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Released in 1999, I had never seen The Cider House Rules until a few weeks ago.  I’m not usually into period pieces or Tobey Maguire, so I didn’t expect much.  However, there were some powerful lines about the importance of a woman’s right to choose and to have safe medical treatments available to her once she’s made her choice.  Furthermore, there were some powerful examples of times that removing that choice is truly cruel, regardless of your political beliefs on the matter.

The Cider House Rules is the story of Homer, an orphan boy who never made it out of the orphanage, and has been trained as a doctor by his mentor and father figure, Dr. Larch, who runs the orphanage.  In addition to delivering the babies of women giving their children up for adoption, Dr. Larch offers safe medical abortions to any woman who asks for it.  He doesn’t advertise this service (as it is illegal), and he doesn’t suggest it to women no matter how many times he’s delivered their unwanted babies, but he won’t turn away a woman in need.  When Homer accuses him of playing God in this way, Dr. Larch responds:

Dr. Larch: I have been given the opportunity of playing God or leaving practically everything up to chance. Men and women of conscience should seize those moments when it’s possible to play God. There won’t be many. Do I interfere when absolutely helpless women tell me they simply can’t have an abortion – that they simply must go through with having another and yet another orphan? I do not. I do not even recommend. I just give them what they want.

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CBS doesn’t want America to think about Choice, so we have to do it virally.  Here are some awesome counterpoints to the anti-choice rhetoric that is being crammed down our throats with Doritos and beer this SuperBowl Sunday, starting with Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards explanation of the meaning of Choice:

For a multitude of reasons I will not be watching the SuperBowl today, but welcome any tips on who the winners and losers in advertising are this year.

Obvious Child starring SNL newbie Jenny Slate is kinda like the alternate ending to Juno.  If Juno were a young adult in NY instead of a high schooler in MN.  And her boyfriend was kinda cool instead of Paulie Bleaker.  And she got the abortion.

At only 20 minutes, the short leaves you wishing for more, but it does a lot in that 20 minutes.  Most importantly, it presents abortion as a non-terrifying, non-shameful, individual choice.  Which, you know, legally speaking it is, despite the stigma surrounding it.  The condom broke, and Donna had a choice.  She made it.  And (shock of shocks!!!) her friend supported her, her mom supported her (and shared with her daughter the story of her own abortion), and her partner supported her.

What if instead of shaming issues surrounding sexuality and sexual decision making, from female masturbation and orgasm to the spectrum of sexual attraction to the reality of reproductive health options, we saw them presented non-judgmentally like this on a semi-regular basis?

For other reactions on the short, check out all my faves: Bust, Bitch, Jezebel, and Feministing.

Obvious Child from Gillian Robespierre on Vimeo.

Special note: Happy 200th post to us!  It’s been a fantastic (and challenging) exercise to develop and maintain my own little feminist scrapbook here and it’s been a pleasure to share it with you.  Here’s to 200 more!

“We call on opponents of a woman’s right to choose to end the practice of inflammatory rhetoric and tactics that inspire this kind of violent action from the most extreme factions of the anti-choice movement. No other abortion provider’s family should have to endure the tragedy of seeing their loved one killed for providing an essential and legal health service to women.”

- Nancy Keenan

The president of NARAL Pro-Choice America in response to to a jury’s conviction of Scott Roeder as guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Dr. George Tiller.  From here.

It might be more of a challenge to think of 10 reasons not to love Ellen Page.  Her roles in Hard Candy, Juno, X-Men 3, and the upcoming Whip It get us about halfway there, but let’s let Ellen speak for herself.

1. She’s not afraid of the f-word.

“I call myself a feminist when people ask me if I am, and of course I am ’cause it’s about equality, so I hope everyone is. You know you’re working in a patriarchal society when the word feminist has a weird connotation. “Hippie” has a weird connotation. “Liberal” has a weird connotation.”

2. She loves the empowered characters she’s played as much as we do.

“I feel like I’ve been really, really lucky to play the roles I’ve gotten to play because whole, honest roles for young women don’t often exist. People will be like, ‘Whoa, you’re such a feminist! You play such young, strong women.’ It’s like, if I was a guy, you wouldn’t be saying that to me. If I was a guy you wouldn’t be saying, ‘Wow, you play such strong young male roles.’ The question wouldn’t exist…”

Click here for 8 more reasons to love Ellen