The following movies are OLD, so may not be acceptable.

This first one was originally titled OUR TIME. (1974) The title was later changed to the rather melodramatic DEATH OF HER INNOCENCE, then back again. Very soap-opera, but it had a tremendous effect on me when I was a young woman, probably for that precise reason. Fake out! (I certainly did not expect a feminist political message sneaked into a soap opera about the 50s!)

What is GREAT about it (spoiler alert): you expect a happy ending, since its a soap. And no, you don't get it. This movie unmercifully drives the point home: In the 50s, before Roe v Wade, GIRLS DIED. DEATH. (I was stunned when the second-lead died.) You can tell this movie was made right AFTER Roe v Wade, IMO.

The lead actress in that film, Pamela Sue Martin, was also in the movie TO FIND A MAN,(1972) which is problematic, but possibly the first widely-distributed feature film to deal with abortion right out front. They deal with it by making the affluent teenage girl a "child"--for example, fussing she "still wants to fit into her clothes and stuff." The boy who loves her (who did not impregnate her) takes charge of the situation. The title refers to trying to find an abortion provider, as well as the concept that the boy becomes "a man" in the process of learning to take responsibility for another person.

I loved the movie, but then...I was about the age of the protagonists when I saw it, too! I haven't seen it in (literally) decades and don't know how it will hold up. I include it here for historic value, and there is no question the movie is pro-choice.

Finally, RACING WITH THE MOON, (1984) which is about the 40s. Very male-oriented, since it is about the friendship between two boys (Nicolas Cage and Sean Penn), but still very good. The plot, about two boys getting ready to go to war, is unfortunately as timely now as it was then, in so many ways.

Hope these help! I loved all of them when I first saw them and haven't seen them in years, as I said. So, my profuse apologies for any political incorrectness that they may contain!

Mike Leigh's 'Vera Drake' is amazing, however it is set in 1940's London so it might not be contemporary enough.

I'm sure there was an old Cher film called 'if these walls could talk' or something like that which told the story of different women who had abortions in different eras.

Cider House Rules, anyone? I absolutely love that movie.

Thoughts?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032846/

I think this movie is from the Ukraine. It's just from last year, but not a whole lot of people have seen it. I haven't seen it yet, but I want to... It seems like it could provide a certain perspective; remind people that not every woman in the world has our rights, and not everyone wants us to keep them. It could facilitate a discussion of the measures at work now to restrict access in the US and worldwide.
It is subtitled, I don't know if you want to do that or not.

Another option would be to show Rikki Lake produced doc "the business of being born".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995061/

Its really cool, and would be a great choice to prompt a panel discussion of how the pro-choice movement is about choosing to prevent pregnancy AND choosing how to go about childbearing and rearing, and how we need to care about choice for mothers as well as non-mothers. I watched this doc recently and it was very eye-opening. So if you wanted to go another way with the discussion, which could be a good way to maybe bring in new members and get more, different people concerned with and understanding of the pro-choice movement.

Good Luck!! I did this kind of stuff in college and its a lot of work on top of a course load, but its such a productive way to spend your time. Thanks for doing it.

At first I couldn't think of any myself, but now that Cider House Rules has been mentioned, I think that is a great example. For those who haven't seen it, it is more from the perspective of a doctor-in-training who doesn't want to perform abortions, but throughout the movies realizes that it is sometimes necessary. It is one of my favourite movies!

Thanks everyone! The only one I've seen is Cider House Rules so it looks like I need to see all these movies, no matter which one I choose to show.

Some favorites I like to fall back on for my women's group on my campus are Iron Jawed Angels (it was an HBO film about women getting the right to vote...you could prob. find it at Blockbuster) or A League of Their Own! Two of my faves!

A really great film regarding women's right to choose is Moolaadé by the Senegalese director Sembène Ousmane. It's about female genital mutilation and a woman rising up against her community so that young girls can choose not to be circumcised.

So although it's not an abortion-related pro-choice film, I highly recommend it, as it brings up the discussion of women's choices in all facets of life around the world.

"4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"

It's a Romanian film about a woman who is seeking an abortion, but in Romania it's illegal so she and her friend have to risk their freedom and her life in order to get one. Not to mention deal with a very creepy and aggressive man that's going to do the job. The way it's shot makes it feel very real. It's kind of a slow movie, but it's a really good look into how it would be if abortion were to become illegal again; showing the struggle and sacrificing one must do for choice.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115906/

"Citizen Ruth" is absolutely incredible. It's relatively modern, has a well-acted, funny plot, and has a great message: choice is a private issue. The film shows a caricature of both sides of the debate and the overall conclusion drawn is that it is ridiculous that an intimate, personal decision is ever put on a national stage.

Sadly, the only thing that came to my mind was Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

I would recommend Vera Drake as well. It's contemporary filmed, but set in a historical time. It's not really an "old movie". But it spurs good discussion.

Wasn't there a series on cable called If These Walls Could Talk that addressed abortion?

If you want to talk about birth control, you could screen The Meaning of Life by Monty Python.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116607/plotsummary

Now I have a lot of movies to watch in the future - awesome! This was a really interesting post.

I agree that 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days is an incredible film. It's very much worth seeing - and even beyond the story, it's just a great piece of art.

My suggestion is probably not appropriate for a public viewing, but I saw a great PBS Frontline documentary from the early 80's that you can watch online. It's called "Abortion Clinic" and it chronicles two women who choose to get abortions. It's not very pretty or comforting (the abortion stuff is pretty graphic) but I just found it fascinating overall.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/twenty/watch/abortion.html

PBS Frontline also has a newer doc called "The Last Abortion Clinic" which I haven't seen, but seems to be more along the lines of what you might show in the future.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/clinic/

Another vote here for "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" and "If These Walls Could Talk".

Glad we weren't the only ones who thought of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, silly as that is. Think it was the mental leap from Dirty Dancing.

Love With the Proper Stranger is pre-Roe: Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen are dreadfully young kids, second-generation Italian immigrants, in a time when her only choices are to marry him or get an illegal abortion. The scene in the abortionist's "office" is chilling.

Last spring our pro-choice group showed Jesus Camp and we got a really good turn out/reception. It's basically a documentary about the indoctrination of Evangelical youth in the middle of America. They do talk about abortion and choice issues, but it's also very interesting for a slightly more broad audience because of the political implications it has. We even got the Dems on our campus to co-sponsor the event.

I also might recommend North Country, which is a docu-drama about the first class action sexual harassment lawsuit.