriller with horror, yet draws out empathy and heartbreak with its all-to-relatable themes. The most obvious theme is the injustice of a woman’s right to choose what to do with her body and her unborn child.

          Learn-Head
          Ask an Expert: Reel Talk with Dr. Julia
          Maternity care in a post-Dobbs environment

          Sarah Joy Byington’s film “Labor + Justice” takes place in a dystopian future where women who “fail” to deliver a living baby are immediately sentenced to death by a grotesque panel of judges. These men (and one woman) know nothing of medicine and care even less for the humans involved. The film evokes disgust, followed by devastation for the woman whose child is stillborn. The doctor in the film is outraged because he was not allowed to care for the patient in a manner that might have saved the baby.

          While we don’t sentence women to death for having a stillbirth, laws restricting or banning abortion have been enacted in many states in the year and a half since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. Twenty states have now banned abortion or limited it to the first six weeks (which has essentially the same effect as a ban, as many people don’t know they are pregnant by six weeks). Though all states with bans include language about exceptions to save the life of the mother, there is a lack of clarity about what this means in practice. What conditions qualify? How sick does a patient have to be? It seems the fetus takes precedence unless the pregnant patient is truly about to die. It is impossible to predict every possible condition or scenario that might result in the death of a pregnant person, and the language in these laws is intentionally vague.

          (Read On)

          Some Republicans were willing to compromise on abortion ban exceptions. Activists made sure they didn’t.

          Some Republican politicians have moved to clarify the vague language around abortion exceptions so that doctors and their patients know how to proceed in difficult circumstances. But most have caved to pressure from extremist abortion opponents.

          (ProPublica)

          How religious hospitals block access to care, even in ‘safe haven’ states

          It’s not just judges and politicians that impede access to reproductive health care. “If you live in a ‘blue’ or ‘abortion haven’ state, you may feel protected from abortion bans,” writes Planned Parenthood’s Rebecca Gibron. “But the truth is, your health care may be limited by the religious interests directing your local hospital.”

          (Ms.)

          OUR GENEROUS UNDERWRITERS

          Thank you to our underwriters which enable us to bring you the rePRO Periodical for free, as well as compensate all of our storytellers and contributors. Learn how you can support this public media initiative.

          rePROFilm endeavors to make our programming a safe, accessible and welcome place for anyone who wants to participate. We acknowledge that we have much to learn about creating this space, and welcome and and all feedback that can make us better aware and able to support all minds and bodies.
          We are committed to screening films in accessible venues, and also understand that meeting ADA standards for accessibility does not actually mean a venue is actually accommodating for everyone. As best we can, we will offer a complimentary companion ticket to our film screenings as requested. For our virtual screenings, we ask all filmmaking teams to provide closed captioning, audio descriptions or open captions whenever possible. For any questions, please contact us at 323-810-6909 or help@reprofilm.org. We are here to do our best to make our programming as inclusive as possible.

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