After Tiller is a documentary film which premiered in 2013. The topic is abortion in the US; a topic which can raise strong feelings one way or the other in the US.
The title refers to Dr George Tiller who performed abortions since 1973, when the US Supreme Court issued a ruling in the case called Roe vs. Wade, stating that abortion is a constitutional right and therefore legal in every US state.
Before long, Dr Tiller became a target of anti-abortion activists who conducted an aggressive and violent campaign against abortion clinics and their staff in several states:
** In 1986, they burned down his clinic, but he refused to stop his work.
** In 1993, they tried to kill him, but he survived, even though he was shot five times. Again, he refused to stop his work.
** In 2009, they tried to kill him again, and this time they succeeded.
This film opens with a brief statement made by Dr Tiller in 1993, after he survived the first attempt on his life. He explains that he is not going to stop his work, because he feels he is performing an important service to the public. Throughout the film he is seen and mentioned several times.
But this film is not about Tiller. As the title indicates, it is about the time and the situation after he was killed in 2009.
This film focuses on four doctors who knew Tiller; who worked with him for a while; and who want to continue the work that he was doing, even though they know that they are placing themselves in great danger when they are doing this.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Directors: Martha Shane and Lana Wilson
** Writers: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson and Greg O’Toole
** Run time: 87 minutes
In this film we meet the four doctors plus two counselors and the mother of one of the four doctors. Here are the names:
** Dr LeRoy Carhart (born 1941) – Bellevue, Nebraska
** Dr Warren Hern (born 1938) – Boulder, Colorado
** Dr Susan Robinson – Albuquerque, New Mexico
** Dr Shelley Sella – Albuquerque, New Mexico
** Susan (no last name given) – counselor
** Sue (no last name given) – counselor
** Edna Hern (1917-2013) – Dr Hern’s mother
Archive footage is used to supplement the information which is given during interviews.
In some scenes, a doctor will address the camera directly and talk about his or her experiences in this line of work. They will talk about the aggressive and violent methods which anti-abortion activists are using against them.
In other scenes, we see the doctor in conversation with a patient. While we can hear the conversation and see the doctor, we can never see the patient. It is important to protect the identity of the patient.
Most abortions are performed during the first trimester (months 1, 2 and 3). A few abortions are performed during the second trimester (months 4, 5 and 6). A very small number of abortions is performed during the third trimester (months 7, 8 and 9).
The number of abortions performed during the third trimester is only around one percent of the total number. These abortions are performed for medical reasons, for instance when some danger to the unborn child or the mother or both is discovered during the final months or weeks of the pregnancy.
Anti-abortion activists will often focus on this category (which is only around one percent of the total number) and pretend that all abortions are like this. They do this in order to prove that abortion is a sin and a crime and that it must be stopped.
Anti-abortion activists call themselves Pro-Life. They say they care about life; they say they care about the unborn child. They say this unborn child must be allowed to be born, no matter what the circumstances are.
What happens when the unborn child is born? How much care and concern does the Pro-Life campaign have for a newborn child and the parents of this child? Not much!
** Does the Pro-Life campaign support a long maternity and paternity leave for the parents? No, they do not.
** Does the Pro-Life campaign support a network of free or cheap kindergartens and day care centres? No, they do not.
** Does the Pro-Life campaign support a system of universal healthcare, so the life of every person in the US can be protected as much as possible from the beginning to the end? No, they do not.
Once the unborn child is born, the care and concern they have for life is gone; it has vanished into thin air!
In this film, there is no interview with an anti-Abortion activist. For this reason, it can be described as one-sided. But the directors of a documentary film do not have a duty to be neutral. They have a story they want to tell. They are allowed to tell the story any way they wish. They are allowed to take a stand.
Besides, the Pro-Life campaign is not exactly poor; it is not exactly powerless. The Pro-Life campaign has money and political connections. It has many ways to get its message out to the public. It is not necessary to give this movement a platform in every film that is made about abortion.
What do reviewers say about this film? Here are the results of three review aggregators:
74 percent = IMDb
75 percent = Meta
85 percent = Rotten tomatoes (the audience)
92 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
On Amazon there are at the moment more than 90 ratings or reviews. The average rating is 4.2 stars.
As you can see, the ratings are quite good. If you ask me, the numerous positive reviews are fully justified. This film covers an important topic and it does this very well.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
PS # 1. The Wikipedia entry about anti-abortion violence in the US offers a long list of examples. The topic is divided into four separate categories:
** Murder
** Attempted murder, assault and kidnapping
** Arson, bombing and property crime
** Anthrax threats
PS # 2. For more information, see the following items:
** Lake of Fire (2006)
** 12th & Delaware (2010)
** Vessel (2014)
** Ask for Jane (2018) – a docudrama based on a true story
** Reversing Roe (2018)
** AKA Jane Roe (2020)
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Another poster for the film
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Dr George Tiller (1941-2009)
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