Essay, Research Paper: If These Walls Could Talk

Acie Jo Sablan
PI 102
Dr. K. Skoog
March 15, 1999
If These Walls Could Talk
The controversy over abortion has been going on for years. This movie portrays how the debate has changed over the decades in a befitting manner. It is about three different women who come upon having to make the choice of terminating their pregnancies. The setting takes place in the same house during the course of 40 years where a different women deals with the option of aborting her fetus. This movie shows the various reasons woman want to get abortions, each being a valid reason in a liberal point of view.
In the first year 1952, Demi Moore plays "Claire Donnely", a nurse who is in a difficult situation. Her husband had been dead for six months when she found out she was pregnant by her brother-in-law. It was illegal to get an abortion during the time, and so she had to find a way to get rid of the fetus. At home, she tried to perform a self abortion, which made her very ill. At work, a fellow nurse gave her information on how she could get a man to perform the abortion for $400. The man did the abortion with unsanitary tools while she lay on her kitchen table. When the abortion was complete, he told her that she would experience a little bleeding, but she ended up bleeding to death.
The next year took place in 1974, where Sissy Spacek plays "Barbara Barrows", a mother of four, a housewife, and a college student. She finds out she is pregnant, and tries to decide whether or not to keep the baby. The reason of emancipation comes into regard here as Barbara considers the fact that she had a goal she wanted to achieve. Her husband and her oldest daughter make it harder for her to decide, because they put their needs before hers. In the end, she decided to keep the baby because she felt that it was the only choice that she would be able to live with.
As the laws of abortion have changed through history, the emotions have also changed. In 1996, there was and still remains to be a deep division between pro-life and pro-choice protesters. In this part of the movie Anne Heche plays "Christine", a young adult who got pregnant by a married man. She visits an abortion clinic to see what her options are. She is confronted by Catholic pro-life protesters who persuade her not to get the abortion. However, with much thought, Christine decides to return to the clinic to terminate her pregnancy. The story ends when a protester who pretends to be a concerned boyfriend, shoots the doctor who executes the abortions.
This film touches the various reasons why women choose to have an abortion. However, they all are reasons that a liberal would consider as sufficient. Seeing how the disagreement has been altered during the years, helped me to understand where both the liberals and conservatives come from. In the movie, the reasons for having an abortion included wanting a career, being unmarried, and the rare case that Demi Moore was in. Although conservatives would argue that those are ludicrous reasons, I feel that a woman has the right to choose whether she wants an abortion or not, and the reason she chooses is suitable enough.
Abortion will continue to be debated for the next years to come. Until the day when scientists can prove that a fetus is a real actual being from the time of conception, the fight will continue. The Roe v. Wade law, will be the point of focus during all the abortion drama, and that will be the way that people remember why we are fighting about it in the first place. As of today, it is legal to get an abortion, and after watching the movie I would like for it to remain that way. The fact that women have died from getting illegal abortions is a startling thought, and I wouldn't want to see those days come back again.


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