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Silent Choices
"There is nothing else out there about abortion that focuses on the diverse and real experiences of African American women. Everyone who cares about racial and reproductive justice must see Silent Choices."
Marlene Gerber Fried
Director, Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program
Hampshire College
"Silent Choices explores not only black women's personal and political struggles around reproductive freedom, but also the complexities of abortion too often ignored by the mainstream media. Silent Choices is essential viewing for students, scholars, and activists interested in reproductive justice for all women."
Dorothy Roberts
Author, "Killing the Black Body;" Professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School
"Silent Choices is an essential addition to the film collection of anyone interested in the abortion debate. It moves adeptly beyond the easy binary of 'pro-choice or pro-life' to demonstrate that abortion is about people's lives and beliefs."
Jeannie Ludlow, Ph.D.
Eastern Illinois University
"A solid investigation into the social, economic, and political aspects of reproductive rights for African-American women."
3 stars
Justin Wadland
Video Librarian
Full Review:
Although African-American women have a disproportionately high number of abortions, the black community is reluctant to discuss the issue, according to many of those interviewed in filmmaker Faith Pennick's Silent Choices, which focuses on three black women who had abortions: Angela, whose dangerous illegal abortion was in the era before Roe v. Wade; Qrescent, who became pregnant in high school; and Lori, who terminated two pregnancies by the same boyfriend. The women talk about their difficult situations, and dealings with partners, family, or friends while making a choice between the responsibilities of single motherhood and the possibilities of an education and a career. Placing these personal stories within a broader context, scholars such as Dorothy Roberts (a professor at Northwestern University Law School), and activists including Byllye Avery (from the Black Women's Health Imperative), examine the history and significance of birth control and abortion in the African-American community. Given the fact that religion impacts many African-Americans' thinking about abortion, the pro-life perspective-here voiced by Rev. Clenard Childress and others-is addressed as well. A solid investigation into the social, economic, and political aspects of reproductive rights for African-American women, Silent Choices is a good candidate for collections focusing on women's health and African-American studies. Recommended. Aud: C, P.
"Abortion is the issue that reveals how America defines the meaning of life. I thank [Faith] Pennick for giving black women an opportunity to speak for themselves."
Mary Mitchell
Chicago Sun-Times
"evenhanded and informative"
Chicago Reader
