Two of the things important to me are: a) ways to contribute to political causes that resonate with me and b) to break out of my isolation, working alone as a visual artist, by joining projects that are carried by like-minded people.

Both goals have been realized in working with a documentary film team that is just now putting the finishing touches to a film to be released later this year. Conceptualized and directed by Jan Haaken, Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology at Portland State University, the film investigates how stigma is attached to being an abortion provider and how a new generation of gynecologists and family medicine practitioners handle the challenges of their profession. Among them was Dr. Willie Parker, who is probably the most famous of the bunch given his visibility. Click on image to get his NYT profile by Nicholas Kristof.

Below is a link to the upcoming documentary:

About

On the day that an anti-abortion democratic candidate won the race in Illinois I thought we need to look at this. The documentary is timely in light of threatened legal restrictions to the current, already limited provisions of a woman’s right to chose.https://www.rawstory.com/2018/03/us-supreme-court-skeptical-toward-california-law-anti-abortion-centers/

It is, however, not just the federal government or the courts who impede self-determination. There are other, insidious way to undermine the ability to obtain or provide abortions. If your city’s hospitals are run by administrations associated with religious institutions, their choice to deny services trumps those of women who seek them. In Seattle, for example, now more than 50% of all hospital beds and associated medical doctors are in the hands of the catholic church.

In many mid-western and southern states there are no longer a n y functioning clinics that women seeking an abortion can turn to. They have to cross state lines to find help, an impossibility for those who are poor due to associated travel cost and loss of wages. Often doctors from other states have to fly in on a weekly or monthly basis (including some of the docs we filmed in the NW.)

The film describes the status quo and how those working in the field experience the obstacles put in their way. These include not just what I described above, and the constant sense of threat to one’s personal safety when encountering protesters, but also the increasing refusal by many medical training institutions to teach the required skills and to ostracize those who chose this specialty.

In addition, may of the small, progressive women centers who were at the core of protecting women’s right face closure because larger institutions like Planned Parenthood dominate the market place.

I worked as a production photographer for the project, and chose for today’s blog some of my favorite portraits of the many courageous people, doctors and nurses, I encountered.

Some more portraits in link below.

Gallery

Last but not least here is the crew – a fun and thoughtful bunch of people to work with.